Are Rights Going Wrong Way?

By Ravishankar Panda UNCHR 'concerned' over Iraqi prisoners' status May 06, 2004, The United Nations Commission on Human Rights expressed "serious concern" over the "uncertain" legal status of many detainees being interrogated in Iraq and asked the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council to clarify the legal status of each person. Rediffmail/News New charges of Iraqi prisoner abuse; Rumsfeld to testify before Congress May 07, 2004, Washington, New charges of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by the US-led occupation force emerged as US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld prepared to testify before Congress, a day after President George W. Bush was forced to apologize for the first time for his troops. Channel News Asia Historical Background There had been several instances in the history when an autocratic ruler was dethroned by the people led by some activist/activists as a result of dissents rising because of atrocities of the king or violation of social ethics. Such an example is Nanda king was dethroned by Chandragupta Maurya under the guidance of Chankya. The concept of human rights has existed under several names in European thoughts for many centuries, at least since the time of King John of England. After the king violated a number of ancient laws and customs by which England had been governed, his subjects forced him to sign the Magna Carta, or Great Charter, which enumerates a number of what later came to be thought of as human rights. In the late 1700s two revolutions occurred which drew heavily on this concept. In 1776 most of the British colonies in North America proclaimed their independence from the British Empire. In 1789 the people of France overthrew their monarchy and established the first French Republic. Out of the revolution came the "Declaration of the Rights of Man." The term natural rights eventually fell into disfavor, but the concept of universal rights took root. Philosophers such as Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill, and Henry David Thoreau expanded the concept. Thoreau is the first philosopher who used the term, "human rights" in his treatise, Civil Disobedience. This work left extreme influence on individuals like Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. Gandhi and King, in particular, developed their ideas on non-violent resistance to unethical government actions from this work. For the last part of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century, though, human rights activism remained largely tied to political and religious groups and beliefs. Revolutionaries pointed at the atrocities of governments as proof that their ideology was necessary to bring about change and end the government's abuses. Human Rights: Taking Shapes On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Following this historic act the assembly called upon all member countries to publicize the text of the declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories." It is the first multinational declaration mentioning human rights by name, and the human rights movement has largely adopted it as a charter.

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." Albert Einstein The United Nations Charter, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and UN Human Rights covenants were written and implemented in the aftermath of the holocaust, revelations coming from the Nuremberg war crimes trials, the atomic bomb, and other horrors smaller in magnitude but not in impact on the individuals they affected. A whole lot of people in a number of countries had a crisis of conscience and found they could no longer look the other way while tyrants jailed, tortured, and killed their neighbours. Over the years combinations of these concerns and others led to formation of other human rights groups. Among them were groups which later merged to form Human Rights Watch, the first of them being Helsinki Watch in 1978. Regional human rights watchdog groups often operated under extremely difficult conditions, especially those in the Soviet block. Other regional groups formed after military takeovers in Chile in 1973, in East Timor in 1975, in Argentina in 1976, and after the Chinese Democracy Wall Movement in 1979. Recognition for the human rights movement, and Amnesty International in particular, grew during the 1970s. Amnesty gained permanent observer status as an NGO at the United Nations. Its reports became mandatory reading in legislatures, state departments and foreign ministries around the world. United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) The main themes addressed by the Commission are: the right to self-determination; racism; the right to development; the question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine; the question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world; economic, social and cultural rights; civil and political rights, including the questions of torture and detention, disappearances and summary executions, freedom of expression, the independence of the judiciary, impunity and religious intolerance; the human rights of women, children, migrant workers, minorities and displaced persons; indigenous issues; the promotion and protection of human rights, including the work of the Sub-Commission, treaty bodies and national institutions; and advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights. One of the most important tasks entrusted to the Commission has been the elaboration of human rights standards. In 1948 it concluded work on the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since then it has developed standards relating, inter alia, to the right to development, civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, the elimination of racial discrimination, torture, the rights of the child and the rights of human rights defenders. All States that accept these standards are obliged to implement the rights they entail and to report regularly to international bodies set up to monitor their compliance. Where problems are identified, the Commission can take action to address them. It regularly requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide assistance to Governments through its programme of advisory services and technical cooperation in the field of human rights. This assistance takes the form of expert advice, human rights seminars, national and regional training courses and workshops, fellowships and scholarships, and other activities. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a part of the United Nations Secretariat, provides secretariat services to the Commission on Human Rights and to other human rights meetings. The Office is located in Geneva, Switzerland. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) In India National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), an autonomous body, supervises the cases

of violation of the basic rights of a citizen. Justice JS Anand is presently chairperson of the commission. NHRC came into existence in 1993 after the National Human Right Act 1993 with Justice Rangnath Mishra as the first chairperson. Roles of NHRC Inquire, suo motu (on its own) or on a petition presented to if by a victim or any person on his behalf, into complaint of i. violation of human rights or abatement thereof or ii. negligence in the prevention of such violation, by a public servant; Intervene in any proceeding involving any allegation of violation of human rights pending before a court with the approval of such court; Visit, under intimation to the State Government, any jail or any other institution under the control of the State Government, where persons are detained or lodged for purposes of treatment, reformation or protection to study the living conditions of the inmates and make recommendations thereon; Review the safeguards provided by or under the Constitution or any law for the time being in force for the protection of human rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation; Review the factors, including acts of terrorism that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights and recommend appropriate measures; Study treaties and other international instruments on human rights and make recommendations for their effective implementation; Undertake and promote research in the field of human rights and the efforts of nongovernmental organisations and institutions working in the field of human rights Spread human rights literacy among various sections of society and promote awareness of the safeguards available for the protection of these rights through publications, the media, seminars, and other available means; Human Rights in India By large human rights situation is not very bright in India. Terrorism, communalism and casteism are the major factors that make the human rights situation worse. Moreover legal illiteracy makes the common people afraid of claiming their rights. Communal violence, under custody deaths, sexual harassment and misbehaviour with lower caste women, child labour, bonded labour, misuse of acts like POTA, unethical behaviour of armed forces in the terrorism affected states like Jammu and Kashmir, north-eastern states are only a few examples that occur every other day in the country. The human rights situation in the rural area is grim in comparison to the urban ones because of prevailing traditional social differences. The caste based politics and power oriented politician is changing the social equation against the minorities in the rural areas where they live under constant fear. One thing for sure that media has made the people more aware about the various atrocities made by the authorities. Though the government takes action but the slow judicial process does not encourage the people to come forward in protest. NHRC is working to improve India's image in the international arena but politically motivated incidence like Godhara which keep on happening blackens the shining India's face.