Human Rights and Policing
Human Rights and Policing
Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex,
nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the
right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and
expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to
these rights, without discrimination.
Policing refers to the activities carried out by law enforcement agencies to maintain
public order, enforce laws, prevent and investigate crimes, and ensure the safety and
security of individuals and communities. Police officers are typically responsible for
patrolling designated areas, responding to emergency calls, conducting investigations,
making arrests, and providing various community services.
The role of policing can vary depending on the jurisdiction and the specific needs of the
community. It encompasses a wide range of duties, including traffic enforcement, crowd
control, counterterrorism efforts, drug enforcement, and community outreach programs.
The ultimate goal of policing is to promote a safe and orderly society where individuals
can live and work without fear of crime or violence.
The relationship between human rights and policing is intricate and crucial for the
functioning of just and democratic societies. At its core, policing is tasked with
safeguarding the rights and freedoms of individuals while maintaining law and order.
However, this task is not without its complexities.
Human rights provide a framework that guides the actions of law enforcement agencies,
ensuring that they operate within the boundaries of legality, fairness, and respect for
human dignity. Police officers are entrusted with significant powers, including the
authority to use force and restrict individual freedoms through arrests and detentions.
Balancing these powers with the rights of individuals is a constant challenge.
The use of force by police is a particularly sensitive issue in the context of human rights.
While officers may need to use force to protect themselves or others, it must be
proportionate and necessary. Excessive or unjustified use of force not only violates
individual rights but also undermines public trust in law enforcement.
Furthermore, policing must be conducted in a manner that is free from discrimination
and bias. Racial profiling, gender-based violence, and other forms of discriminatory
policing not only violate human rights but also perpetuate injustice and inequality within
society. Upholding human rights requires a commitment to non-discrimination and the
promotion of equality and diversity within law enforcement agencies.
Ultimately, the relationship between human rights and policing is symbiotic. Effective
policing requires a respect for human rights, while the protection of human rights is
contingent on accountable and rights-respecting policing practices. By upholding human
rights principles, law enforcement agencies can fulfill their mandate to serve and protect
all members of society, fostering trust, justice, and equality.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force
in 1976. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is the body of
18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Covenant by its States
parties. Its Optional Protocol entered into force in 2013. The human rights that the
Covenant seeks to promote and protect include
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its Optional
Protocols, in force since 1976 and 1991 respectively, are overseen by the
Human Rights Committee. The Covenant covers a range of rights including
freedom of movement, equality before the law, fair trial, presumption of
innocence, freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion, and expression,
peaceful assembly, association, participation in public affairs and elections, and
protection of minority rights. It also prohibits arbitrary deprivation of life, torture,
cruel or degrading treatment or punishment, slavery and forced labor, arbitrary
arrest or detention, interference with privacy, war propaganda, discrimination,
and advocacy of racial or religious hatred.
The ICCPR further delineates civil and political rights from the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and imposes specific obligations on states
parties. It emphasizes rights such as fair trial, freedom from arbitrary arrest or
detention, and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment or punishment. This requires law enforcement to uphold due process,
treat suspects fairly, and prohibit practices like torture or arbitrary detention.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly in 1989, is a landmark international treaty focusing on the protection
and promotion of the rights of children. It recognizes the inherent dignity and worth of
every child and sets out a comprehensive framework for ensuring that children enjoy
their human rights without discrimination. The CRC covers civil, political, economic,
social, and cultural rights of children and emphasizes their right to survival,
development, protection, and participation. It calls for measures to safeguard children
from all forms of discrimination, abuse, exploitation, and neglect, and it promotes the
best interests of the child as a primary consideration in all actions concerning children.
States parties to the CRC are required to take steps to ensure that children's rights are
respected, protected, and fulfilled, and they are obligated to report regularly on their
efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention.
8. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006),
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly in 2006, is an international treaty that promotes and
protects the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. It recognizes that persons
with disabilities should enjoy full and equal rights and emphasizes their inherent right to
participate in all aspects of life on an equal basis with others. The CRPD covers civil,
political, economic, social, and cultural rights, and it calls for measures to eliminate
discrimination against persons with disabilities in all areas of life. The Convention
highlights the importance of accessibility, equality, and non-discrimination, and it
promotes the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in society. States
parties to the CRPD are required to take measures to ensure that persons with
disabilities enjoy their rights on an equal basis with others and to promote their full
inclusion and participation in all aspects of life.
These are just a few examples of international human rights instruments. There are
many others addressing specific issues or populations, such as the International
Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their
Families, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (ICERD).
Regional human rights instruments are also significant, such as the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples'
Rights.
National governments may also enact laws, constitutions, and policies that serve as
human rights instruments, ensuring the protection and promotion of rights within their
jurisdictions.
The United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons (UNPoA)
is a key international framework aimed at addressing the challenges posed by the illicit
trade, proliferation, and misuse of small arms and light weapons (SALW). Adopted by
the United Nations General Assembly in 2001, the UNPoA represents a comprehensive
approach to combating the negative impact of SALW on peace, security, and
development.
These international human rights instruments collectively establish legal frameworks
aimed at safeguarding and promoting fundamental rights and freedoms globally. They
address a range of issues including arms control, disability rights, child welfare, gender
equality, racial discrimination, and genocide prevention. Each instrument requires
participating states to enact domestic legislation to ensure compliance with international
standards, thereby reinforcing the rule of law and advancing human rights protection at
both national and international levels.
The short answer is that there has been an enormous change in human rights
consciousness as it applies to police but considerably less in practice. In two
operational arenas – the international and the countries. Internationally, human rights
treaties and agreements have mushroomed since Second World War. The United
Nation’s (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights recognised only two human rights
treaties in 1947 against almost 150 in 1997 (Elliott 2007). They now cover 18 categories
of persons (e.g. children, women, aliens, immigrants, lawyers and gipsies) and 19 kinds
of violations (e.g. torture, trafficking, hostage taking, death penalty and abuses of
justice).
The Guinness Book of World Records, by the way, says the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, 1948, is the most translated document in history (2013). Specifically with
respect to the police, the UN published seven principles of democratic policing in 1996
in The Commissioner’s Guidance for Democratic Policing in the Federation of Bosnia-
Herzegovina (United Nations Missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2008). These were
further codified in Human Rights Standards for Law Enforcement: A Pocket Books on
Human Rights for Police, 1996 (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights). In 2001, the
Council of Europe published the European Code of Police Ethics (Council of Europe
2001). International ability to enforce these standards, while generally weak, has
expanded dramatically in institutional terms since the end of the cold war. The UN
created a Civilian Police Unit within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations
(DPKO) in 1993, which became the Police Division in 2000. It has been part of DPKO’s
Office of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions since 2007. Authorised to recruit
17,500 police for international deployment, the Police Division now deploys over 12,000
police officers in 11 missions – Western Sahara, Mali, Haiti, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Darfur, Cyprus, Sudan, South Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire, Kosovo and Liberia (UN
Peacekeeping Fact Sheet, September 2013). Until the early 1990s, the UN’s police
activities were confined to monitoring violations of international agreements. They have
since expanded to involve armed, operational law-enforcement (Kosovo and East
Timor) and mentoring of local police by providing expert assistance, technical guidance,
operational assessments, training and strategic development (UN Peacekeeping
website, November 2013). Almost 100 countries contribute personnel for these
missions, with the countries contributing most (67%) not coming from developed, well-
established democratic countries, as one might expect, but from Bangladesh, Jordan,
Senegal, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt, Rwanda and Togo. From the point of
view of modelling human rights, this