Social Justice
World Human Rights Day
- 08 Dec 2021
- 6 min read
Why in News
Every year Human Rights Day is celebrated on 10th December all around the world.
- Freedom in the World 2021 report released earlier this year had downgraded India’s status from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’.
Key Points
- World Human Rights Day:
- About:
- On that day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
- The UDHR established a set of common basic values both with regard to the view of human beings and to the relationship between the state and the individual.
- On that day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
- Theme 2021:
- “EQUALITY – Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights” .
- Objective:
- To promote equality, peace, justice, freedom and the protection of human dignity. Every individual is entitled to rights irrespective of race, colour, religion, sex, language, or social status.
- About:
- Human Rights:
- These are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.
- These include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more.
- Nelson Mandela had stated ‘To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity’.
- International Human Rights Conventions and Bodies:
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):
- The 30 rights and freedoms include civil and political rights, like the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy and economic, social and cultural rights, like the right to social security, health and education, etc.
- India took an active part in drafting of the UDHR.
- The UDHR is not a treaty, so it does not directly create legal obligations for countries.
- The UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols (on the complaints procedure and on the death penalty) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol, form the so-called International Bill of Human Rights.
- The 30 rights and freedoms include civil and political rights, like the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy and economic, social and cultural rights, like the right to social security, health and education, etc.
- Other Conventions:
- These include the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), among others.
- India is a party to all these Conventions.
- These include the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), among others.
- Human Rights Council:
- The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights. It is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the UN General Assembly.
- The most innovative feature of the Human Rights Council is the Universal Periodic Review. This unique mechanism involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN member states once every four years.
- The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) serves as the secretariat for the Human Rights Council.
- Amnesty International:
- An international organisation of volunteers who campaign for human rights. This organisation brings out independent reports on the violation of human rights all over the world.
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):
Human Rights in India
- Enunciated in the Constitution:
- Since inception, the Indian Constitution incorporated most of the rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration in two parts, the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy.
- Fundamental Rights: Articles 12 to 35 of the Constitution. These include the Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right Against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural & Educational Rights, Saving of Certain Laws and Right to Constitutional Remedies.
- Directive Principles of State Policy: Article 36 to 51 of the Constitution. These include 'right to social security, right to work, to free choice of employment, and protection against unemployment, right to equal pay for equal work, right to existence worthy of human dignity, right to free & compulsory education, equal justice & free legal aid and the principles of policy to be followed by the State.'
- Since inception, the Indian Constitution incorporated most of the rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration in two parts, the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy.
- Statutory Provisions:
- Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (as amended in 2019) provided for the constitution of a National Human Rights Commission at the Union level, which steers State Human Rights Commission in States and Human Rights Courts for better protection of Human Rights and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
- Related Initiatives:
- For Poor:
- For Women:
- For trans-genders:
- Children:
- Divyang Jan:
- Migrants:
- For Poor:
