Secondly, the different generations of rights are mutually supportive. For example, civil and political rights are necessary for the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights as they “All human rights are universal, make it possible for groups to seek the indivisible and interdependent and implementation of their rights through interrelated. The international participation in judicial and political processes. community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on Finally, certain rights do not fit neatly into any the same footing, and with the same of the three existing categories. The right to a emphasis. While the significance of healthy environment, for example, has been national and regional particularities and characterized and recognized as a civil and various historical, cultural and religious political right (e.g. the right to judicial review of backgrounds must be borne in mind, it decisions affecting the environment), an is the duty of States, regardless of their economic, social and cultural right (e.g., the political, economic and cultural right to a healthy environment), and as a systems, to promote and protect all solidarity right (e.g. a people’s right to a healthy human rights and fundamental environment). In addition, a number of freedoms.” declarations and treaties contain provisions that relate to two or more generations of rights. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, as Most notably, the UDHR and the African adopted by the World Conference on Human Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights Rights on 25 June 1993, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.157/23, at para. 5. (ACHPR) affirm the existence of all three generations of rights. In principle, under international human rights law, all human rights are considered to be universal, inalienable, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. Practically speaking, however, international human rights law itself accords a certain priority to civil and political rights over the other two generations of rights. This priority is reflected in the vague, recommendatory, and aspirational terminology that often characterises second and third generation rights, as well as the lack of strong mechanisms to ensure compliance with these rights. As the CESCR has pointed out: “In effect, despite the rhetoric, violations of civil and political rights continue to be treated as though they were far more serious, and more patently intolerable, than massive and direct denials of economic, social and cultural rights.”26 While there is some scope within international human rights law for differences in the implementation or prioritisation of certain human rights standards, these differences have no bearing on the legal question of whether a State must comply with its human rights obligations. Nevertheless, this debate is of practical importance: it influences the negotiation of international human rights instruments, impacts upon whether a State will sign a human rights treaty or make reservations to it, and may have a bearing on whether a human rights standard will actually be complied with by a State. Charter of the United Nations, 26 June 1945, Can TS 1945 No 7, online: United Nations <http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/>. 19 14