Subject Matter Type of Right Binding Character Justiciability Compliance Mechanism Salvador, Art. 6-18; European Social Charter, Art. 1-31; ACHPR, Art. 15-18. Protecting the individual Ensuring that against the abuses and conditions are created excesses of the State. whereby everyone Focus is on formal may equally enjoy equality. certain basic social, economic and cultural standards. Focus is on substantive equality. Negative rights: States must Positive rights: States abstain from certain must undertake actions to respect these certain actions to rights, such as refraining respect these rights, from the use of torture. such as providing a system of free primary education. Immediately binding Immediately binding obligation to respect and obligation to move to ensure these rights. towards the realization of these rights. In this way, undertakings are said to be progressive in nature. Held to be justiciable, i.e. Are generally not can form the basis of a justiciable and are claim decided by a court therefore subject to of law. political supervision (see, however, CESCR General Comment No. 3, para. 5). Varies with the human Limited to monitoring rights treaty regime. May and reporting systems. include: monitoring and reporting systems, an individual complaints procedure (e.g. ICCPR), or the provision of remedies for violations (e.g. ACHR, ECHR). Ensuring that conditions are created whereby a group may enjoy certain basic collective entitlements, such as the right to self-determination and the right to development. The right to selfdetermination is essentially a negative right. Other solidarity rights are held to constitute political programmes of action. The right to selfdetermination is a binding legal right. Other solidarity rights are held to be nonbinding. The right to selfdetermination is justiciable. Implementation of other solidarity rights is subject to political supervision. No compliance mechanism as such. While this categorization can be useful, it does not fully reflect the complex relationship between the different generations of rights. Firstly, some of the differences between these rights are more illusory than real. For instance, certain civil and political rights do in fact require positive action by the State (such as the actions that must be taken and the financial resources that must be invested to guarantee the fair trial rights of an accused person under Article 9 of the ICCPR), while economic, social and cultural rights may also include freedom from unlawful State intervention (such as the right to form a trade union in Article 8 of the ICESCR). 13