A/HRC/22/71 the Constitutional Court of South Africa confirmed that “the protection of diversity is the hallmark of a free and open society. It is the recognition of the inherent dignity of all human beings. Freedom is an indispensable ingredient of human dignity.”18 In Uganda, the Constitution provides that “laws, cultures, customs or traditions which are against the dignity, welfare or interest of women or which undermine their status are prohibited by this Constitution.” In India, dignity is associated with the right to an adequate standard of living.19 C. Freedom 19. Human rights instruments typically refer to the “rights and freedoms” that they guarantee.20 International law guarantees “rights” – such as the right to liberty and security of the person or the right to life – and also guarantees “freedoms”, which essentially means the right to do something (for example, movement) or have something (for example, belief) free from State interference. Freedom as referred to in international human rights instruments denotes both the state or quality of being free and the absence of State interference in the exercise of rights. 20. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born “free and equal” in dignity and rights. In this sense, freedom is the original condition. It is the property of all human beings from birth, endowed with dignity and rights.21 21. Freedom may also refer to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying “freedom from fear and want” can be achieved only if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy his or her economic, social and cultural rights, as well as his or her civil and political rights. 22. More broadly, freedom means that the exercise of these rights is not subject to unjustifiable restrictions or limitations imposed by the State. 22 It denotes the absence of coercion or interference; it is thus possible to speak of “freedom of movement”, “freedom of thought, conscience and religion”, “freedom of opinion and expression” and “freedom of peaceful assembly and association”.23 Freedom of opinion means that any “form of effort to coerce the holding or not holding of any opinion is prohibited”.24 In general, rights can be characterized as “freedoms” when they impose on States the obligation both to refrain from interference and to take some positive action, such as ensuring the necessary preconditions for the exercise of that right. 25 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Prince v. President of the Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope, 2002, para. 49. Mullin v. The Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi, 1981 (Supreme Court of India). See the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 2, and the preamble to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. See also the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Consistent with this understanding, the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, states in its preamble that “freedom is the birthright of every human being”. See the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, arts. 1, 2, 4, 13, 16 (2), 18, 19, 20(1), 21(1), 23(1) and 27(1); the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arts. 1, 12, 18, 19 and 22; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, arts. 1 and 6. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, arts. 13, 18, 19 and 20. Ibid., para. 10. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 21, para. 6. 7