Essay on “Human Rights” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Synopsis: Every human being is entitled to human rights such as right to live and exist, right to freedom, freedom from exploitation, equality before law, to have adequate standard of living etc. The UN adopted Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Rights have their corresponding duties. Human rights presuppose a rule of law and equality. Violation of human rights is very common among totalitarian, theocratic, despotic states tec. Women, children and weaker sections f the society are often victims of discrimination and violation of human rights. Deaths in police custody, sex-apartheid, child-abuse, political killings are very common which have very much degraded the quality of human life. Violation and denial of human rights by states is very dangerous and often gives to revolutions. Violence against women is most pervasive. It needs to be tackled effectively. The massive violation of human rights throughout the world is a matter of great shame for the entire humanity.

            Human rights are the rights to which an individual has a just right as a human being. Men, women and children collectively and individually have these by virtue of their birth as human beings. For the sake of convenience, human rights have been put into two categories: natural rights and civil rights. Under natural rights come such rights as right to live and exist and sustain life with food, shelter, clothing etc. Freedom from torture, cruelty and slavery, freedom of movement, the right to marry and have a family, freedom of thought and conscience and faith are some other fundamental natural rights. Right to work, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, right to a fair trial, equality before law, the right to a nationality, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, to have adequate standards of living, freedom from exploitation and discrimination, right to participate in elections etc. are important civil rights.

            The UN General Assembly adopted Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Declaration recognized the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. This Charter of Human Rights was mostly drafted by Rene Cassin, Noble Peace Prize winner of 1968. The Charter urged the right to political, economic social and cultural self-determination; the right to peace; the right to live in a healthful environment; and the right to share in the Earth’s resources. It pledged the rights to life, liberty and security of a person –the basic human rights. Although these rights are not later on ratified by a couple of international conventions. Then there are political rights which entitle a person to contest an election and to vote freely, without any fear for a candidate of his or her choice.

            Human rights and their implementation, practice and protection are a benchmark of a truly developed, civilized and democratic society. In a democracy people enjoy the maximum number of human rights. But rights and duties go together. The human rights have their corresponding human duties. They are two aspects of a same coin, Liberty never means license. Human rights pre-suppose a rule of law where all the citizens follow a code of conduct and behaviour for the good of all irrespective of caste, creed, religion, sex, social status, region etc. It is the sense of duty, tolerance, mutual participation that lends meaning and sense to the rights. Rights have their existence on the principle of live and let live. For example, my right to speech and expression involves my duty to all others to enjoy the same of freedom of speech and expression. Human rights and human duties are inextricably inter-linked and interdependent. My rights become maintained between the two. Whenever there is an imbalance, there is violence of human rights leading to disturbance and chaos. Rights cannot survive without their corresponding obligations and duties.

            Violation and denial of human rights are very common in totalitarian and despotic States. In theocratic States there is much persecution in the name of religion and the minorities and women suffer the most as we see in many fundamentalist Muslim countries. The women, children and the weaker sections of the society are victims of these transgressions, and violence.

            The UN commission on Human Rights is mainly concerned in protecting and promoting human rights and freedom of the people of the world. In its various sessions held from time to time in Geneva, it adopts various measures to encourage worldwide observations of these basic human rights and freedoms. It calls on its members to give information regarding measures complied with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights whenever there is a complaint of violation of these rights. Then there are many voluntary human rights organisations throughout the length and breadth of the world but in most of the cases, they become a mere instrument of cheap publicity, propaganda, personal gains, popularity etc. in the hands of vested interests. For example, in India itself the Kashmiri Pandits etc. have been subject to terrorism, loot, rape, killings and displacement for many years but no human rights organisation has come forward to give voice to their sufferings or to protect their human rights. Similarly, in the western countries there prevail all sorts of discrimination and violation of human rights. In the U.S. churches of the black are being burnt and they are persecuted. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, women are being denied their basic rights and freedoms. They are flogged and stoned to death publicity without any fair judicial trial on false and fabricated charges. They cannot marry men of their choice or seek an employment. In Cambodia under the dictatorship of Pol Pot of Khmer Rouge, millions of people were massacred systematically and nothing was done to check it or punish the men responsible for this mass genocide.

            People and political parties talk of human rights but in practice there are flagrant violations of them. Death in police custody and fake encounters is an example of such violations. The police often take the law in their own hands and kill the so-called criminals instead of subjecting them to due process of law. No Investigations are held as to whether the deceased had committed any offence. In the capital city of Delhi, the police shot dead two innocent businessmen and seriously wounded their companion and then placed a revolver etc in their car to prove it an encounter. The violation of human rights by the police, the very protectors of law and order, are too numerous to cunt. They harass, maltreat, humiliate, tyrannize and lacerate and people in the name of interrogation and investigation.

            In China, a Communist State, the denial and transgression of human rights are too many frequent. It is estimated that in the year 995-96 itself 3,500 people were executed under the so-called strike-hard anti-crime campaign, which is being continued vigorously. In Tibet the followers of Dalai Lama are being persecuted for many years. Similarly, the Xinjinang, the autonomous region, the followers of Islam are tortured and harassed. In 1989, thousands of people were killed and 10,000 people, mostly students, were shot dead in Tiananmen Square, outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing because they staged a demonstration for their democratic rights and freedoms. These examples of flagrant violations of human rights are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The actual violation of human rights is on far more vast scale throughout the world. Women, children, weaker sections of the societies, minorities and other ethnic groups are the common victims of such violations.

            Till recently in South Africa apartheid was being practiced, the native Africans were denied their just and legitimate human rights. Then there are other forms of apartheid being blatantly practiced worldwide. In Myanmar (Burma) there prevails terrorism and military dictatorship and the masses are being denied their basic democratic rights. Sex-apartheid is most rampant. Women are subject to various kinds of abuses and exploitations. The children too are being abused and exploited. Sexually they are assaulted and exploited, sold and bounded for labour. Their limbs are sometimes amputated to make them earn for the mafias as beggars.

            Thus, the present state of affairs in respect of human rights is disappointing. Their denial, curtailment and violation have further degraded the quality of human life. Human rights may be reshaped and redefined to some extent according to the political needs but they should not be distorted out of shape. Such tendencies are totalitarian, inhuman and savage and should be resisted. The awareness of the sanctity of human rights and basic freedoms should be spread to more and more people of the world. They should be united into very effective case of transgression and violation of human rights, the individuals should be compensated suitably and it should be ensured that these are not repeated.

            Violation of human rights gives rise to various other evils such as terrorism, extremism, alienation, frustration, separatism, etc. In many cases, the governments controlled by self-seeking, over ambitious and narrow-minded people use repressive, unconstitutional and savage means and spread violence and terror to command the obedience from the masses. But State terrorism, violence, transgression of people’s rights is a very dangerous strategy and often boomerangs. In the background of all world revolutions there has been this strategy. Whenever there has been systematic and widespread State persecution and violation of human rights, there broke out rebellions and revolutions and history repeats itself.

            Half the world is that of women and yet the violence against them may be the most pervasive and least recognized human rights abuse in the world. Gender violence, sexual harassment, discrimination, denial of economic, sexual and reproductive rights etc. are in practice unlimited. The remedy lies in widespread legal reforms, better enforcement of existing laws, new procedures to document violations, education about human rights and close alliance between organisations concerned with their rights. According to a U.N. report the cases of rape are on the rise and in courts rape victims are often stigmatized and their testimony and integrity impugned.

            Child prostitution, dowry deaths and dowry-related crimes are other areas of concern. In India thousands of women die because of dowry-related crimes. Girl-children are often held in bondage in brothels. The marked preference for boys over girls, sex selective abortions etc. are also matters of much concern and should be effectively tackled. These massive violations of human rights, taking place across the world, are a great stain on the face of entire humanity.

Essay No. 2

Human Rights

Human rights are those rights which are fundamental for the human life. These rights recognize the basic human needs and demands. It is expected that every civilized state will incorporate these rights in its constitution and try to ensure that its citizens enjoy them. In the present day, world there is a lot of concern about the protection of human rights. The United Nations has adopted a Charter of Human Right and it asks the governments to respect these rights of their citizens. The Universal Declaration Human Rights , which the UN adopted on 10 December , 1948 enumerates some important basic rights of humans. These are right to life, liberty and security of person, right to freedom of speech , judicial remedy, freedom to movement, right to take part in the governance of one’s country. The second type of rights are economic and social rights. The rights included in this groups are also very important. These are : all members should have the right to work, to have a good standard of living, right to rest and leisure, right to education and equal pay for equal work. The UN has taken a great deal of interest in the abolition of discrimination against women. One of the most serious cases of violations of human rights is the case of racial discrimination.

The problem about human rights varies from society to society. In some societies, political and civil rights are not given or guaranteed to all its citizens. In other societies, economic and social rights are not enforced. The importance of the human rights movement is that it tells people that one cannot call as society a good and a just society until all its citizens enjoy these human rights. The basic idea behind human rights is that human beings should try to end all kinds of unjust discrimination. On the basis of most unjust discrimination is the discrimination on the basis of race. South Africa, for example had for quite some time practiced a policy called Apartheid. It meant that the black people, who were in majority in South Africa had no political rights. The country was ruled by a minority regime of whites. The UN passed resolution to condemn its racist policy. Most countries of the non-aligned movement including India, did not have diplomatic relations with South Africa.

Fortunately South Africa after a long struggle has undergone a significant change. For the first time in its history the people of South Africa have an elected Black President, and political rights have been extended to all the people of South Africa irrespective of race, colour and creed.

There are many cases of violation of human rights in different parts of the world. For the prosperity and happiness of human beings every nation must create such conditions in which the Human Rights are ensured to its citizens. We are lucky. We have democracy. India beings democratic country, provides such rights to its citizens and allow them freedom of expression. These rights, which are called ‘Fundamental Rights’ form an important part of the Constitution of India.

These rights are fundamental in three different easy. Firstly, these are basic human rights. As human beings we have the right to enjoy these rights. Secondly, the Constitution gives us these rights and guarantees them because it believes that these rights are necessary if citizens are to act properly and live democratically. Thirdly , effective procedure for  the enforcement  of these Fundamental Rights have been guaranteed in the Constitution itself.  A citizen ahs the right to go to the court of law if she/ he is denied these rights. The Constitution is there to safeguard her/ his rights.

The constitution guarantees to us six Fundamental Rights. The six Fundamental Rights as mentioned in our Constitution are :

i)Right to Equality ii) Right to Freedom iii) Right Against Exploitation iv) Right to Freedom of Religion v) Cultural and Educational Rights vi) Right to Constitutional Remedies.

There are many cases of violation of human right in different countries of the world. There can be no permanent and regular prosperity of human beings unless every country or nation creates such conditions in which human rights are enjoyed by its natives     

Essay No. 03            

Human Rights and India

Right has many definitions.  The  simple  one  is a  reasonable claim  to  freedom  in  exercise  of  certain  activities.”  The legal base of modern concept of human rights  is  the  slogan,  “Liberty, Equality  and  Fraternity”  and  Universal  Declaration  of  Human Rights  by  the  UNO.  Our Constitution includes almost all rights envisaged in the Declaration.  Implementation of provisions should be ensured.  Women are the first casualties of violation of human rights.  Police flouts the fundamentals; Observations of Amnesty International are relevant.  Role of police in terrorist infested states has been lauded.  Steps taken by the Government have not improved the situation…  National  Human  Rights Commission  has  been  constituted  but  it  has  no  effective  powers.

“Right”  according  to  New  Webster’s  Dictionary  is  a  just  claim  or  title, whether  legal,  prescriptive  or  moral.  Rights  according  to  the  Logician Dictionary  of  Contemporary  English,  are  the  political,  social  and  other advantages  to  which  one  has  a  just  claim,  morally  or  legally.  Wilde  defines right  as  a reasonable  claim  to  freedom  in  exercise  of  certain activities. According  to  Laski  rights  are  those  conditions  of  social  life  without  which no-  man  can  seek,  in  general,  to  be  himself  at  his  best.  Bosanquet  says  that a  right  is  a  reasonable  claim  recognized  by  the  society  and   enforced  by the  state.  Thus  the  idea  of  the  basic  rights  of  human  beings has been postulated  differently  by  different-  thinkers,  politicians  and  philosophers during  the  last  few  centuries.

The  legal  base  of  the  modem  concept  of  human  rights  is,  however,  the conduit  slogan,  “Liberty,  Equality  and  Fraternity”  of  the  French  Revolution as  also  the.  Charter  of  the  United  Nations,  and  a  Universal  Declaration  of Human–  Rights  adopted  on.  December 10, 1948.  Almost  all,  the  rights envisaged  in  the Universal  Declaration  are enshrined in  the  Indian Constitution  either  as “Fundamental  .Rights”  or  as  “Directive  Principles”. The  Preamble  to  the  Constitution  mentions  the  essential  individual  rights as “freedom of thought,  expression,  belief,  faith  and  worship”.  and  these are  guaranteed  against-all  .authorities  of  State,  subject,  of  course,  .to  the implementation  of  the  Directive  Principles  and  Fundamental  Duties.

Guaranteeing  of  certain  rights  to  each  individual  would  be  meaningless unless  all  inequality  is  banished  from  social  structure  and  each  individual is  assured  of  equality  of  status  and  opportunity  for  the development  of  the best  in  him  and  the  means  for  the  enforcement  of  the  rights  guaranteed  to him.  While  in  theory,  we  try  to  guarantee  almost  all  human  rights,  in reality,  human  rights  are  denied  to  several  citizens  in  the  context  of  several economic  and  socio-cultural  situations.

Women are the first casualties of violation of human rights.  A woman    is subjected to rape, molestation and brutal killing.  The  recent  gruesome tan, door  murder  case  in  Delhi  is  a  shocking  instance  in  this  context.  Dowry deaths are the culminating point of violence.  Despite  anti-dowry  measures, thousands  of  girls  are  being  harassed  and  ill-treated  by  their  spouses  and greedy  in-laws  for  more  dowry.  Discrimination  in  the  choice  of  child resulting  in  female  infanticide  accounts  for  about  three  million,  deaths  in India.  This  problem  has  invited  the  wrath  of  the  National  Human  Rights Commission  and  social  organizations.  In this context Mrs. Clintons  remarks at  the  World  Women’s  Conference  in  Beijing,  that  the  violation  of  women’s rights  should  be  viewed  as  infringement  on  human  rights,  are  also  quite relevant.

The  police,  said  to  be  the  custodian  of  law,  expected  to  maintain  public peace  and  protect  life  and  property.  itself  flouts  the  fundamentals  of  human conduct,  Police custody deaths have  become  so  common  that  it  does  not stir  any  longer  the  mind  of  the  public  as  it  should.  Other  violations  by  the police  include  disappearances,  fake  encounters,  molestations,  rape,  parading of  woman  naked,  etc.  These  have  been  mentioned  in  the  reports  of  Amnesty: International  and  Asia  Watch.  A  study  undertaken  by  the  regional  branch of  Indian  Institute  of  Public  Administration-  on  Custodial  Deaths  at  the instance  of  Delhi  Government  concluded  that  the  inadequacy  of   the criminal   justice  system  gives  rise  to  temptation  amongst  policemen  to  use methods  which  are  not  strictly  in  accordance  with  law.”

 The latest assessments show that despite the advance  in  civilization  and the  frequent  pleas by  Amnesty  International  abuse  of  human  rights  including political  killings by democratic governments have been increasing in 1990s. Governments profess commitment to a New World Order and establish institutions to protect human rights but security forces have been carrying out thousands of disappearances and political murders. This is stated in the Amnesty s report titled Getting away with Murder, Political Killings and Disappearances. “This report contains several examples of human rights abuse in countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The report states that deliberated killings are a matter of policy in some Indian states, like Punjab. Amnesty International, however, acknowledges that anti-nationalist. And secessionist groups are increasingly using violent.  means  to  challenge the  power  of  the  government  and  have  committed  numerous  human  rights abuses  in  many  states  including  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  Punjab  and  Andhra Pradesh.  Iii Punjab, armed separatists have deliberately killed thousands of civilians.  In Jammu and Kashmir, civilians have been taken hostages. and  captured   and  killed, women  have  been  raped  in  their  custody.  In Andhra Pradesh, they have killed or mutilated alleged “informers”.  There  might  be some  truth  in  the  statement  of  the  Amnesty  International  about  some  Indian .States  but  in  the  circumstances  stated  by  themselves  in  regard  to  Punjab and  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  the  police  and  Para-military  forces  had  to  deal :with  the  terrorists  with  ruthless  methods.  This  was  the  only  way  out  to :contain  the  killings.  This  has  been  able  to  bring  about  the  desired  results as  is  indicated  by  elections  in  Punjab.  and  Jammu  &  Kashmir  and  restoration of  popular  governments  there.  Thus  the  position  of  human  rights  violation in  India  is  not  as  bad  as  brought  out  by  the  Amnesty  International, compared  to  other  countries  of  Asia  and  Africa.

Between 1990  and 1992  as  many as 258  rapes  in  police  custody  were reported  from  all  over  the  country Surprisingly  seldom  any  such  case ends in  conviction.  It  is,  therefore,  imperative  that  those  guilty  of  custodial -rape  should  be  awarded  severe  punishment.  In  all  cases  of  custodial  deaths and  rapes,  there  should  be  mandatory  enquiries.  Besides  this,  some  remedial measures  at  micro  :  and  macro  levels  should  be  taken  on  priority.  These may  include  attitudinal  -changes  in  policemen  of  all  ranks,  insulation  of police  from  political  control,  improvement  in  supervision  of  investigation, prompt  formalization  of  arrests  and  time-bound  completion  of  enquiries and  adequate  punishment  to  guilty  officers.

The government has made some efforts to put end to violation of human rights by police. A number of police commissions, Punjab Police Commission (1961-62), U.P.  Police  Commission,         (1970-71),  the  Shah Commission  and  the  National  Police  Commission  have  gone  into  the,  human rights  issues  relating  to police  and  have  stressed  the  need  to  make  the police  accountable.

The  constitution  of  National  Human  Rights  Commission  oh  Nov. 1,  1993 a  landmarks  in the crusade,  to  safeguard  human  rights. But some  human rights  groups  were  skeptical  about  the  constitution  of  the commission  which has  some  flaws.  They  included:  absence  of  involvement  of  civil  liberty groups non-cooperation  of state  governments;  absence  of  its  own independent  investigating  agency  its  being  largely  are commendatory  body only and absence of follow up powers. What is needed is a constitutional commission with activist membership appointed by a proper collegiums which have investigative and prosecution powers over all violations. The commission should also act to end discrimination and promote socio-economic justice for all. The most important aspect for successfully tackling the problem of human rights violations is that in the democratic set-up the police should function in a more transparent manner and involve the representatives of the public in setting up priorities for the police in different areas. Transparency in functioning is sine quo non for credibility and confidence.