KARACHI:
Nelson Mandela once said, “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” Human rights, as a phenomenon, is universal in nature. It is to be enjoyed by all, no matter who they are or from where they belong. These rights, as per the universal declaration, includes civil and political rights, right to life, liberty, free speech, freedom from slavery and torture, education and privacy and many more without discrimination of any sort.
The end of the World War-II saw the emergence of international organisations, pioneered by the West, who championed themselves as the fundamental provider of human rights through these very institutions. However, the irony and hypocrisy lies in the functioning of these institutes. These institutions have become highly politicised in their operations, blaming only certain factions of the world — those whose interests collide with the Western powers — to be responsible for carrying out human rights violations, while at the same time shutting their eyes at others as they seem fit.
To overcome this, serious steps need to be taken in order to uphold basic human rights. Firstly, the promotion of a multilateral world should be encouraged in order to overcome the balance of power in world affairs, by removing ingrained conceptions about the dominance of the West. Secondly, in the UN, accommodation of special representation should be given to developing and underdeveloped countries of Africa, Asia and South America, so that they are able to voice out the problems of their people properly.
We as human beings should, on an individual level and in our own capacity, contribute towards the promotion of human rights. The subject should not be limited to international organisations and governments alone but everyone in society needs to do whatever they can in their capacity.
Usman Zulfiqar
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2020.
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