National narratives: ‘Social stratification making rights violations more frequent’
Experts discuss human rights from the perspective of religion, disability and labour.
Experts discuss human rights from the perspective of religion, disability and labour..PHOTO:FILE
LAHORE:
Frequency of capital punishment has increased exponentially in Pakistan since partition, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) director I.A. Rehman said in his keynote speech at a conference on Human Rights in Pakistan on Thursday.
The conference was held at the University of Management and Technology (UMT). It was organised by the School of Governance and Society at the UMT.
Rehman said at the time of partition, the legal system had listed two crimes warranting capital punishment, and now there were 28. He said human rights in Pakistan had also suffered on account of social stratification.
UMT Rector Hasan Sohaib Murad spoke about the importance of protecting the rights of individuals. He elaborated on the importance of the right to life, right to property, and right to speech for both individuals and society.
UMT Dean of School of Social Sciences and Humanities Abdul Hameed discussed how human rights were selectively provided.
He gave the example of the health status of citizens, in terms of the ‘abled’ and ‘disabled’. He presented a case study from Kasur and Sheikhupura, which should that after people were labelled as suffering from a fatal disease, the individuals and their close associates become more excluded and their rights were denied.
Former federal law secretary Shaigan Sharif discussed human rights from a legal perspective. He cited efforts by the state to improve upon the paradigm of rights in Pakistan.
Taimur Rahman, assistant professor at the Lahore University of Management Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, discussed human rights from the perspective of workers’ organisations. He said the obsession with a national security narrative had prevented the growth of labour rights in the country.
Iftikhar Rasul from Sarsabz Foundation discussed human rights and religious tolerance. He focused on the condition of religious minorities in Pakistan. Rasul said there was a need to practice greater religious tolerance.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2014.
Frequency of capital punishment has increased exponentially in Pakistan since partition, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) director I.A. Rehman said in his keynote speech at a conference on Human Rights in Pakistan on Thursday.
The conference was held at the University of Management and Technology (UMT). It was organised by the School of Governance and Society at the UMT.
Rehman said at the time of partition, the legal system had listed two crimes warranting capital punishment, and now there were 28. He said human rights in Pakistan had also suffered on account of social stratification.
UMT Rector Hasan Sohaib Murad spoke about the importance of protecting the rights of individuals. He elaborated on the importance of the right to life, right to property, and right to speech for both individuals and society.
UMT Dean of School of Social Sciences and Humanities Abdul Hameed discussed how human rights were selectively provided.
He gave the example of the health status of citizens, in terms of the ‘abled’ and ‘disabled’. He presented a case study from Kasur and Sheikhupura, which should that after people were labelled as suffering from a fatal disease, the individuals and their close associates become more excluded and their rights were denied.
Former federal law secretary Shaigan Sharif discussed human rights from a legal perspective. He cited efforts by the state to improve upon the paradigm of rights in Pakistan.
Taimur Rahman, assistant professor at the Lahore University of Management Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, discussed human rights from the perspective of workers’ organisations. He said the obsession with a national security narrative had prevented the growth of labour rights in the country.
Iftikhar Rasul from Sarsabz Foundation discussed human rights and religious tolerance. He focused on the condition of religious minorities in Pakistan. Rasul said there was a need to practice greater religious tolerance.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2014.