We believe it is necessary to tress that human rights constitute an indivisible set of rights despite the fact that they can be presented in many different ways, and that it is impossible at this stage to agree on a final list of rights. Although the list remains incomplete and debatable this does not mean that it cannot be finalised in the future.

We propose a simple list of human rights taken from existing treaties and based on the principle of equality. Our list will show: the founding principles, human rights, and groupings that can be made, in accordance with the principle of indivisibility and of the protection of vulnerable people.

Principles of interpretation of human rights and fundamental freedoms

 1. FOUNDING PRINCIPLES 

Human dignity has three dimensions: equal dignity, freedom and solidarity. And two conditions are necessary for them to flourish: universality and indivisibility.

 2. HUMAN RIGHTS

A. Civil rights

I) Rights of having to do with the protection of the person

1. Freedom from discrimination
2. Freedom from slavery and servitude
3. Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
4. Freedom from arbitrary interference with one's privacy
5. The right to life, liberty and security of the person
6. The right of recognition as a person before the law
7. Rights of the accused: freedom from arbitrary arrest or exile, the right to legal defence, the right to a fair trial or public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty, the right to appeal through a competent tribunal, the right not to be tried for a crime which was not a criminal offence at the time it was committed.
8. The right to seek and to enjoy asylum from persecution in other countries
9. The right to a nationality and the right to change it
10. The right to protection of the family

II) Civil and political freedoms

11. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
12. Freedom of information and freedom of opinion
13. Freedom of peaceful assembly and association
14. Freedom of movement and residence in one's own country, including the right to leave and return at will
15. The right to take part in the government and free elections and to equal access to public service

B. Economic and social rights

Rights to dignity in exchanges and social relationships

16. The right to an adequate standard of living, health and well-being (including food, clothing, housing)
17. The right to medical care
18. The right to a healthy and sustainable environment
19. The right to social security
20. The right to own property
21. The right to work: free choice of employment, just and favourable conditions of work, right to equal pay for equal work, protection against unemployment, right to rest and leisure

C. Cultural rights

Rights to a cultural identity

22. The right to respect for one's cultural identity (including one's language)
23. The right to information
24. The right to elementary education and to technical and professional training
25. The right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community
26. The right to enjoy world heritage

 3. GROUPINGS

A. Structural groupings

Rights to participate in the structures necessary to implement all human rights

a) The right to social and international order
b) The right to development
c) The rights of future generations

B. Rights of vulnerable people

These are not new rights, but rather special measures to be taken to grant rights to vulnerable people

1. The rights of the child
2. The rights of elderly persons and the disabled
3. The rights of women
4. The rights of foreigners, migrant workers and stateless persons
5. The rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities
6. The rights of indigenous people

Principles of interpretation of the list

When listing human rights, we have followed the order given in the Universal Declaration. Since all rights are considered equal, any order is suitable.

The first article of the Universal Declaration affirms the three founding principles of human rights: liberty, fraternity and equal dignity. This means that every human right has to be interpreted in the light of all three principles. It also means that every right includes an obligation: each of us is not only entitled to these rights but must extend them to others.

Universality and indivisibility, which are rules of interpretation, must also be applied to every human right. Universality means that every right must be applied to every person. Indivisibility means that all rights are bound together and cannot be separated. There is no valid reason to maintain the classical separation between civil and social rights. All human rights are individual rights and may have a collective dimension. Also, all include both positive and negative obligations (obligations to do something, obligations not to do something).

Other rules of interpretation that we have considered are as follows:

 CIVIL RIGHTS 

One can distinguish formally between judiciary guarantees (#6 & 7) and other civil rights, but there is no major difference in essence. Rather, freedoms have a logic of their own.

The right to take part in political life is only an aspect of this civil right (right to choose representatives or to be chosen as representative) which includes all civil, economic and cultural freedoms. One could also ask, aren't all freedoms, including economic and cultural freedoms, political rights also?

 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS

The right to a healthy and sustainable environment (18) belongs in this category because it is similar to other economic and social rights.

 CULTURAL RIGHTS

Cultural rights are specific enough (their object is the respect of cultural identity) as to require a category of their own.

 STRUCTURAL GROUPINGS

These rights allow people to participate in structures that are necessary to achieve other rights. They are not new human rights but have to do with the promotion of self-determination, democratic order, and the right to development. These groupings are valid, especially in the case of the right to development, because they emphasise the principle of indivisibility.

The rights of future generations are essential, even though we may be referring to people who do not yet exist. They will exist at some point in the future and we must consider protecting their rights now. Future generations are also an example of vulnerable people.

 THE RIGHTS OF VULNERABLE PEOPLE 

All human beings who are vulnerable must enjoy the same protection as other people, without discrimination. Two conditions can be distinguished within this category

a) Vulnerability can be caused by nature (children, elderly or disabled people, and mothers)
b) Vulnerability can be caused by political and social disorder (e.g. discriminations based upon sex, ethnic origin, etc.). We believe that this category should vanish as specific discriminations disappear.

Source: Présentation analytique des droits humains, réalisé avec le Réseau d'Instituts des Droits de l'Homme, Institut interdisciplinaire d'éthique et des droits de l'homme, Fribourg, Suisse.