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October 2019
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The
right to rest and leisure
is the
economic, social and cultural right
to adequate time away from
work
and other societal responsibilities. It is linked to the right to work and historical movements for legal limitations on
working hours
. Today, the right to
leisure
and rest, including
sleep
and
breaks
, is recognised in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child
, and in many regional texts such as the
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
History
edit
The movement for a recognised right to rest, play and have leisure time. can be traced back to the 19th century and the
eight-hour day
movement. As early as 1856, stonemasons working at the
University of Melbourne
in
Australia
put down their tools until demands for reduced working hours were accepted. The ensuing guarantee of a maximum eight-hour workday is one of the earliest examples of legal protection against too much work, which today we recognise as the right to rest and leisure. The motto of the Australian Stonemasons in 1856 was as follows:
Eight hours to work, Eight hours to play, Eight hours to sleep, Eight bob a day. A fair day’s work, For a fair day’s pay.
Whilst Australia was one of the earliest countries to enjoy universal working hour limitations (an implied right to leisure), throughout the 20th century many other countries began to pass similar laws limiting the number of hours one can work.
Definition
edit
The modern notion of a right to rest and leisure is recognised in article 24 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
which states:
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
The
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
recognises in part III, Article 7:
Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.
The Right to Leisure has also been recognised in article 31 of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child
, and article 12 of the
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
, both recognising the:
Right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
The Right to Leisure is considered an economic, social and cultural right, as opposed to a
civil and political right
. The right to rest and leisure is connected to the
right to work
, which is provided for by Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and article 6.3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Where the right to work provides a right to work, the right to rest and leisure protects individuals from too much work.
The Committee on Economic, Cultural, and Social Rights has made no general comment on article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Therefore, there is no universal agreement on the specific obligations of states in relation to the right to rest and leisure, and "no common conception of these terms that may be formally assumed".
Nonetheless, states do still have responsibilities in relation to the right to rest and leisure
State obligations on the right to rest and leisure
edit
Despite the ambiguous language of article 24 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
, States do have obligations and responsibilities in relation to the right to leisure. The body of texts published by the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights has established that in relation to all rights, including the right to rest and leisure, States have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil.
Respect, protect and fulfil
edit
The respect, protect and fulfil principle constitutes the core state obligation in relation to economic, cultural and social rights, including the right to leisure:
Governments and other duty bearers are under an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights.
Based on the definition of respect, protect and fulfil principle outlined in the
Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
' general comment No. 14,
the obligation to respect requires States to refrain from interfering directly or indirectly with the enjoyment of the right to leisure. The obligation to protect requires States to take measures that prevent third parties from interfering with the right to leisure. Finally, the obligation to fulfil requires States to adopt appropriate legislative, administrative, budgetary, judicial, promotional and other measures towards the realisation and enjoyment of the right to leisure.
Therefore, states must not only respect and protect individuals from too much work, but must also fulfil the right, and ensure that individuals have the capacity to positively enjoy their right to leisure, and not simply be in the absence of too much work.
Criticism
edit
The right to rest and leisure, like many
economic, social, and cultural rights
(ESCR), has often been considered less important or fundamental than
civil and political rights
. Critiques of economic, social, and cultural rights such as
Maurice Cranston
and
Aryeh Neier
, or William Talbott's
Which Rights Should be Universal
often argue that ESCR are unnecessary for human dignity, are less fundamental than
civil and political rights
, are too expensive and impractical, and that some constituencies of humans are undeserving of ESCR.
However, human rights scholars are increasingly embracing the concept of indivisibility and acknowledging that all human rights are fundamental.
10
Defenders of the right to rest and leisure claim that it is of fundamental importance to well-being once basic security has been assured, and that leisure is "not an idle waste of time or mere absence from work, but, rather, necessary for a life of dignity".
11
The right to rest and leisure is an emerging human right, and debates around its importance and implementability are likely to be ongoing.
See also
edit
Annual leave
Critique of work
Effects of overtime
Four-day week
Job strain
Karoshi
Labor rights
Leisure
Niksen
Occupational burnout
Occupational stress
Overwork
Paid time off
Recreation
Six-hour day
Work–life balance
References
edit
corporateName=National Museum of Australia; address=Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula.
"National Museum of Australia - Eight-hour day"
www.nma.gov.au
. Retrieved
2020-02-28
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
"OHCHR |"
www.ohchr.org
. Retrieved
2020-02-28
"International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 entry into force 3 January 1976, in accordance with article 27"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
2020-02-28
"AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS AND WELFARE OF THE CHILD"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
2020-02-28
David Richards and Benjamin Carbonetti, “Worth what we decide: a defense of the right to Leisure,” International Journal of Human Rights, vo. 17, no. 3, (2013): 331.
"Human Rights"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
2020-02-28
"CESCR General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health (Art. 12)"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
2020-02-28
William Talbott, Which Rights Should be Universal. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 2005
David Richards and Benjamin Carbonetti, “Worth what we decide: a defense of the right to
Leisure,” International Journal of Human Rights, vo. 17, no. 3, (2013): 331.
Richard McGrath, Janette Young, and Caroline Adams, ‘leisure as a human right special edition introduction,’ Annals of Leisure Research, vol. 20, no. 3, (2017): p. 314.
David Richards and Benjamin Carbonetti, “Worth what we decide: a defense of the right to
Leisure,” International Journal of Human Rights, vo. 17, no. 3, (2013): 334.
Substantive
human rights
What is considered a human right is in some cases controversial; not all the topics listed are universally accepted as human rights
Civil and political
Equality before the law
Freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention
Freedom of assembly
Freedom of association
Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment
Freedom from discrimination
Freedom of information
Freedom of movement
Freedom of religion
Freedom from slavery
Freedom of speech
Freedom of thought
Freedom from torture
LGBTQ rights
Transgender rights
Liberty
Nationality
Personhood
Presumption of innocence
Access to justice
Right of asylum
Right to die
Right to a fair trial
Right to counsel
Right to family life
Right to keep and bear arms
Right to life
Right to petition
Right to privacy
Right to protest
Right to refuse medical treatment
Right to resist
Right of return
Right of self-defense
Right to truth
Security of person
Speedy trial
Suffrage
right to be a candidate
Right to homeland
Economic, social
and cultural
Digital rights
Equal pay for equal work
Fair remuneration
Labor rights
Right to an adequate standard of living
Right to clothing
Right to development
Right to education
Right to food
Right to health
Right to a healthy environment
Right to housing
Right to Internet access
Right to property
Right to public participation
Right of reply
Right to rest and leisure
Right of return
Right to science and culture
Right to social security
Right to water
Right to work
Sexual
and
reproductive
Abortion
Family planning
Family rights
Freedom from involuntary female genital mutilation
Freedom from forced circumcision
Intersex human rights
LGBTQ rights
Sexual and reproductive health
Transgender rights
Critique of work
Historical persons
Abbie Hoffman
Edward Bellamy
Alfredo M. Bonanno
André Gorz
Bob Black
Günther Anders
Guy Debord
Heinrich Böll
Ivan Illich
Mikhail Bakunin
Paul Lafargue
Walter Benjamin
Antonio Negri
Bertrand Russell
Friedrich Nietzsche
Henry David Thoreau
Herbert Marcuse
Jerry Rubin
Josef Pieper
Karl Marx
Max Stirner
Max Weber
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Raoul Vaneigem
Renzo Novatore
Zo d'Axa
Contemporary persons
Franco Berardi
L. Susan Brown
Madeleine Bunting
David Graeber
Michael Hardt
Maurizio Lazzarato
Claus Peter Ortlieb
Roland Paulsen
Jeremy Rifkin
Penelope Rosemont
Mark Slouka
Nick Srnicek
Claire Wolfe
John Zerzan
Terminology and related topics
996 working hour system
Absenteeism
Abusive supervision
Aktion Arbeitsscheu Reich
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
Autonomism
Bare minimum Monday
Bullshit job
Career catfishing
Coffee badging
Corporatocracy
Cycle of poverty
Dolce far niente
Effects of overtime
Eight-hour day
Employee ghosting
Extermination through labour
Career cushioning
Careerism
Flextime
Forced labour
Four-day workweek
Funemployment
Ghost job
Uberisation
Gig worker
Glass cliff
Happiness economics
Honeymoon-hangover effect
Hush trip
Infinite workday
Job crafting
Job cuffing
Jobless employed
Karoshi
Loud quitting
Neijuan
Occupational burnout
Occupational safety and health
Occupational stress
Orange S.A. suicides
Overwork
Performance punishment
Post-work society
Precariat
Presenteeism
Digital presenteeism
Productivity theater
Professional abuse
Protestant work ethic
Psychological safety
Quick quitting
Quiet hiring
Quiet quitting
Rage applying
Refusal of work
Resenteeism
Right to rest and leisure
Sampo generation
Sunday scaries
Six-hour day
Tang ping
Technological unemployment
Toxic workplace
Narcissism
Psychopathy
Wage slavery
Well-being washing
Work ethic
Workaholic
Working poor
Work–life balance
Theater, movies, music and art
À Nous la Liberté
Office Space
Swedish Public Freedom Service
Take This Job and Shove It
The Future of Work and Death
The Main Thing Is Work!
The Working Class Goes to Heaven
Yama—Attack to Attack
Literature
Anekdote zur Senkung der Arbeitsmoral
Bartleby, the Scrivener
Bonjour paresse
Bullshit Jobs
The Conquest of Bread
Critique of Economic Reason
Fight Club
Future Primitive and Other Essays
In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays
Inventing the Future
Manifesto Against Work
New Escapologist
On the Poverty of Student Life
The Society of the Spectacle
Steal This Book
The Abolition of Work
The End of Work
The Human Use of Human Beings
The Idler
The Revolution of Everyday Life
The Right to Be Lazy
The Soul at Work: From Alienation to Autonomy
Communities
R/antiwork
CrimethInc.
Situationist International
See also
Criticism of capitalism
Critique of political economy
Job strain
Retrieved from "
Categories
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Leisure studies
Work–life balance
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