Dialogue: ‘Provision of basic human rights a success note for govts’
US embassy officials deliver talk on human rights.
ISLAMABAD:
No elected government can hope to succeed without protecting basic human rights.
This was said by the US Embassy’s Political Officer Brian Bedell while talking to teachers and students at International Islamic University (IIU) on Wednesday during a discussion tied to Human Rights Day. The session had been arranged by the embassy and the university.
Acting IIUI President Professor Dr Mumtaz Ahmad chaired the session, while Bedell and Information Resource Officer Caryn Anderson were the guest speakers.
Bedell highlighted the history of Human Rights in America and said that respect for human rights is essential for the strengthening of democracy, while Anderson highlighted the importance of human rights in today’s world.
A minute of silence was also observed in memory of the children killed in Gaza, drone attacks in Pakistan, and the recent school shooting in the US state of Connecticut.
Bedell discussed human rights in the context of the history of the United States, which, although far from perfect, shows a strong pattern of improvement. He began from America’s birth 236 years ago, referring to a period when “slavery was the biggest blemish in America’s first 80 years of existence — one that lead to our first and only civil war.” He also noted that women could not vote until 1919, but continued on to say that societies can change — but only if common citizens demand that the entire citizenry be treated as equals in the eyes of the law.
Brian was of the view that many nations including Pakistan have pledged to protect human rights, and noted that human rights concepts are not a western concept, citing the number of countries that participate in human rights dialogues in the United Nations.
Dr Mumtaz Ahmad said there is a visible difference between the views of the American government and the American people on human rights issues. “While the American government is violating human rights in the different parts of the world, the American people are strongly opposing the actions of the American government,” he said, while noting that one of the biggest protests against the American invasion of Iraq was held in San Francisco.
In the question-answer session, students asked questions about different aspects of the US’s role as mediator and a global player in human rights.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2012.
No elected government can hope to succeed without protecting basic human rights.
This was said by the US Embassy’s Political Officer Brian Bedell while talking to teachers and students at International Islamic University (IIU) on Wednesday during a discussion tied to Human Rights Day. The session had been arranged by the embassy and the university.
Acting IIUI President Professor Dr Mumtaz Ahmad chaired the session, while Bedell and Information Resource Officer Caryn Anderson were the guest speakers.
Bedell highlighted the history of Human Rights in America and said that respect for human rights is essential for the strengthening of democracy, while Anderson highlighted the importance of human rights in today’s world.
A minute of silence was also observed in memory of the children killed in Gaza, drone attacks in Pakistan, and the recent school shooting in the US state of Connecticut.
Bedell discussed human rights in the context of the history of the United States, which, although far from perfect, shows a strong pattern of improvement. He began from America’s birth 236 years ago, referring to a period when “slavery was the biggest blemish in America’s first 80 years of existence — one that lead to our first and only civil war.” He also noted that women could not vote until 1919, but continued on to say that societies can change — but only if common citizens demand that the entire citizenry be treated as equals in the eyes of the law.
Brian was of the view that many nations including Pakistan have pledged to protect human rights, and noted that human rights concepts are not a western concept, citing the number of countries that participate in human rights dialogues in the United Nations.
Dr Mumtaz Ahmad said there is a visible difference between the views of the American government and the American people on human rights issues. “While the American government is violating human rights in the different parts of the world, the American people are strongly opposing the actions of the American government,” he said, while noting that one of the biggest protests against the American invasion of Iraq was held in San Francisco.
In the question-answer session, students asked questions about different aspects of the US’s role as mediator and a global player in human rights.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2012.