Life without Rights – Prison in Guantanamo Bay Citizen’s Rights in Saudi Arabia and Ethnic Massacre in Kosovo
* A government fails to be a democracy if the people don’t enjoy any rights.
* Post 9/11, the US defence forces captured 600 people from all over the world and held them as prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay.
* The prisoners were tortured and treated inhumanly.
* Amnesty International reported the status of these prisoners.
* However, the US government did not release them in spite of UN intervention.
* President Obama has promised to put a stop to this inhuman act.
* Saudi Arabia is a monarchy.
* Non- Muslim people in Saudi Arabia can practise their religion in private, but not in public.
* Women in Saudi Arabia don’t enjoy the same rights and recognition as men.
* In 1999, Milosevic was elected as a representative of the people in Kosovo, a province of Yugoslavia before it splits.
* Milosevic’s motto was to make Yugoslavia a country dominated by the Serbs.
* Milosevic wanted that other ethnic minorities should leave Yugoslavia or bow down to the Serbs. Therefore, he became hostile to the Albanians and started killing them.
* Serbian troops continued this massacre under the leadership of Milosevic, until other countries in the world intervened.
* Finally, Milosevic was tried in the International court of Justice for his inhuman acts.
* Human being craves for a secure, dignified and fair arrangement.
Rights in a Democracy
* The desire for a system where a minimum is a guaranteed to everyone is the real spirit behind aspiring for rights.
* Rights are legal and moral entitlements or claims of a person over other fellow beings, over society and over the government.
* Claims that are recognised by society as rightful form the basis of rights.
* With changing times, the scope and meaning of rights also changes.
* Claims need to be reasonable, recognised by society and sanctioned by the law.
* Rights are the basic requirement to sustain a democracy.
* In the most democracies, the basic rights of a citizen are documented in the constitution.
Rights in the Indian constitution-I
* The constitution of India provides six fundamental rights.
The first three are:
* The Rights to Equality
* The Rights to Constitutional Remedies.
* The Rights to certain Freedom
* The right to equality states that the government shall not deny to any person in
* India equality before the law or equal protection of the law
* The right to equality also states that no religion, caste, ethnicity, sex or place of birth.
* The freedom of speech and expression is one of the essential features of any democracy. You have the freedom to think differently and express your views accordingly.
* Every citizen has the freedom to travel to any part of the country.
* The right to liberty also states that no person can be deprived of his/her life or personal liberty.
* The right against exploitation lays down clear provisions to prevent exploitation of the weaker sections of society
* The right prohibits trafficking in human, forced labour, begging and child labour.
Rights in the Indian constitution-II
The remaining three of the six fundamental rights in the Indian constitution are:
* The right against exploitation
* Cultural and educational rights are
* The rights to freedom of religion
The rights to freedom of religion states that every citizen has the right to profess practice and propagate the religion he or she believes in.
* The language, cultural and religion of minorities need special protection. So the constitution specifies the cultural and educational rights of the minorities.
* The rights to seek the enforcement of these rights through a court are called the right to constitutional remedies.
* The litigation against the violation of fundamental rights of social or public interest is called a Public Interest litigation or PIL.
Expanding Scope of Rights
* The constitution provides for rights other than the fundamental rights.
* The rights to press, right to information and right to education are derived from the fundamental rights.
* The scopes of rights have also expanded over the years.
* The rights to life now include the right to vote.
* Other rights granted by the Indian Constitution include the rights to property and the right to vote.
* Human rights are also gaining popularity and importance in all democratic countries.
The new rights granted by the constitution of South Africa include the following:
* The right to privacy.
* The right to a safe and harmless environment.
* The right to have access to adequate housing.
* The right to have access to healthcare services, enough food and water, and emergency medical attention.