HUMAN RIGHTS
HUMAN RIGHTS
-AACHAL BURANDE
Harold
Laski one of the prominent political thinkers of the 20th century said , "
Rights are in fact, those conditions of social life without which no man can
seek in general, to be himself at his best." Human rights can also be
defined as "Those conditions of life and freedoms which should be
available to all persons, irrespective of their religion, race, caste, sex,
nationality or any of them."
On December 10, 1948
the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the "Universal Declaration of
Human Rights." It called upon member nations to adopt and implement these
rights in their respective countries. This declaration was a momentous
achievement because it was for the first time that human rights were codified
and steps were taken for the preservation of human rights. There are different
types of rights such as political, economic social and cultural.
Political
rights are an important feature of human rights. Everyone has the right to take
part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen
representatives. But democracy does not mean merely the right to vote and send
representatives to the Parliament or the Legislature. It includes much more. It
postulates multiplicity of parties and a politically aware electorate which can
make an intelligent choice between the parties on the basis of their political
ideology and manifesto. If the electorate is not politically aware, and is
guided by consideration of race, religion, creed or colour or ethnicity,
democracy can go off the rails. The people must be the subject of politics and
not the object. There must be debate and discussion in regard to policies and
programs, not only in Parliament or Legislature, but also amongst the people.
The responsibility of the people in a democracy does not end by participating
in periodic elections. They have to actively participate through influencing
decisions of their representatives. They have to create public opinion and
exert pressure on the Government to take the right decisions. That is why it is
absolutely essential that there should be complete transparency in actions of
the Government and people should have the right to information without which
they cannot participate in the process of the Government. The
'Will of the people' shall be the authority of the government. This 'Will'
shall be expressed through periodic elections based on universal and equal
suffrage. The elections shall be held by a secret vote. In a country like
Australia the people select their government while in Saudia Arabia the
hereditary kings are the heads of the state. Under Political rights everyone
has the right to nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his
nationality. Nor one shall be denied the right to change his nationality.
Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in
other countries asylum and persecution from others. Countries like England have
a very liberal asylum policy. People from Nigeria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran
who were persecuted in their countries have found a safe haven in many western
countries. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well
as in association with others. No one shall be deprived of his property under
except due course of the law. Every citizen has the right to social security.
Social security is a system by which the government pays money regularly to
people who have no other income or only a very small income. In India many
schemes such as Swarna Jayanti Rozgar Yojna, Jawahar Rozgar Yojna and Integrated Rural Development Programme. In America the
unemployed people receive financial support from the unemployment office.
People should have the right to a standard of living for the health and well
being of himself and his family. This includes proper food, proper clothing,
housing, medical care and necessary social services. They should have the right
to rest and leisure, including reasonable hours of work and paid holidays.
Comments
Post a Comment