Right to life
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Definition[edit | edit source]
| Right to life |
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| The right to life is a fundamental right whose protection is a precondition for the enjoyment of all other individual rights and freedoms. It is protected under both treaty and customary international human rights law (IHRL). It is generally accepted that, along with all other human rights, it must be protected online just as it is protected offline.[1] Its wording differs across treaty instruments, which means that its interpretation must be carried out at the level of specific primary rules arising under specific treaty regimes.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights enshrines the right to life in Article 6: “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” According to the Human Rights Committee, “[t]he obligation of States parties to respect and ensure the right to life extends to reasonably foreseeable threats and life-threatening situations that can result in loss of life.”[2] In other words, the obligations stemming from the right to life are not confined to intentional deprivations of life. |
Appendixes[edit | edit source]
See also[edit | edit source]
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ See, eg, United Nations Human Rights Council, The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet, Resolution A/HRC/RES/32/13 (1 July 2016), para 1.
- ↑ UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 36, ‘Article 6: Right to Life’, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36, 30 October 2018, para 7.