The contemporary society has constructed and acknowledged various principles as
human rights. Conscious of the fact that the very well-known concept of human
rights has emanated from the western politics and philosophy, predominantly the
word 'rights' characterize that these privileges belong to the citizens ,
therefore the state is under strict obligation to protect and guarantee human
rights of its citizens. Rudimentary and inviolable rights that respect the
dignity of an individual alias human rights.
Preliminary examples of human rights are:
- English legal documents of MAGNA CARTA 1215
- English bill of rights of 1689
Magna Carta 1215:
Magna Carta 1215 primarily comprised an agreement between English king and
barons who were dissatisfied with policies associated with taxation, which were
strictly imposed by the monarch.
English bill of rights of 1689:
- English Bill of Rights of 1689 was one popular agreement between the Parliament and the king under which former aimed to avert the king from exploiting the Protestants.
- Some western philosophers like Thomas Paine, John Locke, and Jean Jacques Rousseau impelled the definition of human rights with their perspectives.
- Countries like United States of America and France have perceived human rights as guiding principles.
- In 1776, USA was established as a new nation and 1776 American Declaration of Independence was adopted.
- France endorsed French Declaration of Rights of Citizens during the inception of the French Revolution of 1789.
- In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations as the conventional degree of achievement of all the Nations.
- UDHR stipulates various rights that are conferred to all human beings which are inviolable in nature.
- It incorporates various fundamental, civil, social, economic, and political rights and almost all the member states have assented to this declaration.
- There are diverse international human rights treaties and conventions that aim to ensure that human rights are appropriately protected, respected, and duly enforced and implemented in all the states.
- International covenant on civil and political rights, 1976 which further comprises:
- Freedom of speech,
- Assembly
- Conscience
- Religion
- Right to life and liberty
- Right to equality
- Discrimination on grounds of gender and so on.
- International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights:
- Right to education
- Right to health
- Right to shelter
- Right to livelihood.
- Convention on the rights of the child, 1990:
- This convention lays down safeguards and guarantees legal protection to children who are mentally and physically immature.
- Convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, 1979:
- The convention lays down provisions in accordance with elimination of any form of discrimination, exclusion, or restriction which violates women's right to enjoyment regardless of their marital position.
The recent violence eruption in Manipur , one of the seven sisters among the
north eastern states of India witnessed horrifying outbursts of violence over
conflict between kuki and metei tribe of Manipur which subsequently lead to
killings of more than 125 people , displacement of around 60000 people, frequent
assaults , arson and kuki women being victims of gangrape and were made to
parade naked on the streets of Manipur by men who belonged to metei which
constitutes majority population and dominant status in the state of Manipur. The
catastrophe was long ignored by the government of India , therefore resulting in
substantial violation of rights of men, women and children which explicitly
shattered the constitutional democracy and faith of minority sections in the
country.
Conclusion:
The universal declaration of human rights purports to protect the dignity
inherent in all the human beings , safeguards their freedom , guarantee justice
and promote peace in the world. These rights exhibit universality which ensures
that every individual is at liberty to enjoy these rights regardless of their
religion, race, colour, sex , place of birth or any other status.
However , the idea of conferment of human rights have always raised scepticism
in minds of people and have left them unconvinced unequivocally owing to the
fact that when it comes to the implementation and guaranteeing diverging
mechanisms irrespective of the human rights practice at national or
international level as by the time the action come into force , a significant
proportion of people's rights are already sabotaged.
References:
- https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rights-human/
Award Winning Article Is Written By: Ms.Zapan Chawla
Authentication No: MY413340446135-12-0524 |
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