Human Rights are the basic rights and freedoms that all humans are inherently entitled to. The term inherent means being naturally part of every human being. These rights are inalienable meaning that it cannot be transferred or taken away from humans. By virtue of being human these rights are vested in a person the moment there is birth of a human being. The right to life, liberty, justice, equality etc. are some of the basic rights which are inherent and inalienable human rights.
These rights can also be considered as birth rights and are necessary for the well-being, welfare, growth and development of every individual. We all are entitled to some basic rights which cannot be taken away from us. It is each one’s right to be treated with dignity. These rights are known by different names such as basic rights, fundamental rights, natural rights, inherent rights, inalienable rights and birthrights. These rights are universal in nature.
It is the State which is under the obligation to ensure that human rights are enjoyed by every person without any distinction. Almost every law that is drafted aims to protect and ensure that the human rights are not violated. Today our State is a welfare State where welfare State means a social system in which the State undertakes overall responsibility for the welfare of its citizens.
In-order to perform enormous socio-economic functions there is a need for administrative department in the society. Powers and functions conferred upon the administrative department provides discretion to the authorities pertaining to life, liberty and property of the citizens and hence in-order to regulate the overreach of the conferred powers the administrative law is essential. In simple words administrative law is the law pertaining to the administrative agencies of government in-order to control the governmental powers. One can say that administrative law is human rights law in disguise as it aims to protect the rights of the people by curbing arbitrary powers of the authorities.
Apart from domestic and regional laws pertaining to human rights we also have international laws that seek to promote and protect human rights on an international level. Some of the International Declarations and Conventions that aim to protect human rights are as follows: Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is also known as UDHR in short, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also known as ICCPR in short, American Convention on Human Rights also known as ACHR in short and many other conventions and declarations aiming just to protect the human rights. These are just some of the conventions and declarations that have an international impact and apart from these there are many other organizations as well that work tirelessly to protect the human rights. There are many other conventions as well which aim to protect the human rights apart from the one’s mentioned.
The ultimate aim of recognizing Human Rights on an international level is to make us all realize that we all are born free and have the right to be treated with dignity. We have the right to be free and at the same time enjoy the freedom that is guaranteed to each and everyone of us. The Preamble to the Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation beautifully mentions that only those who use their freedom remain free. Indeed, we all have the freedom and the one’s who use this freedom remain free!
We all are equal before the law and in India it is the law which is supreme. We follow the rule of law. The Rule of Law not just makes the citizens and various institutions accountable but also the law makers are made accountable. It is only the law which is above all. Article 14, Article 19 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India are known as the golden triangle. These are the three Fundamental Rights which are of prime importance and which breathe vitality into the rule of law. We see most of the cases for adjudication revolve around these three Articles.
In a democratic set up of India it is the rule of law which protects the rights and liberties of the citizens. This concept empowers each and every one of us. In a democratic setup the government is for the people, by the people and of the people. It is the duty of the State to not deny any person equality before the law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
Recognizing human rights and protecting them at the same time leads to the nations progress and growth. Development of the nation is when the people of that nation are progressing and developing. Guaranteeing minimum necessities to a human being like proper food, clothing, shelter, right to work, education, clean environment, right to life, liberty and security, freedom of movement etc. can have a huge impact over the lives of the people.
Despite having the best of the legislations which protect and secure human rights yet one of the main drawbacks is that the implementation of the laws is not in the way it should be. Just having laws to protect human rights is not sufficient but it is very much required that people are made aware of such laws and the one’s who implement and execute these laws do the same keeping public interest in mind.
More and more people need to be made aware on various inherent rights of theirs. Despite good laws in place there is a widespread of human rights violation which needs to be tackled. Human Rights laws need to be implemented for the good of the people. The one’s entrusted to protect and guard the rights of the people need to do their duty in utmost good faith. At the same time, it is the duty of every human to not take the rights for granted. It is each and every one’s duty to value and respect each other’s rights along with respecting and valuing their own rights. It is we who can together contribute towards the society and make it a better place for us all to live peacefully and in harmony.
