“All fundamental human rights are human rights, but not all human rights are fundamental human rights.”
Under the constitutional and legal framework, all fundamental human rights are human rights, but not all human rights are fundamental human rights, because fundamental rights represent a constitutionally recognized and enforceable subset of the broader body of human rights. In Bangladesh, fundamental rights enumerated in Part III of the Constitution embody core human rights principles—such as equality, liberty, and protection of life—and are directly justiciable before the High Court Division under Article 102. Human rights, however, extend beyond these constitutional guarantees and include a wider range of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights recognized under international instruments and reflected in the Fundamental Principles of State Policy, many of which are aspirational and not immediately enforceable in courts. Therefore, while every fundamental right is inherently a human right, many human rights do not attain the status of fundamental rights unless they are expressly incorporated into the Constitution or made enforceable through domestic legislation.