Human Rights

The concept of human rights is widely known in the world today, but it is not recent or new. The issue of human rights is found in the various religious beliefs cherished over the centuries. Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), Jesus Christ, Gautama Buddha and other great human beings were the proponents of the concept of human rights. Even today, the issue of human rights is shining among people like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela.

★The concept of human rights:

After the First World War in 1914, the issue of human rights made people think a lot. The whole world needs a policy to overcome the anarchy, famine, despair, starvation, moral decay caused by the war, by which the people of the world can be saved from hunger and poverty. In addition, some people in the world at that time thought of protecting the people from the inhuman oppression and injustice of the Nazi forces formed by Hitler. It is in this context that human rights are established.

★History of the establishment of human rights:

The universal form of human rights was established after the terrible First World War of 1914. The 'League of Nations' was established. Its purpose was to bring about the welfare of the people through various autonomous or trust territories. The League of Nations, a member organization of the ILO, began the formal journey of human rights by determining the working hours and wages of workers. Then in 1944, at the Dumberton Oaks building in Washington, DC, the issue of human rights came up for discussion in the establishment of the United Nations. The United Nations Charter was signed on June 26, 1945. According to the Charter, Fundamental Human Rights are Dignity and Worth of Human Beings. Later, on December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. On this day, the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) was announced in France by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of former US President Roosevelt. This is how human rights are established.

★Human Rights and the Present World:

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, the UNO had 56 members. Currently 193 countries are UNOÕi members. And all of these countries are committed to complying with UNOÕi principles. The Declaration of Human Rights also pledges to ensure the fundamental, social, political, economic and cultural rights of the people through the declaration of the establishment of equal rights for all religions and castes and all nations.

*Adopted along the path of UDHRÑ-

i) International convention on Civil and Political Rights.

ii) International convention of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

iii) Convention on the Rights of the Child.

iv) International convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Etc.

Organizations such as UNICEF, UNHCR, ILO, UNESCO, CEADAW, etc. have assisted in the establishment of human rights. Amnesty International in the United Kingdom and Human Rights Watch in the United States are working to protect human rights worldwide.

★Human Rights and Development:

In a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1986, development was included in the scope of human rights. In fact, the two concepts of development and human rights are inextricably linked. Basically, the United Nations has adopted development as a human right.

*But whether development is being achieved will require-

i) Whether there is a guarantee of basic right to life (Condition of life) such as food, health, education, housing, leisure and entertainment.

ii) Condition of Work i.e. whether there is a right to job, income etc.

iii) Equality of Access to resources i.e. whether the land, capital etc. are enjoying the rights of natural resources.

iv) Participation or participation in the democratic process at the local, national or international level is guaranteed.

As such, the UNDP has published the Human Development Index and has identified issues such as longevity, age, education, income, etc. as measures of development.

★Benefits of Human Rights:

Since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, numerous initiatives and strategies have been adopted which are playing an important role in the establishment of human rights. Democracy has developed worldwide since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The sense of individuality of the people has been established. At present abominable and barbaric slavery has come to an end. Equal rights for men and women have been established to a large extent. Considering the establishment of the right to education and the importance of education, from 1995 to 2004, human rights were adopted as the education decade.

★Obstacles:

Human rights have done a lot of development work around the world. Yet it has some obstacles. Basically, human rights are not yet fully established in the world. A large section of the world's population is deprived of human rights. So far, the international community has failed to take practical steps to quench the hunger of the Third World. Yet two-thirds of the world's people live below the poverty line. Democracy has not been established in many countries. The free market economy did not bring full benefits.

Basically, human rights means freedom from hunger, right to vote, right to express opinion, access to education, freedom of thought, guarantee of treatment, guarantee of enjoyment of all rights, guarantee of equal development of people of all religions and castes.