UDHR, being the milestone and first comprehensive document on human rights, is a part of many international treaties and documents and national laws, including constitutions and statues. It consists of 30 articles which guarantee different human rights, such as freedom of expression, right to equality, right to property, and right to education, and so on.
As we are reading this article, thousands of individuals are learning, mooting, shouting and chanting slogans the issues and articles enshrined in UDHR. The Guinness World Records describes UDHR as the most translated document which signifies its popularity across politically and socio-economically divided nations. To honor UDHR, awareness campaigns and programs are held across continents on this day. In reality, no socio-economic diversities, no political differences, and no cultural constraints act as barriers for the promotion of human rights and its universal, inherent, inalienable, and indivisible characteristics on this day.
Marking this day by honoring UDHR is of great essence, and the need for many nations, including Nepal. Nations have been marking this day through various measures for long. Nepal is also not alien to it, and has been doing it for several years. This year, too, some of us are marking this day in one or other ways. Each year, this day is marked with a theme. “Human Rights Defenders Who Act to End Discrimination” is this year’s theme. Respecting great contributions of human rights advocates, emphasizing their risks while defending it, and highlighting their roles are the key reasons for marking this day for their tireless efforts.
While we are commemorating this day, it is necessary for us to know that it is done to honor and respect UDHR, its objectives and fundamental values. Among several objectives of UDHR, recognizing, respecting, and protecting human rights as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace is the crucial one. UDHR is proclaimed as “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society…shall strive by teaching … to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.” (Preamble, UDHR). Nepal is one of its member states.
In terms of Nepal, organizing seminars, workshops, campaigns, issuing press releases and arranging meets, and expressing opinions from state and non-state actors are some of the common phenomena of the day for the past several years. In doing so, status reports are published, achievements are highlighted, experiences are shared, and commitments are made on contemporary issues of human rights.
However, the question remains, despite all these efforts for several years, as to where does Nepal stand in terms of human rights, its promotion and protection? Why are we still striving for promotion and respect for human rights? Are progressive measures being effective for the recognition and observation of human rights? And, have we really accepted UDHR as a common standard of our actions? Observing the present and past trends, it establishes that achieving these spirits and objectives of UDHR has been a distant reality in Nepal.
The present position of human rights promotion and protection is at stake. Frequent instances of violation against women, child rights violation, and social evils such as dowry system and practices of untouchability still prevail in our society. Increasing socio-economic gaps between elites and underprivileged groups, human trafficking, problems of marginalization, and social security, etc. have added fuels to disrespect of human rights. Further, lack of implementation of laws and policies in an adequate manner also proves that our society is yet to recognize and observe human rights norms and values to its fullest possible way. For instance, despite progressive efforts such as the government’s announcement of the Prime Minister’s Campaign to mark 2010 as “Violence Against Women Year,” the recent report of the National Women’s Commission indicated that such practices are rampant.
The present legal measures show that Nepali courts and the Parliament have always been proactive to make progressive laws and policies on human rights. There are many court decisions and laws which meet the expectations and spirit of UDHR, such as recognizing, respecting, protecting, and promoting human rights. Those notwithstanding, however, where have we lacked and what are the problems then?
There are many problems, shortcomings and challenges. It is difficult to precisely scrutinize each of them in this short writing. However, the lack of enforcement of court decisions, laws and policies, and orthodox patriarchal practices and elitism, the transitional state of the society, lack of prompt role of enforcement and monitoring agencies, such as police and the National Human Rights Commission, insufficient role from state and non-state actors, etc. are some of them.
The above findings exemplify that despite many efforts from state and non-state actors, human rights are not respected adequately. In fact, we have not been able to honor the spirits of UDHR. Therefore, it gives only one indication that all our efforts made on previous International Human Rights Days were not able to honor UDHR, which was primarily supposed to have been done.
As a result, while we are commemorating this important day, why do we not also assess our past mistakes, the present problems and challenges for the maximum enjoyment of human rights? Marking this day is really important, but it may also be as important as to assess the outcomes of various awareness campaigns and programs, press releases and meets, and commitments made during the past decades. It is because satisfactory results required for the adequate respect of the universal, inherent, inalienable, and indivisible characteristics of human rights were not achieved. Therefore, let us seek to rationalize and implement the objectives of UDHR as a common standard of our achievements from tomorrow onwards.
The writer is a project officer for Citizens’ Campaign for Right to Information.
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