HUMAN RIGHTS: UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

 

INTRODUCTION:

 As human beings are considered as  social creatures, from decades they have been in association with each other unitedly.

When time passed along this style of living started to get hampered with some gross issues like poverty, malnutrition, various crimes and many more.

This led the path to a new enlightment and establishment of certain rights and obligations for the common man in order to live with peace and dignity in the society which was addressed as “HUMAN RIGHTS”. Human rights are protected and upheld by international and national laws and treaties.

DEFINITION:

Human rights are those basic rights of a person which he or she is entitled to and are guaranteed by constitution or are enforceable by law.

It also includes certain obligations by which the people residing in the society are bound to abide by it.

Human rights helped the society in various possible manners by decreasing the rate of such crimes which made human being deprived of their basic livelihood rights.

Human rights came as a boon for the weaker section of the society and the people famished by poverty, lack of food, legal help and medical facilities. Here are the Human rights:

The List of Human Rights Enshrined In the Constitution Of India: 

Article 1	Right to Equality: This article allows every human being to live his/ her life with equality irrespective of any caste, creed, sex or religion.
Article 2	Freedom from Discrimination: It says that each and every human being are not to be discriminated on any basis and live their life with respect and dignity.
Article 3	Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security: This article says a human being has right to live, no other human being has the right to kill as well as he/ she has the right to lead their life with freedom and with proper security.
Article 4	Freedom from Slavery: This article says that a human being should not be treated as a bonded labour and should not also work as such under any human being. A human being cannot be entitled as slave to other.
Article 5	Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment: This article says that a human being should be treated properly by other and his respect and humanity can’t be degraded with any type of torture or indecent behavior.
Article 6	Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law: This article says that a person or a human being is eligible to be recognized by the law of the country.
Article 7	Right to Equality before the Law: This article says that a person is entitled to be equal in the eyes of law while deciding any case or giving convictions.
Article 8	Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal: This article says that a human being has the right to seek legal remedy when needed by a competent tribunal.
Article 9	Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention and exile regardless of any circumstances.
Article 10	Right to Fair Public Hearing: Every human being has the right to a fair public hearing irrespective of caste, creed, gender or any other sort of biasness.
Article 11	Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty: This article says that a human being has the right to prove as well as consider himself innocent until proven guilty.
Article 12	Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence: Every Human being has his own freedom and personal space which is not supposed to be interfered by any other person.
Article 13	Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country: This article says that a person has the right to free movement in and out of the country unless something ordered by the court of law during any sort of investigation.
Article 14	Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution: A person is entitled to have proper repressing base or position in case he of persecution and he is not in the premises of his own country.
Article 15	Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It: Every human being has the right to choose their nationality according to their personal will and also to change it if he is willing to do so.
Article 16	Right to Marriage and Family: Every Human being has the right to get married and have a family of his own.
Article 17	Right to Own Property: This article says that a human being has his own sole rights over any form or kind of property that he has.
Article 18	Freedom of Belief and Religion:  Every Human being has the right to his believe and follow religion of his/ her own will.
Article 19	Freedom of Opinion and Information: This article says that a human being is entitled to have freedom of his own personal opinion and information.
Article 20	Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association: Every Human being has the right to conduct a peaceful assembly and association based on the situation he is.
Article 21	Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections: This article says that a person has the right to vote and participate in any Govt. programs.
Article 22	Right to Social Security: Every Human being is entitled to have a social security wherever he resides.
Article 23	Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions: Every human being has the right to choose a desirable work according to his own will as well as join trade unions.
Article 24	Right to Rest and Leisure: Every human being has the right to rest and leisure.
Article 25	Right to Adequate Living Standard: This article says that a person has the sole right to have an adequate living standard during his whole life time.
Article 26	Right to Education: A person has the right to have and seek proper and adequate education.
Article 27	Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of Community: This article says that a person has the right to participate in the cultural Life of his community according to his own choice.
Article 28	Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Document: A human being is entitled to have a social order which will help him in distributing or articulating his works or documents.
Article 29	Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development: Every Human being is entitled to have and enjoy all the common and essential duties for a free and full development of oneself.
Article 30	Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights: A person has the right of non-interference of the state. for all the above rights.

 

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (UDHR): It is the foundation of the international system of protection for human rights. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10th, 1948.  This day is celebrated annually as International Human Rights Day.

The 30 articles of the UDHR establish the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of all people.

It is a vision for human dignity that transcends political boundaries and authority, committing governments to uphold the fundamental rights of each person.

The UDHR helps guide Amnesty International’s work.

 

AUTHORITIES WHO HANDLE CASES OF HUMAN RIGHTS:

• NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION: NHRC is an autonomous public body which was constituted on 12^th October 1993. If the alleged act is of national importance then it takes suo moto action on its own.
• STATE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION: Every state in India has its own state human rights commission. If a person who wants to file any human rights violation case then he/ she can visit their respective state commission who handles such cases in that particular area.

 

 

IMMEDIATE ACTION TO TAKEN BY A VICTIM WHOSE HUMAN RIGHTS HAS BEEN VIOLATED:

 

• Complaint may be made to the commission either by the victim or by any other person on his behalf.
• Complaint should be in a written format either in English, Hindi or any other language with which the victim is comfortable. Only one set of complaint is to be submitted to the commission.
• Complaint can be sent either by main, fax or even by post.
• No fees is chargeable on this complaints so if in case a victim is a person who has poor financial condition should not worry about finances and all.
• If any documents are there with the victim which can support the violence of the human rights then it should be enclosed along with the complaint.
• Name of the victim, his/ her age, sex, religion/ caste, State and District to which the incident relates, incident date etc. should invariably be mentioned in the complaint.
• If possible one should submit the complaint in the format given down by the national or state human rights commission. He/ she can also take help of a learned person.
• One should submit any human rights violation complaint within one month of the incident occurred.
• The complaint should include all the details regarding the violence, abetment of human rights violence if any etc.

ESSENTIAL NUMBERS TO CONTACT:

• NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION NUMBER: 24651330, 24663333
• STATE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION: Every state has its own state human rights commission based out at a communicable location.

 

 

PROCEDURE TO FILE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLENEC CASE: There are three phases for filing a human rights violation case or we can say there are three essential steps which needs to be followed in order to investigate a human rights violence case. They are as follows:

• COMPLAINT PHASE:

  Firstly the victim needs to complain or file a case of any human rights violation or abetment of the same within one month of the incident.

• He/ She can file the case in any respective state commission of human rights by using a specific format after which the complaint gets accepted and the investigation starts accordingly.

 

• INVESTIGATION PHASE:

  Once the complaint is made it is assigned to one of the Commission’s investigators. The respondent (person or the organization) against whom the complaint is made will be notified that a complaint has been filed against them and investigation is going on.

• Once the respondent has given his comments the complainant is allowed to make his part of the comments along with a copy of all the details of the case.
• The investigator has the right to ask questions related to the case individually as well as enter a building to seek evidences which is mentioned in SECTION 27 AND 28 of the act.
• Once the investigation is complete all the reports are compiled and both the parties are asked to give their final comments.

 

1. The investigator mostly tries to make settlement in between the parties and if both the parties agree to it then the case is closed or else it gets transferred to the Board of Inquiry.
2. The Board of inquiry then appoints a legal counsel who looks after this case and dates are given for hearing. The adjudicators or the counsel decide whether there is a violation or not and provide the complainant with adequate or necessary compensation for the violation accordingly.

 

• APPEAL PHASE:

  Both the complainant and the respondent has the right to appeal in Supreme Court if they are not satisfied with the decision of the Board of Inquiry.

• The appeal must be filed within 30 days from the Board of inquiry’s decision. The Supreme Court can either reverse, dismiss or confirm the decision.

 

 

 

EXCEPTIONS WHERE HUMAN RIGHTS CASES ARE NOT FILED ORDINARILY:

 

• Illegible, vague anonymous or those cases which are trivial or frivolous in nature.

 

• The matters which are pending before a State Human Rights Commission or any other Commission.
• Any matter after the expiry of one year from the date on which the act constituting violation of human rights is alleged to have been committed.
• Allegation is not against any public servant;
• The issue raised relates to civil dispute, such property rights, contractual Obligations.
• The issue raised relates to service matters.
• The issue raised relates to labour/industrial disputes.
• Allegations do not make out any specific violation of human rights.
• The matter is before a Court/ Tribunal or covered by judicial verdict or decision of the commission.

 

PUNISHMENTS FOR VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS:

The punishments as discussed above are decided by the adjudicators of the commission. Sometimes the complainant is provided with required with monetary compensation or any other necessary means.

In countries outside India (RIGHT TO LIFE) violation or violation of any essential, basic right can lead to death sentence after proper investigation.

 

CASE LAWS:

• Fruit vendor beaten to death by Police for not paying “Hafta”: Delhi ( Case No.951/96-97/NHRC):

  A 33 year old fruit vendor named Matloob Hussain was dead on followed by severe beating of two police professionals for giving hafta.

• The commission took the case very seriously and ordered the police department to take strict action against the officers. They were suspended from their jobs as well as they were also ordered by the commission to pay 2.5 lakhs as monetary compensation to the deceased family as he was sole earner in his family.
• The commission also directed the attention of head of police department to stop unethical ways of collecting money from such poor people like hafta.

• Killing of 7 Dalits by Upper Castes: Karnataka (Case No.628/10/99-2000):

  This case was regarding a clash between the upper caste and some Dalits. One of the person from the Dalit group in order to avoid the clash, ran away to a room and closed himself from inside.

• After which the whole room was set to fire from outside by the upper caste group. As a result of this 6 persons was burnt to death and a person from the neighbor suffered from severe burns who also died on his way to hospital.
• The Commission took this case seriously and questioned DGP Karnataka. Later on it was found out that there was serious negligence from the police department regarding this case which led to such a horrific incident.
• The Commission, in its proceedings dated 19 December 2000 held that the failure of the Government of Karnataka to protect Dalits was, in this instance, beyond doubt.
• It therefore issued a show cause notice to that Government asking as to why immediate interim relief u/s 18 (3) of the Act be not awarded to the next-of-kin of the deceased.
• The commission demanded rescue for the families of the deceased person which resulted in the suspension of the specific public servants who neglected in this case.
• As well as 1.5 lakh was paid to the deceased.

 

CONCLUSION:  

Human Rights are basic rights of all human beings which were made in order for a smooth functioning of the society.

These rights enables a human being to live peacefully with respect and dignity. Human rights are just like the pillars of a building which needs to be strong in order to lay a strong foundation in the future.