By Ibrahim Lajany
09/12/2009
December 10 has been named as ‘The International Day of Human Rights’. On this day of 1948, Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted and this day became a day to honor the Human Rights. Today, this charter is part of the International Law and from its point of view, all humankind from any gender, race, wherever they are, would benefit from equal rights.
On this day, once again, the progressive and humanitarian forces all over the world state their solidarity with the universality of Human Rights, and move towards implementing its articles, especially in those countries where the citizens’ rights are violated. The leaders of Iran’s regime call the Human Rights a western stratagem where their interest is involved; however, strictly as propaganda, they cry wolf for other countries and condemn the violation of the rights of their citizens. This is happening at a time when the tormented and tyrannized people of our country don’t benefit from any citizenship rights whatsoever, and their human rights are being violated in every way.
Adoption of the Declaration was a remarkable achievement, a step forward in the great evolutionary process. It was the first international instrument in which rights to be recorded to all peoples were articulated. Accordingly its importance cannot be underestimated. In spite of this, debate continues over the enforceability of it and its legal status in contemporary international law.
A Declaration of the general assembly is not legally binding, but it has strong moral force. Moreover it is arguable that many of the rights enunciated in the charter are now so widely accepted that they form great part of the general principles of law, although they may not have crystallized into customary international law. We can say that Universal Declaration of Human Rights can bind states on the basis of custom because they constituted a codification of customary law or because they have acquired the force of custom through a general practice accepted as law. Now no state can avoid the impact of the Universal declaration. In the last sixty years it has increasingly lived up to its proclaimed goal as being a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. Its frequently referred to in international, regional and national human rights instruments and jurisprudence.
Arguably not all rights in the declaration has crystallized into custom. Decisions should be based on an analysis of the status of the right in question. Now days the prohibition of torture has become a part of customary international law. Also slavery has achieved similar status but slavery is denounced now days as a crime against humanity. Racial discrimination and related intolerance also has been described as unacceptable practice.
The declaration is claimed to represent the conscience of the world, a profession of faith, a common philosophy of human rights and a part of general international law. The declaration enshrines a consensus on the content of internationally recognized rights owed to human kind. The rights articulated therein are sufficiently broad they can span all cultures and religions with a minimum of difficulty. Some commentators argue that the declaration is used by the international court of justice and national courts as an interpretative tool or as customary law. It is often used as a point of reference for constitutional questions, especially in newer states like new Iraq. Nongovernmental organizations rely on the universal declaration as the standard of human rights. The status of the declaration is variable. It is clear that it can freely be used as an interpretative aid with respect to the charter and as a policy guide to accepted international practice.
Many states have not signed the international covenants. Consequently, the Declaration may be the only instrument of international human rights for them. The Declaration has been used as the basis for the constitutive documents of many new and newly decolonized states. It is widely perceived as the definitive statement on human rights in contemporary society. Most international human rights instruments are adopted by the United Nations and they have as basis in the universal declaration and give more definition to those rights. The declaration provides a valuable framework of human rights with many documents expand into legally binding texts as will be seen, the two international covenants expand the universal declaration while other instruments like the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and the united nations convention on the rights of child draw on the scope and content of the Declaration.
The importance of the declaration may be gauged by the many international, regional and national statements which indicate its universal applicability as an international standard. For example the Helsinki declaration, adopted as the final act by the 1975 conference on security and cooperation in Europe.
All the basic instruments on human rights adopted by the regional organizations refer to the universal declaration. More recently the Vienna declaration and program of action drawn up by the world conference on human rights in 1993 states that the universal declaration is the source of inspiration and it has been the basis for the united nation in making advances in standard setting. Today the united nations and its member states celebrate the day of 10th December as the day on which the declaration was adopted, as human rights day.
The preamble to The Universal Declaration of human rights recognized the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all member of the human family as being the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. It also reiterates the pledge that member states of the united nations take to achieve the promotion of universal respect for and observance for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Declaration was presented in realization of these aims; it seeks to articulate a common understanding on the rights and freedoms involved.
Also the general assembly proclaimed the Declaration to be a common standard of achievement for all peoples and nation, the standard enshrined in the Declaration is one to be achieved progressively, a goal to be aimed at, indeed a mountain to climb for some of the states concerned. This explains why some of the rights are inalienable, their realization instantaneous, while other rights are in a weaker position being more aspirational.
The universal Declaration is unequivocal in the guarantee of equality to all peoples.
Article 1, All human binges are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2, Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, with no distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion , political or other opinion , national or social origin, property, birth or status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, on/self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Equality and thus a prohibition on discrimination on any ground, is at the foundation of the human rights policy of the United Nations. Several articles of the Declaration reiterate and in some instances, reinforce this prohibition on discrimination, extending the ambit of the Declaration to the promotion of understanding, tolerance, and friendship among all nation and all racial or religious groups, thereby furthering those activities of the United Nations which seek to secure the maintenance of international peace and security. The approach of the new world order to human rights has been without doubt characterized by constant reiteration and reinforcement of the premise that all people are created equal.
The Declaration commences with the notion that all peoples are born free and equal in dignity and rights, thus should be entitled to enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the convention without distinction or discrimination. Article 3 then encapsulates the most fundamental of all rights, everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. The right to liberty is further clarifies and expanded in succeeding articles of the declaration with slavery and slave trade prohibited and all persons entitled to freedom from torture and similar treatment. All people are entitled to freedom of movement and residence throughout their state, the right to a nationality and the right to seek asylum from persecution. Many rights in the Declaration govern the rights of persons in detention and rights to a fair trial. The family is entitled to respect and protection as the natural and the fundamental group unit of society. States are obliged not to interfere arbitrarily with the individual privacy, home, correspondence, family, and reputation and men and women are entitled to marry and found a family.
Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, opinion, and expression are protected, as is freedom of assembly and association.
In an attempt to secure democracy, the right to participate in government and public service is included in Declaration also. To ensure individuals are ensured an adequate standard of living, health, and well being, the right to work, social security, rest and leisure periods, education and cultural life are prescribed. The universality and indivisibility of the rights is emphasized by the breadth and scope of the rights in the Declaration.
However, the declaration is not merely a statement of rights. There is an element of reciprocity. Article 29 provides that everyone has duties the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. The African charter on human and people’s rights, and to a lesser extent the American convention on human rights, go much further, articulating a number of duties the individual owes the community and state.
The universal Declaration creates a new species of rights, universal human rights which are the inalienable birthright of each and every person; through throughout the deliberation on the Declaration, the inclusion of an article dealing with minorities was favoured. The new underlying premise of the universal human rights should have rendered specific minority protection superfluous. Everyone was accorded the basic human rights, freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination which previously had been the prerogative of minorities. The incompatibility of the term protection minority groups in the same document as a profession of the equality of all overrode the concerns that national minorities were the victims of some of the worst crimes against humanity perpetrated during the Second World War. In the end, political consideration outweighed pure humanitarian idealism and the proposed minority clause was excluded from the final document, however, the third part of the resolution of the general assembly through which the Declaration was adopted was entitled fate of minorities, and refers the question of minority protection to The Commission on Human Rights.
Briefly we can say that the universal declaration attracts and deserves accolades of superlatives. Without doubt, it was an unprecedented step for the world-state acknowledgement that individuals were no longer solely subject to the whims of the state. Rather the individuals were entitled as a birthright to equality and to fundamental rights. These rights were specified by international law but had origins predating the Universal Declaration. The Declaration is first example of such a universal document transcending culture and traditions to prescribe a global standard. The anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration should be commemorated with a high profile campaign to promote the knowledge and information about human rights and to enhance and improve respect for them also in Kurdistan. This goal should be the common goal of our nation in the struggle for freedom and democracy.
KurdishMedia.com å09/12/2009
