Human Rights Protection Agencies and Mechanism

Introduction

In the founding Charter of the United Nations, the word “human rights” was stated seven times, rendering the preservation and protection of human rights a central priority and guiding principle of the Organization. Human rights, irrespective of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status, are rights inherent in all human beings. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of thought and expression, the right to work and education, and many more.

In order to encourage and secure civil rights and basic liberties of persons or organizations, universal human rights law sets down the duties of states to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain activities. The establishment of a substantive body of human rights law, a standardized and internationally covered code to which all nations may subscribe and all persons strive, is one of the United Nations’ great achievements. A wide number of globally recognized human rights have been established by the United Nations, including legal, educational, economic, political, and social rights. Mechanisms to encourage and protect these rights and to assist states in carrying out their obligations have also been created.

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

A landmark text in the history of human rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR forms the so-called International Bill on Human Rights, along with two other texts^[1]

• International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols (on the mechanism for lawsuits and on the death penalty)
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol.

Civil and Political Rights provided under UDHR

 The right to work in fair and desirable conditions;

The right to social security, to an acceptable standard of living, and to the highest physical and mental well-being levels attainable;

The right to education and the enjoyment of cultural freedom and scientific progress

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights under UDHR

The Covenant is concerned with rights such as

1. Freedom of movement
2. Equality before the law
3. The right to a fair hearing and the presumption of innocence
4.  Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion
5.  Freedom of speech and expression
6. Freedom of peaceful assembly
7. Freedom of association
8.  Participation in public relations and elections
9. The preservation of the rights of minorities

THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

Under the United Nations framework, the Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body responsible for improving the pursuit and defense of human rights across the globe and for discussing and issuing recommendations on human rights abuses. It has the capacity to resolve all thematic problems of human rights and circumstances that need its attention during the year. They meet at the Geneva Headquarters of the United Nations.^[2]

Complaint mechanism under the Human Rights Council

The central principle of the complaint processes under the human rights treaties is that anybody can file a complaint against a State Party claiming a complaint.

A case may be filed against a State only when it meets two conditions. First, it must be a party to the convention (through ratification or accession) that provides for the supposedly violated rights. Second, the State Party must have understood and recognized the committee’s integrity.

Although it is not mandatory to send a report to a commission, often called a communication or a petition, in a standardized format, it is advised to use the model complaint forms and instructions attached below^[3] –

1. The complaint should be written, legible, ideally typed, and signed.
2. It is only possible to recognize correspondence sent in one of the official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish).
3. The complaint should include the complainant’s identity, nationality, date of birth, postal address, and e-mail address, and other such basic personal information.
4. It is important to lay out all the evidence on which the complaint is based, in chronological order. The account must be as accurate and provide all the material related to the case as possible. The plaintiff must claim that he or she finds the mentioned evidence to represent an infringement of the convention at issue.

Landmark case relating to women’s right to access legal abortion

The first abortion case, KL v. Peru, was resolved by the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC). The ruling points out that restricting access to medical abortion contradicts the most fundamental human rights of women. This is the first time a country has been kept accountable by an international human rights agency for failure to provide access to lawful abortion care.

In fact, the decision establishes violations of the freedom to be protected from cruel, inhuman and degrading abuse, anonymity and special protection of a minor’s interests. It directs the government of Peru to offer restitution to KL and to enact the necessary laws to ensure access to legal abortion.[4]

UNITED NATIONS SPECIALIZED AGENCIES

Many of the United Nations’ specialist institutions, funds, and programs have mandates that concern human rights. The secretariats of most treaty bodies and special mechanisms are hosted by the OHCHR. Although other UNESCO and ILO exemption agencies do not have a mechanism for demanding individual human rights, UN agencies may be good allies in the protection of human rights efforts, i.e. in the field of individual grievances as well. Several organizations perform their own empirical studies on human rights.^[5]

1. International Labour Organization

In 1919, the International Labor Organization (ILO) was created, forming part of the Versailles Treaty. ILO became the first Specialized agency in 1946. As a United Nations body, the ILO has a directive to promote social and economic justice by developing Universal Labor Standards.

The international labor standards of the ILO aim to ensure open, efficient, and sustainable employment for all humans worldwide under conditions of equality, fairness, protection, and dignity. These are outlined in its conventions and treaties, of which eight are central conventions protected by the 1998 Resolution of the ILO on Fundamental Values and Rights at Work.

All ILO Member States have a duty to support, encourage and realize the four types of values and rights at work in good faith and in compliance with the Constitution, even though they have not ratified the ILO Conventions to which they refer:

1. Equality of association and productive acceptance of the right to bargain collectively;
2. Elimination of all types of involuntary or forced labor;
3. The successful abolition of child labor;
4. Elimination of discrimination in regards to employment and professions

Daily oversight of the ILO conventions involves, at regular intervals, steps such as the mandatory monitoring practices of each ILO Member State.

2. United Nations International Children’s Fund

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”

It is expressly required by the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to protect and support the rights of children. In the adoption and application of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its protocols, UNICEF helps nations, i.e. the UN Human Rights Instrument, exclusively committed to children. UNICEF sees human rights as a framework of its own and general work in the area of development.

3. United Nations Economic, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The Human Rights Programs of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) focus on –

1. Encouraging and disseminating studies into human rights;
2. Promotion of Human Rights education;
3. Combatting all kinds of discrimination;
4. Encouraging cooperation
5. Protecting and fostering democracy.

Many of the UNESCO Conventions, Declarations, and Guidelines are closely connected to human rights, making the rights of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights more relevant, more tangible, and more open to contemporary society’s challenges. The 1960 Convention against Discrimination and the 2005 International Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights are examples of these.

4. United Nations Development Programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) describes human rights as a major aspect of its work and an important part of human development, thus a central component of equitable development. The Human Development Report, which has become a global reference document worldwide, is released every year by UNDP. The study goes beyond the comparison of GDP statistics alone, with life expectancy, schooling, adult literacy, and gross school enrollment included in its measure of growth.

In the field of human rights and human protection, core elements of UNDP’s work include:

1. Supporting the implementation of National Action Plans on Human Rights;
2. Application of the rights-based programming approach;
3. Assistance for human rights programs including public education, awareness-raising activities, enhancement or establishment of ombudsman’s offices, and extension to sub-national levels of human rights organizations

5.Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).

Several UN civil rights structures, such as the Human Rights Commission, treaty bodies, and special processes, are funded by the OHCHR. The OHCHR then handles the processes of the most relevant UN individual grievances administratively. Consequently, the OHCHR also has a significant theoretical component that supports individual cases of human rights abuses, which by far transcends the sole administrative function of the proceedings. The human rights divisions of UN peacekeeping operations, for instance, report to the OHCHR to some degree.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

From demanding the release of political prisoners to upholding the full range of human rights, Amnesty has developed. Their mission safeguards and empowers people – from abolishing the death penalty to upholding sexual and reproductive freedom, and from combatting injustice to defending refugees and migrants’ rights they focus on various human rights and believe in supporting people to claim their rights.^[6]

Some of the many issues they look into include –

1. Disappearances – People who have simply vanished are victims of forced disappearance; from their loved ones and from their culture. In 2010, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance was placed into effect. It strives to discourage enforced disappearances, reveal the truth when they happen, and ensure accountability, truth, and reparation for survivors and victims’ families. Amnesty International consistently fights for cases of individuals who have been exposed to enforced disappearance and continues to urge countries to assess the status and location of all those who have vanished.
2. Death Penalty – In such cases, without question, Amnesty rejects the death penalty – irrespective of who is convicted, the extent or conditions of the offense, guilt or innocence, or the type of execution. According to Amnesty International, the death penalty violates human rights, in particular the right to life and the right to live free from torture or from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or penalty. For example, in the Nirbhaya Gang rape case they stated that “There is no evidence that the death penalty acts as a particular deterrent to crime, and its use will not eradicate violence against women in India”.^[7]
3. Police Violence – A comprehensive, unbiased, impartial, and open investigation should be carried out in all cases of police use of deadly force. The detailed recommendations of Amnesty International on the use of force by law enforcement explicitly describe how police and other security forces around the world should strengthen their rules, policies, and procedures. They played a vital role in voicing their power in the Jayaraj & Bennicks case.^[8]

RIGHT TO LIFE OF HUMAN BEINGS

Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and personal security. In slavery or servitude, no one shall be held; slavery and the slave trade shall be forbidden in all their ways. No one shall be subjected to torture or to treatment or discipline that is cruel, inhuman, or degrading.^[9]

In case of any violations of human rights all persons can turn to these institutions respectively

1. In the case of serious crimes (genocide, a crime against humanity, war crime): International Criminal Court

2. Children under 18 years may turn to: Committee on the Rights of the Child

3. Migrants may turn to: Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants 

4. Migrant workers may turn to: Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their     Families

5. Indigenous people may turn to: Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms  of indigenous people

6. Handicapped persons may turn to: Committee of the Rights of Handicapped Persons

HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA

Human rights in India, despite its position as the world’s largest independent, secular, democratic republic, is a concern complicated by the country’s vast scale and population, pervasive poverty, lack of proper schooling, as well as its diverse community. Fundamental rights, which include freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of movement etc are guaranteed by the Constitution of India.

State Human Rights Commissions

The 1993 Protection of Human Rights Act provides for the establishment, at the state level, of the State Human Rights Commission. In the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution, a State Human Rights Commission will investigate abuses of human rights relating to subjects protected by the state list and the concurrent list.^[10]

Functions of the Commission –

1. Inquire suo motu, or on a petition lodged by a victim, or another person on his or her behalf, to inquire about a breach of human rights or incompetence in stopping a public official from committing such a violation.
2. Visit any prison or any other facility under the jurisdiction of the State Government where people are imprisoned to research and make recommendations on the living conditions of the prisoners.
3. Spreading literacy on human rights across different parts of society and fostering understanding of the protections available to secure these rights.
4. The commission is empowered to control its own operation. It has all the powers of a civil court and has a judicial character in its procedures. It can ask the state government or some other subordinate authority for information or reporting.

National Human Rights Commission

The NHRC of India is an independent legislative body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, later amended in 2006. It is the country’s human rights watchdog, i.e. the rights of the citizen relating to life, liberty, freedom and dignity protected by the Indian Constitution or expressed in international agreements and enforceable by courts in India.^[11]

Functions of NHRC –

1. Either suo moto or after receiving a petition, NHRC addresses allegations about the abuse of human rights. It has the authority to intervene in all legal cases that include the accusation of human rights abuses.
2. NHRC works to spread human rights literacy across different parts of society and, through journals, newspapers, seminars and other ways, promotes understanding of the protections available for the defense of these rights.
3. Both federal and state governments may be urged to take adequate measures to avoid human rights abuses by the committee. It shall send its annual report to the President of India, who shall make it public to each House of Parliament.

On 22nd December 2020, the NHRC sought reports on cases of witchcraft in Odisha. The NHRC also instructed authorities, with the aid of recognized NGOs, to carry out awareness campaigns in schools and to offer monetary compensation to victims or relatives of victims who were “killed, maimed, burned or assaulted on the suspicion/allegation of witchcraft”.^[12]

CONCLUSION

We face great challenges, but we must note that not in any ideal utopia, but as our collective reaction to one of the greatest crimes of history, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenants founded upon it were created. Together, to contradict the message of animosity and hatred, we must continue to create an alternate discourse of unity and human rights. Treaties on human rights provide us with the means to do so. While change has been awe-inspiring, we cannot take it for granted, nor should we be happy to assume that it cannot be severely hampered. It needs all of us to stand up to those who face violence or prejudice to ensure that the Covenants are enforced on the surface, far from the meeting rooms in Geneva. History has tended toward greater inclusion and dignity for all, and it is within our power to make sure that this pattern is not broken by continuing to stand together for human rights.

^[1] https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

^[2] https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/hrc/pages/home.aspx

^[3] https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/ComplaintProcedure/Pages/HRCComplaintProcedureIndex.aspx

[4] https://www.reproductiverights.org/press-room/un-human-rights-committee-makes-landmark-decision-establishing-womens-right-to-access-to-

^[5] http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/un_agencies.html (last visited 23rd December 2020)

^[6] https://www.amnesty.org/en/

^[7] https://amnesty.org.in/news-update/death-penalty-doesnt-end-violence-against-women/

^[8] https://amnesty.org.in/news-update/tn-govt-must-end-impunity-for-police-officers-involved-in-thoothukudi-custodial-deaths/

^[9] http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/right_to_life.html (last visited 23rd December 2020)

^[10] https://nhrc.nic.in/about-us/state-commission

^[11] https://nhrc.nic.in/ (last visited 24th December 2020).

^[12] http://www.businessworld.in/article/NHRC-seeks-report-on-witch-hunting-from-Odisha-CS-DGP/20-12-2020-356052/

Author Details: Meghna Sherman (Student, Symbiosis Law School, Pune)