Human Rights Must Not Be An Empty Voice

Mazhar Mannan :
December 10 is celebrated as World Human Rights Day every year with a motto of establishing world peace. On this day in 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the United Nations declared this day as World 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 an integral part if 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 peaceful 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 due to intense power and lust. On the one hand, we hear the voice of humanity which seems empty, as on the other hand, we see global violence and it is like a paradoxical situation.
Deprivation of human rights has become a daily phenomenon. The UN declaration of human rights can be compared to empty vessel sounds much, means it is only in the paper but not in the barn. The declaration of human rights today is nothing more than a few words written on a piece of paper. 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. With violent attack on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine, Myanmar makes a prime example if 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. Millions of people lost their lives because of wars and many people have left their countries. 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 fulfill its responsibility by issuing proposal of condemnation, statement and providing relief assistance. The rights of Palestinians have been at stake for the last seven decades and we do not see any vigorous role of the UN in solving this problem. 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.
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. Human rights violations have increased in Egypt, Philippines, Venezuela, China, Russia and the United States. 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.
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. It is noteworthy that they lack sufficient sincerity in fulfilling the mandate they have adopted in establishing world peace. 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 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. Genocide took place in Bosnia but it did not appear that the UN could play a significant role. The UN declaration of human rights is a great initiative for the weakest in the world. Although this declaration is cornered in the struggle for existence, it can not 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.

(Mr. Majhar is Assistant Professor, B A F Shaheen College Kurmitola,
Dhaka Cantonment).