Human rights are moral principles or norms that describe certain standards of human behaviour, and are regularly protected as legal rights in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being", and which are "inherent in all human beings" regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They are regarded as requiring empathy and the rule of law and imposing an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others, and it is generally considered that they should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on specific circumstances; for example, human rights may include freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture and execution.
NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF INDIA
The Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is an autonomous public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (TPHRA). The NHRC is the National Human Rights Commission of India, responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, defined by the Act as "rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants".
RIGHTS TO HUMAN DIGNITY
In classical Moral, ethical, legal, and political discussions the concept of dignity expresses the idea that a being has the right to be valued and respected, and to be treated ethically.
In the modern context, dignity can function as an extension of the Enlightenment-era concepts of inherent, inalienable rights.
NEED FOR ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO DIGNITY
Human dignity is inviolable and it must be respected and protected. The dignity of the human person is not only a fundamental right in itself, but constitutes the basis of fundamental rights in international law. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrined this principle in its preamble: ‘recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world’. For this reason the dignity of the human person is part of the substance of any right protected by international human rights law. It must, therefore, be respected, even where a right is restricted.
violations of human rights to dignity
Human dignity can be violated in multiple ways. The main categories of violations are:
Humiliation Violations of human dignity in terms of humiliation refer to acts that humiliate or diminish the self-worth of a person or a group. As Schachter noted, “it has been generally assumed that a violation of human dignity can be recognized even if the abstract term cannot be defined. ‘I know it when I see it even if I cannot tell you what it is’".More generally, etymology of the word “humiliation” has a universal characteristic in the sense that in all languages the word involves “downward spatial orientation” in which “something or someone is pushed down and forcefully held there”. This approach is common in judicial decisions where judges refer to violations of human dignity as injuries to people's self-worth or their self-esteem.
Instrumentalization or objectification This aspect refers to treating a person as an instrument or as means to achieve some other goal. This approach builds on Immanuel Kant's moral imperative stipulating that we should treat people as ends or goals in themselves, namely as having ultimate moral worth which should not be instrumentalized.
Degradation Violations of human dignity as degradation refer to acts that degrade the value of human beings. These are acts that, even if done by consent, convey a message that diminishes the importance or value of all human beings. They consist of practices that human beings should not be subjected to, regardless of whether subjective humiliation is involved, such as selling oneself to slavery, or when a state authority deliberately puts prisoners in inhuman living conditions.
Dehumanization These are acts that strip a person or a group of their human characteristics. It may involve describing or treating them as animals or as a lower type of human beings. This has occurred in genocides such as the Holocaust and in Rwanda where the minority were compared to insects.
SOCIETY ON DIGNITY A poem
You have the right to be respected, But we have no respect for you. You've got the right to be honoured, But yeah, we've got conditions, just a few.
Sex, religion, caste, creed, and race, Or just simple humiliation for an ugly face. If dignity is human worth, then you'll surely be the worth; Maybe on Moon, maybe on Mars, but surely not on Earth.
We'll objectify you 'cause you're so kind and profitable, We'll dehumanise you 'cause sadly you're naive and gullible. We'll strip you of your dignity, we are an evil deity, Some call us humanity, some call us society. -Kunjal
A Victim's Plea A poem I am not my name, I am not my face, I am just a number of my 'ugly' race. My voice is unheard, My opinion non-existent, My dreams just don't matter, And my labour's insufficient. I've been killed, tortured, and raped, Yet I survived, yes I escaped. I don't want freedom, I don't want hope, All I want is to be respected, But of that, I see is no scope. -Kunjal
violations of right to dignity of prisoners.
Many of the most serious human rights violations occur in the realm of criminal justice. The criminal justice system—from policing and prosecution to punishment—is plagued with injustices like racial disparities, excessively harsh sentencing, and drug and immigration policies that improperly emphasize criminalization. Specific policies often have a particularly harsh impact on youth, racial minorities or low-income populations accused of or victimized by crime. Jail and prison conditions are in many respects unsafe and inhumane.
The practice of torture in prison has been widespread and predominant in India since time immemorial. Unchallenged and unrestricted, it has become a ‘normal’ and ‘legitimate’ practice all over. In the name of investigating crimes, extracting confessions and punishing individuals by the law enforcement agencies, torture is inflicted not only upon the accused but also on bona fide petitioners, complainants or informants amounting to cruel, inhuman, barbaric and degrading treatment, grossly derogatory to the individual dignity of the human person. Torture is also inflicted on women in the form of custodial rape, molestation and other forms of sexual torture.
Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right of personal liberty and thereby prohibits any inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment to any person whether he is a national or foreigner. No person shall be deprived of his or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law. This Article also protects people for being retrospectively punished for activities which were given a status of crime after they committed the act.
“Are ‘prisoners’ persons? Yes, of course. To answer in the negative is to convict the nation and the Constitution of dehumanization and to repudiate the world legal order, which now recognizes rights of prisoners in the International Covenant on Prisoners’ Rights to which India has signed assent. In Batra case, the Honorable Court has rejected the hands-off doctrine and it has been ruled that fundamental rights do not flee the person as he enters the prison although they may suffer shrinkage necessitated by incarceration. The following problems have been recognised by the supreme court of india which are responsible for the poor performance of the judiciary.
80% prisoners are under trials
Delay in trial.
Even though bail is granted, prisoners are not released.
Lack or insufficient provision of medical aid to prisoners
Callous and insensitive attitude of jail authorities
Punishment carried out by jail authorities not coherent with punishment given by court.
Harsh mental and physical torture
Lack of proper legal aid
Corruption and other malpractices.
Dignity of medical patients
With the advent of the 20th century, dignity became an issue for physicians and medical researchers, raising questions on the bioethics of genetic engineering, cloning, and end-of-life care. A doctor's primary role is to protect and preserve life, but at what cost? Is it right to continue life support for one who has been in a vegetative state for a very long time, and has little or no hope of ever recovering? Should a person suffering from a terminal illness be allowed to live on until he succumbs to it naturally, regardless of what tremendous pain he might be in? Here arises the question of euthanasia and whether its use is in the best interest of the patient and all those involved.
EUTHANASIA- The Good Death A poem
Euthanasia - the good death - Relief from suffering and pain. A happy ending for one, Who may never rise again. Francis Bacon considered it, A physician's responsibility To alleviate his patient from Physical suffering of the body. There has been much debate On the ethos of this 'cure'. Deprivation of life or dignity? No one seems to be sure. It has been misused, yes, By the Nazis in the World War. But King George the Fifth was put to rest, And he suffered no more. To prolong a dying life, Is it right? Is it humane? Or is it merely an illusion, False hope that it may prevail?
-Devangshi
Mercy Killing: A Plea A poem At the turn of the wheel of time, at 9 in the night, Sprawled with battle of life and death, The wheel with the one least welcome.
The doctor masked with fatality of cause, As Mercy laboured its last breath for a mechanical death.
No, this is not inhumane! It is human mercy! Mercy was not killed, this is mercy killing.
To spare the tree is to spoil the fruit, As is advocated, and so is legislated, The doctrine for the right to live.
At the top of the hour, at 9 in the night, Flushed, flowing, free, down the drain, Ran her right to live.
The doctor pointed the fatal needle, For mercy missed its breath for a calculated death.
Mercy was not killed; it was a mercy killing.
To seize the clog, to severe the cord of life support, As directed and so acted.
Was it a mercy killing, Or was it killing of mercy, At the 9th chime of the clock, late at night. -Pavithra
Euthanasia: A not so necessary evil A poem She asks me to kill the spider, Instead, I get the most Peaceful weapons I find.
I grab a cup and a napkin, I catch it an allow it to walk away.
If I am ever caught in the wrong place, At the wrong time, just being alive, And bothering no one;
I hope that I am greeted with, The same kind of mercy. -Pavithra
A COMPARATIVE study
The Netherlands Dutch Penal Code Articles 293 and 294 make both euthanasia and assisted suicide illegal, even today. However, as the result of various court cases, doctors who directly kill patients or help patients kill themselves will not be prosecuted as long as they follow certain guidelines. In addition to the current requirements that physicians report every euthanasia/assisted-suicide death to the local prosecutor and that the patient’s death request must be enduring (carefully considered and requested on more than one occasion), the Rotterdam court in 1981 established the following guidelines:
The patient must be experiencing unbearable pain.
The patient must be conscious.
The death request must be voluntary.
The patient must have been given alternatives to euthanasia and time to consider these alternatives.
There must be no other reasonable solutions to the problem.
The patient’s death cannot inflict unnecessary suffering on others.
There must be more than one person involved in the euthanasia decision.
Only a doctor can euthanize a patient.
Great care must be taken in actually making the death decision.
India The Constitution of India under Article 21 guarantees the right to every individual to live with dignity. This is as a Fundamental Right bestowed upon every Indian by the Constitution of India.
Passive euthanasia is a means by which a patient is "allowed" to die by a deliberate withdrawal of life sustaining treatment, in order to induce death. Basically, the practice of passive euthanasia is conducted by means of a willful neglect to sustain life. This allows the hand of nature to take its course and allow the body to achieve a final halt. By way of passive euthanasia, it is legal for doctors to withdraw life support to patients who are in a permanent vegetative state, as per the landmark judgement in Aruna Shanbaug's case.
In order to live in a truly Utopian society, we must learn to live as individuals that respect their fellow citizens, irrespective of any form of distinction. We must learn to respect and maintain the dignity of the human race. After all, it is only hand-in-hand that we will be able to progress towards that distant horizon of perfection.
STRIVING TOWARDS UTOPIA A poem A right to life, a right to death, A right to take in every breath. A right to hold your head up high, Never afraid of an evil eye. Pride in your faith, pride in your race, Never afraid to show your face. Never being judged for what you wear, Persevere, and we will get there. Respect everyone, no matter who they are. Let the past heal into a light scar. Let the scars remind us that we are all the same. Let us never lose our humanity again. Let us rise together, walking hand-in-hand, And against injustice, let us take a stand. For always remember that humanity, Can never survive without dignity. -Devangshi