Introduction

People acquired rights and responsibilities through their membership in a

group a family, indigenous nation, religion, class, community, or state. Most

societies have had traditions similar to the "golden rule" of "Do unto others as

you would have them do unto you." The Hindu Vedas, the Babylonian Code of

Hammurabi, the Bible, the Quran (Koran), and the Analects of Confucius are five

of the oldest written sources which address questions of peoples duties, rights,

and responsibilities. In fact, all societies, whether in oral or written tradition, have

had systems of propriety and justice as well as ways of tending to the health and

welfare of their members.

The struggle for the respect of human rights was originally a domestic or

national issue. The citizens of the state assert their unending rights against

tyrannical rulers. The belief that everyone, by virtue of her or his humanity, is

entitled to certain human rights is fairly new. Its roots, however, lie in earlier

tradition and documents of many cultures; it took the catalyst of World War II to

propel human rights onto the global stage and into the global conscience.

The atrocities committed on masses of people during World War II have

convinced international jurists that the protection of human rights should be an

international concern. It was for this reason that one of the objectives of the

United Nations was the reaffirmation in fundamental human person and dignity

and worth of the human person.

 On December 10 1948, the Universal Declaration of human rights was

adopted by the 56 members of united nations. The UDHR commonly referred to

as the international magna carta, extended the revolution in the international law

ushered in by the un charternamely, that how the government treats its own

citizens is now a matter of legitimate international concern, and not simply a

domestic issue.it claims that all rights are independent and indivisible. Its

preamble eloquently asserts that 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.

With the goal of establishing mechanisms for the enforcing of the UDHR,

the un commission on human rights proceeded to draft two treaties the ICCPR

and its option protocol, the ICESCR. Together with the UDHR, they are

commonly referred to as the international bill of rights. The ICCPR focuses on

such issues as the right to life, freedom of speech, religion and voting. The

ICESCR focuses on such issues as food, education health and shelter. No

covenants trumpet the extension of rights to all persons and prohibit

discrimination. Respect for human rights mainly concerns individuals without

distinction as to the nationality or citizenship. Violation of human rights are

offenses without borders. Asserting human rights all over the countries has been

a struggle from the past up to the present.

 Discussion

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights advocates agree that, sixty years after its issue, the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still more a dream than reality.

Violations exist in every part of the world. For example, Amnesty Internationals

2009 World Report and other sources show that individuals are:

Tortured or abused in at least 81 countries

Face unfair trials in at least 54 countries

Restricted in their freedom of expression in at least 77 countries

Not only that, but women and children in particular are marginalized in

numerous ways, the press is not free in many countries, and dissenters are

silenced, too often permanently. While some gains have been made over the

course of the last six decades, human rights violations still plague the world

today.

Here are examples of violations of six Articles of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights (UDHR):

ARTICLE 3 THE RIGHT TO LIVE FREE

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

An estimated 6,500 people were killed in 2007 in armed conflict in Afghanistan

nearly half being noncombatant civilian deaths at the hands of insurgents.

Hundreds of civilians were also killed in suicide attacks by armed groups.

In Brazil in 2007, according to official figures, police killed at least 1,260

individualsthe highest total to date. All incidents were officially labeled acts of

resistance and received little or no investigation.

In Uganda, 1,500 people die each week in the internally displaced person camps.

According to the World Health Organization, 500,000 have died in these camps.

Vietnamese authorities forced at least 75,000 drug addicts and prostitutes into 71

overpopulated rehab camps, labeling the detainees at high risk of contracting

HIV/AIDS but providing no treatment.

ARTICLE 4 NO SLAVERY

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be

prohibited in all their forms.

In northern Uganda, the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) guerrillas have kidnapped

20,000 children over the past twenty years and forced them into service as

soldiers or sexual slaves for the army.

In Guinea-Bissau, children as young as five are trafficked out of the country to

work in cotton fields in southern Senegal or as beggars in the capital city. In

Ghana, children five to fourteen are tricked with false promises of education and

future into dangerous, unpaid jobs in the fishing industry.

In Asia, Japan is the major destination country for trafficked women, especially

women coming from the Philippines and Thailand. UNICEF estimates 60,000

child prostitutes in the Philippines.

The US State Department estimates 600,000 to 820,000 men, women and

children are trafficked across international borders each year, half of whom are

minors, including record numbers of women and girls fleeing from Iraq. In nearly

all countries, including Canada, the US and the UK, deportation or harassment

are the usual governmental responses, with no assistance services for the

victims.

In the Dominican Republic, the operations of a trafficking ring led to the death by

asphyxiation of 25 Haitian migrant workers. In 2007, two civilians and two military

officers received lenient prison sentences for their part in the operation.

In Somalia in 2007, more than 1,400 displaced Somalis and Ethiopian nationals

died at sea in trafficking operations.

ARTICLE 5 NO TORTURE
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment

or punishment.

In 2008, US authorities continued to hold 270 prisoners in Guantnamo Bay,

Cuba, without charge or trial, subjecting them to water-boarding, torture that

simulates drowning. Former-President George W. Bush authorized the CIA to

continue secret detention and interrogation, despite its violation of international

law.

In Darfur, violence, atrocities and abduction are rampant and outside aid all but

cut off. Women in particular are the victims of unrestrained assault, with more

than 200 rapes in the vicinity of a displaced persons camp in one five-week

period, with no effort by authorities to punish the perpetrators.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, acts of torture and ill treatment are

routinely committed by government security services and armed groups,

including sustained beatings, stabbings and rapes of those in custody. Detainees

are held incommunicado, sometimes in secret detention sites. In 2007, the

Republican Guard (presidential guard) and Special Services police division in

Kinshasa arbitrarily detained and tortured numerous individuals labeled as critics

of the government.

ARTICLE 13 FREEDOM TO MOVE

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the

borders of each State.

2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return

to his country.

In Myanmar, thousands of citizens were detained, including 700 prisoners of

conscience, most notably Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In retaliation

for her political activities, she has been imprisoned or under house arrest for

twelve of the last eighteen years, and has refused government offers of release

that would require her to leave the country.

In Algeria, refugees and asylum-seekers were frequent victims of detention,

expulsion or ill treatment. Twenty-eight individuals from sub-Saharan African

countries with official refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees (UNHCR) were deported to Mali after being falsely tried, without

legal counsel or interpreters, on charges of entering Algeria illegally. They were

dumped near a desert town where a Malian armed group was active, without

food, water or medical aid.

In Kenya, authorities violated international refugee law when they closed the

border to thousands of people fleeing armed conflict in Somalia. Asylum-seekers

were illegally detained at the Kenyan border without charge or trial and forcibly

returned to Somalia.

In northern Uganda, 1.6 million citizens remained in displacement camps. In the

Acholi subregion, the area most affected by armed conflict, 63 percent of the 1.1

million people displaced in 2005 were still living in camps in 2007, with only 7,000

returned permanently to their places of origin.

ARTICLE 18 FREEDOM OF THOUGHT

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right

includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in

community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in

teaching, practice, worship and observance.

In Myanmar, the military junta crushed peaceful demonstrations led by monks,

raided and closed monasteries, confiscated and destroyed property, shot, beat

and detained protesters, and harassed or held hostage the friends and family

members of the protesters.

In China, Falun Gong practitioners were singled out for torture and other abuses

while in detention. Christians were persecuted for practicing their religion outside

state-sanctioned channels.

In Kazakhstan, local authorities in a community near Almaty authorized the

destruction of twelve homes, all belonging to Hare Krishna members, falsely

charging that the land on which the homes were built had been illegally acquired.

Only homes belonging to members of the Hare Krishna community were

destroyed.

ARTICLE 19 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes

freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart

information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

In Sudan, dozens of human rights defenders were arrested and tortured by

national intelligence and security forces.

In Ethiopia, two prominent human rights defenders were convicted on false

charges and sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

In Somalia, a prominent human rights defender was murdered.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the government attacks and threatens

human rights defenders and restricts freedom of expression and association. In

2007, provisions of the 2004 Press Act were used by the government to censor

newspapers and limit freedom of expression.

Russia repressed political dissent, pressured or shut down independent media

and harassed nongovernmental organizations. Peaceful public demonstrations

were dispersed with force, and lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists

were threatened and attacked. Since 2000, the murders of seventeen journalists,

all critical of government policies and actions, remain unsolved.

In Iraq, at least thirty-seven Iraqi employees of media networks were killed in

2008, and a total of 235 since the invasion of March 2003, making Iraq the

worlds most dangerous place for journalists.

ARTICLE 21 RIGHT TO DEMOCRACY

1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly

or through freely chosen representatives.

2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.

3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this

will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by

universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent

free voting procedures.

In Zimbabwe, hundreds of human rights defenders and members of the main

opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), were arrested for

participating in peaceful gatherings.

In Pakistan, thousands of lawyers, journalists, human rights defenders and

political activists were arrested for demanding democracy, the rule of law and an

independent judiciary.

In Cuba, at the end of 2007, sixty two prisoners of conscience remained

incarcerated for their nonviolent political views or activities.

SUMMARY

Human rights exist, as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

and the entire body of international human rights law. They are recognizedat

least in principleby most nations and form the heart of many national
constitutions. Yet the actual situation in the world is far distant from the ideals

envisioned in the Declaration.

To some, the full realization of human rights is a remote and unattainable goal.

Even international human rights laws are difficult to enforce and pursuing a

complaint can take years and a great deal of money. These international laws

serve as a restraining function but are insufficient to provide adequate human

rights protection, as evidenced by the stark reality of abuses perpetrated daily.

Discrimination is rampant throughout the world. Thousands are in prison for

speaking their minds. Torture and politically motivated imprisonment, often

without trial, are commonplace, condoned and practicedeven in some

democratic countries.

Amnesty International reveals the 10 worst attacks on human rights across the

world last year

Report issues damning assessment on the state of human rights in the world

right now

The world reached a nadir for human rights in the past year and international

systems are no longer adequate to cope, according to an Amnesty International

report.
Amnesty identified 10 key examples of countries where there have been attacks

on individual human rights and the institutions designed to protect them on a

national scale (see gallery below).

With its bitter and ongoing civil war, Syria unsurprisingly features prominently in

the report on The State of the Worlds Human Rights 2015/16.

But from Israel and Egypt to Russia and Hungary, other countries were included

on the list despite being at peace and, like the latter, in the EU.

In his foreword to the report, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antnio

Guterres said its pages cannot convey the full human misery of the topical crisis

of this last year.

In such a situation, protecting and strengthening systems of human rights and

civilian protection cannot be seen as optional, he said. It is literally a matter of

life and death.

In its global release for the report, Amnesty said international protections for

human rights were "unravelling".

Salil Shetty, the secretary-general of Amnesty International, said "more than 70

years of hard work and human progress lies at risk".

The world today is facing many challenges which, at their source, have been

created or prolonged by governments who have played politics with peoples

lives. Refugees are suffering in their millions as conflicts proliferate, and armed

groups deliberately attack civilians and commit other grave abuses, he said.

It is within world leaders power to prevent these crises from spiralling further out

of control. Governments must halt their assault on our rights and strengthen the

defences the world has put in place to protect them. Human rights are a

necessity, not an accessory; and the stakes for humankind have never been

higher.

Here is a summary of what the report found for each of the 10 countries identified

in the gallery above:

China

A massive nationwide crackdown against human rights lawyers; new laws with a

national security focus that present grave dangers to human rights; authorities

stepped up their controls over the internet, mass media and academia; Televised

confessions of critics detained for investigation multiplied; Freedom of religion

continued to be systematically stifled; The government maintained extensive

controls over Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.

Egypt

Executions were carried out following grossly unfair trials; Detainees faced

torture and other illtreatment; Women and members of religious minorities were

subject to discrimination and inadequately protected against violence; The

authorities arbitrarily restricted the rights to freedom of expression, association

and peaceful assembly, enacted a draconian new antiterrorism law, and arrested

and imprisoned government critics and political opposition leaders and activists,

subjecting some to enforced disappearance.`

Hungary

Constructed fences along its southern borders, criminalized irregular entry to its

territory and expedited the return of asylum-seekers and refugees to Serbia,

effectively transforming Hungary into a refugee protection-free zone. Roma

continued to be at risk of forced eviction and inadequately protected against hate

crimes.

Israel

Unlawful killings of Palestinian civilians, including children, and thousands of

Palestinians detained who protested against or otherwise opposed Israels

continuing military occupation, holding hundreds in administrative detention;

Torture and other ill-treatment remained rife and were committed with impunity;

Israeli settlers in the West Bank attacked Palestinians and their property with

virtual impunity.

Gambia

The December 2014 attempted coup led to arrests and further human rights

violations. The authorities continued to repress dissent and display a lack of

willingness to cooperate with the UN and regional human rights mechanisms or

comply with their recommendations.

Kenya

Continued attacks in Kenya carried out by al-Shabaab, the Somali-based armed

group, led Kenya to step up its counter-terrorism operations, which resulted in an

increase of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and other human

rights violations. Human rights organizations reporting on violations by security

agencies during these operations were increasingly harassed. Some civil society

organizations were shut down or threatened with closure through judicial or

administrative measures.

Pakistan

Executions resumed; newly established military courts were authorized to try all

those accused of terrorism-related offences, including civilians; Religious

minorities continued to face discrimination, persecution and targeted attacks;

Human rights activists experienced harassment and abuse.

Russia

Freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly remained severely restricted;

the authorities dominated the print and broadcast media, and further extended

their control over the internet; growing numbers of individuals were arrested and

criminally charged for criticizing state policy and publicly displaying or possessing

materials deemed extremist or otherwise unlawful under vague national security

legislation; refugees faced numerous obstacles in accessing international

protection; serious human rights violations continued in the North Caucasus, and

human rights defenders reporting from the region faced harassment.

Saudi Arabia

The government continued to severely restrict freedoms of expression,

association and assembly. The authorities arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned

human rights defenders and government critics, often after unfair trials; torture

and other ill-treatment of detainees remained common; women faced

discrimination in law and in practice and were inadequately protected against

sexual and other violence; the authorities used the death penalty extensively and

carried out more than 150 executions.

Syria

Government forces and non-state armed groups committed war crimes, other

violations of international humanitarian law and gross human rights abuses with

impunity in the internal armed conflict.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

USA

Right to self-determination

In November, people in seven American federal states collected sufficient

numbers of signatures necessary for a secession from the USA. The civil

petitions have been posted on a White House websites special section, where

people can leave their submissions or join those posted earlier. To begin dealing

with a petition, the White House needs to receive at least 25 thousand signatures

in 30 days. Once this requirement is met, an official response will be published

on the website. The Texas petition gathered more than 125 thousand signatures.

The petition points out that the US economic travails resulted from the Federal

Governments failure to reform fiscal policies. In addition to Texas, Louisiana,

Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee have also collected

the required numbers. So far, the White House has not considered the civilian

petitions, which can be regarded as violation of the right to self-determination.

Right to Peaceful Assembly, Freedom of Expression, Torture 28.01.2012,

Auckland: the police used rubber batons, tear gas and noise explosives to

disperse a protest staged by the Occupy Wall Street movement. The

protestors attempt to break into a mayors office resulted in a large number of

detentions (around 400 people). According to the protests organizers, several

participants were hospitalized, including a pregnant woman beaten by batons.

20.05.2012, Chicago: around 60 protestors against the NATO Summit in the city

were detained during the unrest. The police used rubber batons. The organizers

claim that 12 people suffered from head injuries. 17.09.2012, New York City: the

police have made massive arrests with the use of force among the

demonstrators, who marked one year since the Occupy Wall Street movement

was founded.

Roughly 150 people were arrested directly during the protest, whereas

over 50 individuals were apprehended prior to the event. Overall, around 1000

people took part in the demonstration against both the growing social and wealth

inequality in the USA and excessive influence that large corporations have on
policies. Numerous arrests of journalists, who provided coverage of the

Occupy Wall Streets events in 2011 sharply brought down the US ranking

(47th, a drop of 27 positions) in the The Freedom of Press Index in 2011-2012.

Sweden

Racial Discrimination, Religious Intolerance, National Minorities Rights

According to one of Sweden universitys studies, around 40% of Muslim

communities and Muslim organizations activists face targeted criminal acts,

including vandalism, threats, physical violence in Sweden . According to the Pew

Research Center (US), in 2011, Sweden ranked among the first ten countries of

the world with the highest increase in social conflicts on religious grounds.

Discrimination on the Ground of Gender

According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Br), the

number of men who reported having been victims of sexual violence has

increased four-fold in 2011. Measures that the Government took in order to

prevent such kind of crimes are not being reported.

Switzerland

Torture
 According to the report by the European Committee for the Prevention of

torture, the conditions in Geneva and Vaud cantons prisons do not conform to

international standards: the police resort to violence; lack of medical

treatment; lack of access to urgent correspondence with lawyers and relatives.

Right to Leave any Country In April, the Swiss authorities prevented more than

40 NGO representatives and pro-Palestine activists from leaving the country in

order to take part in a ceremony of opening a new school in Bethlehem (the West

Bank territory).

Spain

Right to Peaceful Assembly, Freedom of Expression, Torture

Systematic use of special means, increased number of cases when

participants of peaceful rallies against austerity measures are beaten by the

police. 29.03.2012 Madrid: as a result of attacks by the police more than 10

persons were injured, 170 persons were arrested during the manifest. Police

used batons and rubber bullets. 29.03.2012 Barcelona: the police used tear gas

and rubber bullets to break up a protest rally. 11.07.2012 Madrid: the police used

rubber bullets and batons to break up a miners rally protesting against cuts of

government financing of the mining industry. 76 individuals received injuries, 8

out of them were hospitalized, 7 persons were arrested. Madrid: police used

water cannons and rubber bullets to break up protesters (mainly teachers and

doctors) on the day of nation-wide protests against budget cuts. 6 persons

suffered, 7 protesters were arrested. Madrid: over 2000 protesters took part in a

rally Occupy Congress against tough austerity measures. Police used rubber

bullets and batons. 65 persons were wounded.

Madrid, Barcelona: the police used batons, tear gas, and rubber bullets to

break up rallies attended by thousands of citizens protesting against tough

austerity measures. Rallies were organized by Confederation of the European

trade unions and key Spanish trade union UGT within a span of all European

protest action Day of actions. 107 were lightly wounded. Over 170 protesters

were detained. Authorities are threatening participants of protest rallies with

sanctions: reprimands, money penalties, dismissals.

Slovakia

National Minorities Rights, Economic and Social Rights

Insufficient measures taken by the government to promote the rights of the

Roma population (about 165,000 people) have resulted in miserable situation of

those national minorities. The World Banks report on the situation of the Roma

population in Slovakia published in October demonstrates that: 80% of men

and 91% of women are unemployed (the worst rate among the EU member

states); average salary of the Roma men is as much as two times lower than

the salary of and other nationality; 87% of households are at risk of poverty,

one third of children go to bed hungry approximately once a month; 72% of

Roma children do not attend kindergarten; life expectancy rate of the Roma
population is 15 years less than that of representatives of the titular nation,

including due to numerous deaths from the so-called diseases of the third world.

International Covenant for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

Economic and Social Rights

Social and economic policies pursued by the authorities spurred a number

of large strikes. Rallies and demonstrations were held on a regular basis, during

which the protestors demanded a change of government, higher wages, social

and retirement benefits, as well as lower taxes and prices. Over 15 thousand

employees in education went on strike on 7-9 March. The protestors demanded a

raise in a minimal wage rate. The protest was attended by employees

representing over 600 schools and kindergartens across the country. From 1 to

25 October, several hospitals employees in Tallinn and a clinic in Tartu took part

in a strike organized by healthcare union. The medical workers demanded higher

salaries and lower workload.

Ireland

Economic and Social Rights

Dublin: thousands of citizens took part in a protest rally against the new

real estate tax. Imprisonment is foreseen for those who do not pay it. Police used

force to hold back the protesters from the headquarters of the ruling party.
26.11.2012 Dublin: around 10 000 people took part in a protest rally against

economic policy of the government, another tax increase, and social cuts that are

foreseen in the new budget. Austerity measures have downgraded a medium

income of an Irish by 15%, countrys unemployment rate has reached 14.8%.

Slovakia

National Minorities Rights, Economic and Social Rights

Insufficient measures taken by the government to promote the rights of the

Roma population (about 165,000 people) have resulted in miserable situation of

those national minorities. The World Banks report on the situation of the Roma

population in Slovakia published in October demonstrates that: 80% of men

and 91% of women are unemployed (the worst rate among the EU member

states); average salary of the Roma men is as much as two times lower than

the salary of an other nationality; 87% of households are at risk of poverty, one

third of children go to bed hungry approximately once a month; 72% of Roma

children do not attend kindergarten; life expectancy rate of the Roma

population is 15 years less than that of representatives of the titular nation,

including due to numerous deaths from the so-called diseases of the third world.

Spain

Economic and Social Rights

Spain faces massive strikes and protest rallies against governments policy that

has inter alia led to substantial increase of unemployment. Economic policy of

Spain threatens basic rights to work and to have decent standards of living.

According to data, published in October by the EU statistical service Eurostat,

the highest unemployment rate in the EU has been registered in Spain over

one fourth of economic active population (25.8%). European Commission is also

concerned with real danger of social crisis and possibility of emerging of lost

generation due to income decrease and growing poverty. According to latest

quarterly EU labour market review, child poverty is becoming a problem for more

households. In Spain almost one fifth of the families are under danger of poverty.

Conclusion

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