The right to life is one of the most fundamental human rights enshrined in international law. Unlike in domestic Canadian law where the Supreme Court has at times characterized this right as a negative right (preventing the government from interfering with this right), at international law, the right to life (liberty and security of the person) imposes a positive obligation on the government to take steps to ensure that every individual’s right to life is not violated as a result of socio-economic deprivation or discrimination. Homelessness and poverty, with their documented effect on health, threaten life and security of the person and disproportionately affect disadvantaged groups and are thus violations of socio-economic rights and civil and political rights . The UN Human Rights Committee has noted the effects of homelessness on health and on the right to life, stating that “positive measures are required by article 6 [the right to life] to address this serious problem.”[1] In its response to questions from the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) with regard to Canada’s second periodic review, the federal government assured the Committee that “[w]hile the guarantee of security of the person under section 7 of the Charter might not lead to a right to a certain type of social assistance, it ensured that persons were not deprived of the basic necessities of life.”[2] To the extent that poverty and homelessness threaten the life and personal security of Ontarians, particularly of those belonging to historically disadvantaged groups, it should be argued that the government’s failures to ensure reasonable access to housing and to an adequate standard of living violates international law.
[1] United Nations Human Rights Committee, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties under Article 40 of the Covenant: Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee, Canada, UNHRCOR, 65th Sess, UN Doc CCPR/C/79/Add.105, (1999) at para 12.
[2] United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Summary Record of the Fifth Meeting, UNCESCROR, 1993, UN Doc E/C.12/1993/SR.5 at paras 3, 21.
| Treaty Provision (Right to Life) | Text |
| International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 6(1) | “very human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” |
| Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 6(1) | “States Parties recognize that every child has the inherent right to life.” |
| Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, art. 10 | “States Parties reaffirm that every human being has the inherent right to life and shall take all necessary measures to ensure its effective enjoyment by persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.” |
| Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, art 3 | “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” |
| Treaty Provision (Right to Liberty, and Security of the Person) | Text |
| Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, art 3 | “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” |
| Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 5 | “In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights:(b) The right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any individual group or institution;” |
| Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, art. 14(1) | “States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others:(a) Enjoy the right to liberty and security of person;(b) Are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily, and that any deprivation of liberty is in conformity with the law, and that the existence of a disability shall in no case justify a deprivation of liberty.” |
| International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 5(b) | In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2 of this Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone, without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights:(b) The right to security of person and protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any individual group or institution;” |
| International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, art. 9(1) | “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.” |
| Declaration Provision |
Text |
| Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples | “Indigenous individuals have the rights to life, physical and mental integrity, liberty and security of person” (art. 7) |
General Comments:
Concluding Observations:
Other Jurisprudence:
For more context specific observations made by various UN bodies regarding Canada’s performance under various international treaties click here.