10^th December 2007

International Human Rights Day falls on 10^th December 2007. The Day is in honor and remembrance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.

To quote the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 'All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.'

This preamble is a benchmark to be followed by all nations worldwide, which clearly forbids discrimination of any form - sex, language, caste, religion, color, status, gender or birth.

In the five decades that have gone by following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world has been witness to landmark redressal of several incidences of human rights violations. This has been possible due to the powerful network of Human rights institutions across the globe which has established the predominance of basic human rights when such values have been eroded. Ban on ‘Apartheid’ in Africa, prohibition of ‘Child Marriage’ and the abolition of the inhuman practice of ‘Sati’ in India, are some of the shining examples in the world, where human rights endeavors restored basic rights of the deprived.

Amnesty International and Health watch are popular organizations that constantly watch out for the violation of human rights across the world and take up the causes in a timely manner. Their effective network of NGO’s across the world engage in extensive research, initiating action that focused on the cessation and prevention of human rights abuse.

Human rights for women, children, refugees, soldiers, AIDS victims, and discrimination based on caste, creed, religion, color are just a few of the human rights issues addressed by such organizations.

A Peek Into Some of the Causes Of Human Rights:

Women’s Rights

Unfairness abounds in the treatment of several issues surrounding women. Despite the advances made by several human rights initiatives, this social epidemic is still prevalent. Marginalization of women, violence, physical abuse, sexual abuse, discrimination and inequality has always been the siblings of many women, in different parts of the world.

In many parts of the world, women are coerced into marriage at a young age. They are not allowed to participate in any decision making even in their own matters. Human rights activists have vehemently fought against such issues to remedy the gross violations of women’s rights and restore the dignity of women.

It is because of such endeavors that the world has woken up to the cruelties of female feticide or the discrimination against ‘female’ children still rampant in many parts of India. Education for the girl child to enable equal opportunities and do away with stigma based on sex is a crucial initiative of women rights activists.

HIV/AIDS discrimination

In a world, where 33 million people are living with HIV, abuse of human rights of HIV afflicted people is the curse of many patients through out the world.

Human rights activists engaged in the establishment and restoration of human rights to the AIDS victims have focused on creating awareness to put an end to the stigma and discrimination experienced by the victims.