Realisation of Human Rights

Question: Discuss about the Relationship between Human Rights and Responsibilities. Answer: Introduction The International human rights law was formed basically to protect the people and various groups from any kind of unlawful acts by the state and the state agencies of any country. The principle of human rights should be understood along with the concept of unity of the humankind. For the world to globalise successfully, respect of the rights of the human beings is a must. Thus it can be said that human rights are defined irrespective of the country in which one resides, the caste, creed, race, sex and colour. Spelling out of human rights is basically to safeguard the human dignity and therefore government institutions alone cannot do the same. Although law and independence from government interference is a must for promotion of human rights but at the same time how an individual is treated by the other members of the society is also a pre-requisite (Smith, 2017). Here comes the relationship between rights a human possesses and the responsibility he/she has towards the society. Relationship between Human Rights and Responsibilities There exists a very close knitted relationship between human rights and responsibilities of which some are generally accepted by all. It is said that if the entire world is connected to each other then if harm to any member of the universe would be considered to be harm caused to the world. Legal rights of the human beings are finely balanced by the responsibilities and it is the duty of the individual states to ensure that the human rights are protected with regards the international law (Lazarus et.al. 2009). Thus it can be said that the concept of responsibility with regards human rights includes the responsibility entrusted upon every individual as a exquisitely created being to be acquainted with the indispensable oneness of the human race and to encourage the human rights of others with this impetus. What exactly are human rights and what are the responsibilities attached to it vary from individual to individual. For example the right to education states that all the individuals have a right to attain basic educational qualifications and it is the responsibility of the government to provide the state with such facilities. Depending upon the preferences of the states, the views on the human rights also differ with regards which right is more important. By human rights it is meant those rights which has been spelt out by the international law and has been agreed upon by all to be accepted as human rights. Thus it has been rightly said that human rights and responsibility are inseparable terms. However for ensuring that the human rights are protected, an individual should understand his responsibility and duty towards the fulfilment of the same (United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner. 1998) Everybody has a freedom to speech but it should cause harm to anybodys private life. Function of the state NGO and other actors in upholding human right Since the human rights protection law is internationally accepted law, hence the contribution of the various state governments is very important. Once a state signs the international human rights treaty it is said to have taken responsibility to ensure that the human rights of the people of that state are protected. A state is responsible to submit timely reports as desired by the treaty (Human Rights Council. 2015). Also if the state is questioned by the complaint mechanism of the international human rights, it cannot escape itself by claiming that the same was committed by any local authority, therefore making it very clear that once a state is a part of the treaty, it is responsible for the acts of the local bodies as well. Thus although the central government of any country has signed the treaty but it is the individual responsibility of the state as well to contribute to the same. It becomes easy for the central government to monitor the protection of the human rights of the ent ire country by making the states responsible for their acts and also made responsible to any kind of liability which arises due to compliance failure to the national as well as the international authorities ((Shelton, 2002). Apart from the state, the NGOs also have a responsibility towards upholding of the human rights. There are many non-governmental associations and organizations who have taken upon themselves to protect the rights of the humans. They act as a checkpoint for the government as well and monitor their actions towards the protection of the human rights. If the same is not done then they pressurize them to comply with the same. Organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Human rights Action Centres help to protect the human rights. Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who conduct various researches and conduct various actions so that injustice being done is halted. Human Rights Action Centre is an NGO situated in Washington DC (Dighe, 2012). Its main job is concentrated towards innovation and creation of newer strategies so as to deal with human rights abuses. Lastly the Human Rights Watch helped to protect the human rights of people across the globe They challenge the government in case the rights of humans are infringed in their territory. They make the human rights abuses public thus making the infringers accountable for their actions in public (Humanrights.com. 2010). Apart from NGOs who are also non-state organizations who uphold the human rights, many others such as national and international original and minority groups, MNCs, terrorist and individuals themselves also contribute to the same. When the question comes towards protection of human rights by an individual, the first question that comes to our mind is whether the same in done in private capacity or in public capacity. If an act of an individual done in private sphere impacts the public, then the same should be bought under check. Lastly the persons who act in individual capacity should be made responsible for their criminal acts. Unfortunately the earlier decades had always held the state responsible for the acts of the individuals so much that they could easily escape their deeds. Such as the crimes conducted by two political leaders Pol Pot and Idi Amin were not required to answer for their abusive actions. However the situation has undergone a change recently and the individual cri minal responsibility for the human rights violation is accepted by many. The same became evident from the arrest that took place in the year 1998 of Augusto Pinochet a Chilean dictator which made people aware of the fact that the punishment for the human rights infringement is getting stricter and taken up seriously by all (Iceland Human Rights Centre. 2016). Conclusion Thus on a concluding note, I would like to summarize the entire report by stating that the world is changing its outlook towards each other and globalisation has led all of us to think about the human rights of each other as well. People have started to understand their responsibility towards human rights and along with protecting ones own they have started to protect the rights of the other members of the society as well. The state, NGOs and the other actors have also been playing a major role in ensuring that the human rights are upheld to the best health of the world as a whole. References Dighe, J., (2012). Realisation of Human Rights Role of NGO. Available at https://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/article/realization-of-human-rights-and-role-of-ngo-1275-1.html (Accessed 14th March 2017) Humanrights.com. (2010). Human Rights Organizations. Available at https://www.humanrights.com/voices-for-human-rights/human-rights-organizations/non-governmental.html (Accessed 14th March 2017) Human Rights Council. (2015). Research-based report on the role of local government in the promotion and protection of human rights. Available at https://www.cisdp.uclg.org/sites/default/files/Local%20Gov%20Report.pdf (Accessed 14th March 2017) Iceland Human Rights Centre. (2016). The Role of Non-State Entities. Available at https://www.humanrights.is/en/human-rights-education-project/human-rights-concepts-ideas-and-fora/human-rights-actors/the-role-of-non-state-entities (Accessed on 14th March 2017) Lazarus, L., Goold, B., Desai, R., Rasheed, Q. (2009). The relationship between rights and responsibilities. Ministry of Justice Research Series. Available at https://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/23_11_2010_05_42_34_research-rights-responsibilities.pdf (Accessed 14th March 2017) Shelton, D., (2002). Protecting Human Rights In A Globalised World. Boston College International and Comparative Law Review. Vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 273-322 Smith, L., (2017). Human Rights and Responsibilities. Available at https://www.abouthumanrights.co.uk/human-rightsand-responsibilities.html (Accessed 14th March 2017) United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner. (1998). Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom. Available at https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/RightAndResponsibility.aspx (Accessed 14th March 2017)