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Human Rights Day-2020

Must not be an empty voice

Published : Thursday, 10 December, 2020 at 12:00 AM  Count : 456

Must not be an empty voice

Must not be an empty voice

Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10 every year with the slogan of establishing world peace. On this day in the year 1948 the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the United Nations declared this day as Human Rights Day and it has been celebrated worldwide every year since then. Human rights are universally non-transferable, instinctive and inviolable rights for all members of the human family. This is a kind of human birth right. Human rights are a number of statutory laws that are protected by International law. It is considered as an integral part of fundamental rights. The rights that are recognized by the constitution of the state are called human rights.

The first article of the universal declaration of human rights states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. But these beautiful words in the universal declaration have remained on paper and have no practical application. The universal declaration of human rights which guarantees individual, social, economic, political, and religious rights is now under unprecedented threat. Attempts at human rights abuses are being made all over the world and it seems to have turned into a chaotic situation. In many parts of the world, people are losing their right to a normal way of life and even they are being deprived of their food, clothing, medical, accommodation and security.

Genocide is being carried out in a planned way and millions of innocent people are being bombed. The whole world is going through an extreme instability today. Human rights have become a trivial matter today due to intense power and lust. On the one hand, we see the empty voice of humanity, on the other hand, we see global violence and it is like a paradoxical situation.

Even after so many years of the declaration of human rights, genocide and ethnic cleansing are going on in the different parts of the world. The army's attack on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine, Myanmar is a prime example of it. Humanity in Syria and Yemen is under extreme threat today. Today millions of people are in the grip of famine. Palestinians today are suffering an existential crisis and their land rights are being taken away. In the last decade, unexpected wars have been imposed on the different countries of Middle East. People are migrating from one region to another to escape from murder, rape, looting and genocide. But the organization that has the responsibility to protect these helpless people is playing the role of a silent spectator today. It seems that the UN is trying to fulfil its responsibility by issuing proposal of condemnation, statement and providing relief assistance.

If the rights described in the 30 articles of the universal declaration of human rights had been implemented in true sense, there would be no unrest in the world today. 19 civil and political rights have been described in articles 3 to 21. 6 economic, social and cultural rights have been recognized in article 22 to 27. Natural law is considered to be the foundation of universal human rights. The third part of the constitution contains 18 types of freedoms and rights. According to articles 4 to 8 of the universal declaration, no one shall be held in slavery or servitude.

The declaration of human rights, which contains of 30 articles, is undoubtedly a milestone but there are thousands of obstacles in its implementation. There is no accurate data on how much of this declaration has been implemented, but there is overwhelming evidence of widespread violations.  UN secretary Antonio Guterres has said that disrespecting and ignoring human rights is spreading like a disease all over the world today. The wars in Syria and Yemen have grossly violated human rights and created millions of refugees. These refugees are floating around the world and they are living miserable lives.

According to the human rights organization Amnesty International, human rights violations continue to occur in about 160 countries around the world. The UN Human Rights Council was formed on March 15, 2006. It has 47 members and its goal is to protect the fundamental human rights, freedom of speech, religious freedom and women's rights in member states.

Today millions of people are being forced to flee their country due to war, violence, torture and violation of human rights. The number of displaced people has doubled in the last ten years. The protracted devastating wars in Iraq and Syria have forced many families to flee their homes. Civil war, riots, violence, internal conflict and violation of rights in Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Yemen and Myanmar have compelled many people to leave their own homes. Currently 1.1 million Rohingyas have left their homeland and stayed in Bangladesh due to human rights violation.

According to International Analysts, the number of displaced people and refugees will increase in the coming days, mainly due to war and human rights violation. Yemen's Shia and Sunni communities are fighting for power and we see the armed conflict between Iran and the Saudi alliance there. Syria's civil war is not over yet, but the two superpowers are pulling the strings. Much of what is happening inside Indian-controlled Kashmir is unclear to us.

Powerful countries are putting their strategic, commercial and military interests first. Violence of world peace and human rights has not been able to affect their position. They do not care about genocide or human rights violation rather they think about their own narrow national interests. The United Nations has not yet been able to avoid the will or reluctance of powerful states. It is easy to understand how much role the UN has played in expanding world peace.

However, the role of the UN in the reconstruction of war-torn areas and the distribution of relief is significant. Delivering global relief and building infrastructure in war-torn areas seems to be the end of the UN's mandate. From the Berlin crisis after Second World War to the current crisis in Syria and the Rohingya crisis, the UN has done nothing but issue statements, condemning and passing resolutions in the Security Council. The UN declaration of human rights is a great initiative for the weakest countries in the world. Although this declaration is cornered in the struggle for existence, it cannot be said to be completely baseless or meaningless. Human rights organizations at the local, national and international levels need to play a tougher role in protecting human rights.

World peace depends on the establishment of universal human rights and billions of people around the world have been struggling to establish it. At the same time, various agreements, charters and declarations have been adopted to establish human rights. The human rights situation is an ongoing process and it can only be defended by uplifting the global democratic system. If the UN neither can nor stand on its own backbone in establishing world peace and human rights, there will be no benefit in celebrating the day once a year.
Majhar Mannan is an assistant
professor, BAF Shaheen College

















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