Safeguarding human rights

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) alongwith the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) had recently observed Human Rights day in the Capital. The chief guest for the occasion was Morten Kjaerum, chairperson, International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions. Justice A S Anand, chairperson, NHRC; Shalini Dewan, director, UNIC, India and Bhutan; and P S S Thomas, secretary general, NHRC, were among the other dignitaries present on the occasion.Emphasising that it is paramount to promote and protect human rights, Kjaerum said: "Human rights create space for life and living. They foster respect for one self and for others. Human rights help to create a society where diversity and difference is respected and they help to remind us to include the weak and the vulnerable in state policies." He added that governments have to realise that in the new inter-related world there are many problems that cannot be solved on their own and here United Nations can play a significant role in facilitating the much-needed dialogue across geographical, cultural and other borders. The occasion moreover, saw the release of NHRC publications including a booklet series on human rights covering topics like manual scavenging, international human rights conventions, sexual harassment of women at the work place, rights of persons with disabilities, and human rights and HIV/ AIDS, to name some. Prizes were given away for the drawing competition held for physically challenged children, organised by the NHRC and British Council. Stating that today a child is victim of sexual abuse, torture, war, violence, poverty, bonded labour, deprivation and denial, Anand remarked, "It is ironical that in this age and time when humanity has made great strides in the technological, medical and scientific fields for adding to the comfort of living, we witness an almost total neglect of the rights of the child." Human Rights day 2004 has been dedicated to human rights education. Speaking about the various endeavours being taken to promote human rights education in the country, Anand informed that there are nearly 35 universities/ institutes in the country offering certificate, diploma and degree courses on human rights education, and efforts are on to introduce human rights education at the school level as well.