Universal Declaration of Human rights - 2

In the June, 2008 issue, we introduced you to this declaration and also took up a few issues relating to Article-1 of this declaration. In this issue, we will talk about the second Article. We will try and understand all the articles through cases as we thought of before, so that we will be able to connect better and bring about a positive impact.
Article 2: All people are entitled to rights without distinction based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, opinion, origin, property, birth or residency.
All human beings are born free but grow with a feeling of segregation. These divisions are all man made. Of course cultural diversity is important, but discrimination on various fronts, not just on the individual, but on groups of people is what we believe, will lead to various unnecessary problems. Most conflicts today are because of self made segregation.
Apartheid in South Africa (past), Communalism in India, the Israel – Palestine conflict for “property”, the ill- treatment of the aborigines of Australia and the Roma gypsy community of Europe are all examples of violation of this article. These are just a few of the many hundred’s of cases. These are a few which completely violate the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
This article (2) is extremely broad, encompassing various aspects of people’s interaction with others. Let us rewind back to the “ World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance” which took place in South Africa, 2001. This was a coming together of more than 150 countries who are members of United Nations, specialized UN organizations and government organizations on this common agenda. The UN has been trying hard to fight racial discrimination. But, unfortunately it slid into the background due to the 9/11 attacks which took place just days after this conference concluded.
There were various issues discussed including the sources, the victims, the measures for prevention and the strategies required to overcome these challenges. At the end of it, a total of 160 states agreed with the final declaration. It urges all governments, "who have not contributed to restoring the dignity of the victims to find appropriate ways to do so" but does not call for the United Kingdom, and other former colonial powers, to pay reparations. Almost all countries recognized that there was still racism and related intolerance still existed in a large extent and that they will have to work in that direction. They came out with various strategies including involving other NGO’s, organizations working in that area to be taken into decision making in major policies and providing access to education and health facilities without discrimination. This conference had a huge participation from all countries and it was aimed to bring together a positive impact. We want to take this forward and make everyone aware of this.
Here, in Sambhav, the people who we work with have also been discriminated due to their descent. Prior to 1952, there were communities who were classified as “criminal tribes”, and anyone belonging to these communities automatically became criminals! Though now the name has been modified to “de-notified tribes (DNT)”, the stigma still remains even after more than 50 years. But unfortunately along with the Criminal tribes Act of 1952, the government concurrently enacted a series of Habitual Offenders Acts. These Acts asked police authorities to investigate a suspect’s criminal tendencies and whether his occupation is “conducive to settled way of life”. Although the Habitual Offenders Acts have been banned, police forces around the country still persecute the De-notified and Nomadic Tribes the same way on many cases. These tribes are regularly subject to public humiliation, beatings and custodial deaths.
It will take time to for the people to change their mind; but again, it is us who will have to initiate this change. We need participation of all individuals and people in making our society free of any “man-made” barriers. We have to ensure justice for all and see that every individual enjoys his human rights. We believe that all people constitute one human family, however different their cultures may be.