Human Rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, freedom from slavery and torture, the right to work and education, the right to have good medical facilities, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights without any discrimination of sex, nationality, race, color, language, national or social origin, beliefs, and status. All human beings are born free and equal in respect, dignity, and rights. They are endowed with reason and consciousness and should act accordingly. Everyone has equal status in the eyes of law. Law secures rights of everyone for movement and residence within the borders of a state, right to leave the country and to return to the country of will, and right to a nationality.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a document proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 on the rights of humans drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all over the world as a common standard of achievements for all nations. This document is universally protected and has been translated into over 500 languages. It includes more than 70 human rights treaties and is applied on a permanent basis at global and regional levels. The General Assembly of United Nations proclaims this charter as a common standard of achievement for all nations to the end that every organ of the society follows this Declaration constantly.

Main points of UDHR:-

•   Everyone is born free and equal
•  No Discrimination
•  Right to life
•  No slavery
•  No torture or oppression
•  Right of movement
•  Everyone is equal before the law
•  Protect of rights by law
•  No unjust detainment
•  The right to trial
•  Everyone is innocent till proven guilty by law
•  The Right to privacy
•  Right to nationality
•  Freedom of expression
•  Right to education 

Human Rights in Pakistan

Pakistan got independence from the United Kingdom in 1947 and that is why inherit some of its laws from the UK. Though most of the laws are secular in nature, however, Sharia Law has taken precedence over Pakistani Law. Unfortunately, the foreign policy of Pakistan ranked as number 10 in its failed states index and placed it in the critical category with other failed states as Afghanistan, Somalia, and Congo. Human rights in Pakistan are provided in the constitution of Pakistan as follows:

• Freedom of religion
• Right to life
• Right to education
• Right to fair trial
• Right to own property
• Right to marriage and family
• Right to social security
• Freedom of movement
• Freedom from slavery
• Freedom from torture 
• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of thought
• Freedom of information
• Freedom of religion
• Freedom of association
• Freedom of the press
• Freedom of assembly and the (conditional) right to bear arms. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was established in response to the atrocities committed around the globe. The document describes the human rights that all people are entitled to the rights such as the Right to life, freedom from torture, freedom of expression, and the right to fair trials. When these rights aren’t protected, respected, or blatantly disregarded, they are violated. A state is responsible for the violations either directly or indirectly. 

Violations may be intentionally committed by the state or come as the state fails to prevent the violation. Various actors like, the police, judiciary, government officials, and many more are involved in violations of rights when a state is engaged in it. The violation can be both physically in nature as police torture or mental abuse as unfair trials and court decisions. Another type of violation failure by the state to protect happens when there is a conflict between individuals or groups within a society. If a state does nothing to intervene and save vulnerable people it is clearly indicating its failure to halt the violations.

Some of the violations committed by the state are as follows:

·   Contaminating water, e.g, with waste from State-owned facilities (violation of the right to health)

·   Expelling people by force from their homes (violation of the right to adequate housing)

·   Denying services, facilities, and information about health (the right to health)

·   Discrimination at work based on traits like color, race, gender, and sexual orientation (violation of the right to work)

·   Failed to pay a sufficient minimum wage (violation of rights to work)

·   Segregating students based on disabilities (violation of the right to education)

·   Forbidding the use of minority/indigenous languages (violating the right to participate in cultural life)