HUMAN rights violations have been taking place since the dawn of history. All religions, especially the three heavenly religions, have tried to restore the rights of human beings. But the instinctive desire to struggle has remained and is manifested in tribal intolerance, ethnic bias, religious discrimination and vested personal interests that have always been a part of political and economic interests. Through the ages, human beings have suffered from invasions and wars, first regional wars and more recently global wars. Special intelligence institutions and mechanisms have been devised to violate human rights and deprive people of their personal freedom. The Second World War claimed the lives of 15.25 million people, in addition to countless numbers of people arrested or subjected to torture at the hands of the warring forces and their intelligence machinery. In January 1947, after the end of the war, delegations from 56 UN member countries sat down to work out a universal declaration to protect human rights. The Commission on Human Rights, a standing body of the United Nations, was constituted to undertake the work of preparing what was initially conceived of as an International Bill of Rights. The membership of the Commission was designed to be broadly representative of the global community with delegates from nine countries. Well-known members of the Commission included Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of former US President Franklin Roosevelt, who was the chairperson, Jacques Maritain, Rene Cassin and Stephane Hessel of France, Charles Malik of Lebanon, P.C. Chang of the Republic of China, and John Humphrey of Canada, who became the Declaration's principal drafter, among others. Humphrey provided the initial draft which became the working text of the Commission. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris by a vote of 48 states in favor with no vote against and eight abstentions. The declaration consists of 30 articles. ?This was not the first serious attempt of its kind in the history of mankind. Throughout the ages, human beings have made efforts to protect their rights. The Magna Carta was issued in 1215 to guarantee personal and political liberty in Britain. Then, there was the Declaration of Human and Civic Rights, approved by the French National Assembly in 1789. It called for liberty, equality and fraternity, the slogan of the French Revolution. The first 10 amendments to US Constitution, called the “Bill of Rights”, ratified in 1791, also included several provisions for guaranteeing human rights and public freedom. Freedom is a fascinating word that occupies a prominent place in the clauses of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was repeated in seven places - freedom of opinion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of movement, freedom of residence, freedom to embrace religions, and freedom of assembly and participation in organizations, especially in civic organizations. Despite the moral strength of the declaration, its implementation mechanism has encountered many difficulties and impediments that can be summed up in the following: 1. More than half a century has passed since the issuance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. During this period, there have been several instances of rights violations in many countries, without any real objection from the international community. In another words, no stringent punitive measures have so far been taken against such violations. The majority black people of South Africa were subjected to persecution at the hands of the former racist white government. The Israeli government continues its persecution of the Palestinian people who are denied even their right to live in their homeland and establish an independent state in addition to the right of the Palestinian refugees to return home. There was gross violation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the name of religion and nationality, and Bosnians were victims of genocide. Millions of people were imprisoned and tortured under dictatorial governments in Latin American and Southeast Asian countries. The Afghan people have suffered as a result of Soviet and US invasions. The Russian military machine conquered the people of Chechnya. There were also examples of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, and civil wars in a number of African countries due to external intervention. These violations occur primarily because of the policy of a double standard adopted in dealing with human rights issues. Such rights violation issues were normally taken to political forums instead of being referred to legal bodies. Many governments look after their own private interests before taking into account the usurped rights of people. Now this has become the practice of the UN Security Council especially because of the hegemony exercised by the US on the international body. 2. The big powers that have a permanent membership in the UN Security Council are the major violators of human rights. China, which was represented in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is one of the countries that violates many of the rights enshrined in the declaration. Even though Russia dispensed with its Communist regime that usurped many human rights, it is still influenced by the erstwhile regime in suppressing the freedom of small republics and regions in the Russian Federation.
— Hassan Tahsin is an Egyptian writer and political analyst. He can be reached at [email protected]
