Chapter 1 • International Human Rights Law and the Role of the Legal Professions: A General Introduction The devastating experiences of the First and Second World Wars underscored the imperative need both to protect the human person against the arbitrary exercise of State power and to promote social progress and better living standards in larger freedom. 2.2 The ethical dimension of human rights The very specificity of the concept of “human rights” is that they belong to the individual in his or her quality as a human being, who cannot be deprived of their substance in any circumstances; these rights are thus intrinsic to the human condition. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights all give expression to this fundamental ethical basis in their first preambular paragraphs by recognizing “the inherent dignity and ... the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family”. Here, then, is an expression of the principle of universality of rights, including the right to equal protection before the law and by the law, which, as will be seen in Chapter 13, is a fundamental principle conditioning the entire field of international human rights law. As to the regional level, the second preambular paragraph to the American Convention on Human Rights also expressly recognizes “that the essential rights of man are not derived from one’s being a national of a certain State, but are based upon attributes of the human personality”. As stated by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in its Advisory Opinion on Habeas Corpus in Emergency Situations, the rights protected by the Convention cannot, per se, be suspended even in emergency situations, because they are “inherent to man”.5 It follows, in the view of the Court, that “what may only be suspended or limited” under the Convention is the “full and effective exercise” of the rights contained therein.6 Finally, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in its fifth preambular paragraph, also recognizes “that fundamental human rights stem from the attributes of human beings, which justifies their national and international protection”. Consequently, human rights are owed by States to all individuals within their jurisdiction and in some situations also to groups of individuals. The principle of universal and inalienable rights of all human beings is thus solidly anchored in international human rights law. Human rights are inherent in all members of the human family. Human rights are thus universal and inalienable rights of all human beings. 5 See I-A Court HR, Habeas Corpus in Emergency Situations (arts. 27(2), 25(1) and 7(6), Advisory Opinion OC-8/87 of January 30, 1987, Series A, No. 8, para. 18 at p. 37. 6 Ibid., loc. cit. 4 Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers