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New Tactics in Human Rights

Inspiring and equipping activists to change the world. join us., search form, the use of photography in advancing human rights.

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For brief overview of the topic, read our blog post,  10 Best Practices for NGOs to Consider When Working with Photographers and Photography .

Photography is a powerful tool that can create awareness and effect change. The visual narrative created through photographs can move individuals to a place and understanding of people, geographies, and events that would otherwise be impossible. Used as a tool to document, educate, move, and inform, photographs have the ability to be a powerful resource in the efforts of human rights practitioners when used effectively and ethically.

New Tactics in Human Rights through its online conversation, The Use of Photography in Advancing Human Rights discusses how human rights organizations can utilize photography to tell a story, examine the best practices for the ethical use of photography, and outline how to work with photographers in the field for optimal outcomes.

Tactical examples shared

• Importance of the integrity of the images – Caesar torture evidence file.
• The photographer should have informed freedom.
• Organizations should select photographers with experience in dealing with sensitive subjects.
• Vlad Sokhin’s photo essay, “Crying Meri: Violence Against Women in Papua New Guinea,”  led to legislative action to protect women’s rights in Papua New Guinea.
• Greg Constantine’s advocacy using photo essays to highlight the plight of stateless people – Project Nowhere People.
• PROOF’s exhibition entitled The Legacy of Rape.
• In Nepal, Nayan Tara Gurang’s photos and 2 of the testimonies were brought to the UN Human Rights commission as evidence against the perpetrators by  Trial, a Swiss non-governmental organization.
• Women survivors in Colombia.
• Legal prosecution of sexual violence in conflict ( www.theprosecutorsmovie.com ).
• Purpose of image and agenda of organization are important considerations.
• Gilles Peress’s photos
• Photography exhibition by Christian Holst.
• Children of Syria
• “The Price of Precious”, documenting conflict minerals and mining in Congo, led to future collaborations between humanitarian groups working in Congo and providers of medical supplies. 
• “House of Cards: Rebuilding and Sustenance” – documents local responses to the housing crises.
• “Chicago and the Food Chain” – documents local responses to food access.
• “Sanctuary and Sustenance” launched in 11 cities on World Refugee Day.
• Advocacy strategies
• Community of Practitioners on Accountability and Social Action in Health (COPASAH) ( www.copasah.net )
• In South Asia (India), capacity building of 30 community level practitioners from six different states was done using accessible technology.
• Importance of editing and sequencing.
• Photography in research.

Photography as a Visual Narrative

It is important to maintain the integrity of the photographs, the metadata and the hardware used for taking the photographs as these will be subject to scrutiny. For the purpose of using photos as evidence, it is essential that RAW files are produced to withstand investigation. For images intended for publication, adjustments such as ‘toning’ are common.

Hiring an experienced photographer is important as knowing what to shoot to create a visual narrative is a skill developed by experience. Placing stories is equally important as developing stories for organizations seeking to bring important stories to the public arena. To capture the best images, the photographer ought to be given informed freedom .  Organizations are encouraged to be flexible in respect of this to produce better results for all. Compelling photographs have resulted in legislative action ( Vlad Sokhin’s photo essay, “Crying Meri: Violence Against Women in Papua New Guinea ). It is also important for organizations to work together and share outstanding photographs to build community support to leverage and push for legislative action, and also as a platform/advocacy tool to galvanize action.

Editing and sequencing are important as it affects the efficacy of the photographs. Framing the issue intended to be highlighted is also important. At times, re-framing the issues is necessary to make it more public friendly.

Ethical Considerations

Participants to the conversation discussed that human rights photography need not be impartial, however it has to be honest. Photographers should not alter the conditions under which they operate but navigate them with respect. If at all, any influence a photographer might have on their surroundings must be exerted after first building some sort of relationship and understanding with their subjects. There should be empathy for the subject.

The best human rights images are made by photographers who are passionately engaged and committed to present the truth as best they can. Generally, in the context of human rights, the audience tend to favor the same side as the photographer and exhibiting organization.

Best Practices Working with Photographers and Photography

An organization's approach to their field work  is reflected in the way in which they hire and work with media makers. Organizations should trust and give the photographer informed freedom to present the truth in its best possible form. Organizations should give photographers the liberty to ask questions, pursue curiosity, and respond positively to stories that defy conventional wisdom. This sometimes uncovers human issues that would otherwise normally go unnoticed .

At times, the experience of the photographer as a storyteller is not always recognized. The best use of photography in advocacy campaigns comes when a multi-disciplined team is working together - research, campaign, communications , media and the photographer.   A photographer who understands the issues and the goals of the non-governmental organization stands in a better position to present photos to advance the cause of the organization. Photography is currently being utilized more in  research as photos are being used as visual evidence to support text based reports. ( http://features.hrw.org/features/Unravelling_central_african_republic/in... ).

Negotiating security parameters are tricky for photographers as most freelance photographers cannot afford the type of serious, reliable insurance that covers them for injury to life and limb in hostile environments. However there have been instances that  important images are taken in areas that are out of the security parameters imposed. It is also important for organizations to remunerate photographers accordingly . 

http://time.com/3788100/pete-muller/

http://www.nowherepeople.org/index.php#mi=1&pt=0&pi=6&s=0&p=0&a=0&at=0

http://www.artworksprojects.org/our-projects/thechildrenofsyria/

http://www.rightsexposureproject.com/the-rights-exposure-project/31301-t...

www.theprosecutorsmovie.com

www.copasah.net

http://www.copasah.net/uploads/1/2/6/4/12642634/innovative_use_of_ict_in...

http://www.copasah.net/january---march-2015.html

http://thephotoessay.com/insideout/about.html

http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/foreign-ngos-under-increa...

http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/for-ngos-in-china-a-sense...

http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/15/dying-to-breathe-a-short

http://features.hrw.org/features/Unravelling_central_african_republic/in...

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Photo © 2014 Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi

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Imagine: Reflections on Peace – photo essay

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Colombia, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, and Rwanda, a new project and book by the VII Foundation, Imagine:Reflections on Peace shows the difficult work being done to break cycles of conflict in each country’s recent history. Survivors and photographers who witnessed events during and after the dark times, tell their stories

T he project is conceived to encourage discourse and conversation around peace-building and ending conflict. It is an initiative of The VII Foundation, which was established in 2001 to challenge complex social, economic, environmental and human rights issues through documentary non-fiction storytelling and education.

“When battlefield prowess and political manipulation are not enough to achieve peace through victory, we summon our best and brightest to negotiate an end; we celebrate peace settlements; and we give prizes, if not to victors, then to visionaries. We exalt peace as a human achievement, and justly so. But the reality of peace is flawed. The rewards of peace are elusive for the men and women who live in the post-conflict societies of our time. Why is it so difficult to make a good peace when it is so easy to imagine?”

Palestinians fleeing massacre by Christian gunmen, Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon , 18 January 1976. Photograph: Don McCullin/Contact Press Images.

“I went running with the first wave. It was evening and raining hard. They all wore hoods. We stopped behind a low wall and watched people being shepherded out of a hospital for the insane. People came to the windows of one wing. One of the Falange fighters shouted and when he didn’t get a proper answer he shot a burst of automatic fire into the window. There was the same snip-snap of sniper bullets in the morning. Everyone seemed to have shrunk in the centre of Karantina. An old American truck, like a Dodge pick–up, was brought up with a huge 50mm machine gun mounted on it. The Falangist on top was pouring out fire indiscriminately. It was more than frightening, it was catastrophically fearful, like the dawn of a new dark age. I photographed, and went on photographing. I had pictures that would tell the world something of the enormity of the crime that had taken place in Karantina.” Don McCullin

The Falangist on top was pouring out fire indiscriminately. It was more than frightening, it was catastrophically fearful, like the dawn of a new dark age.

People enjoy ‘80s night at B 018 — one of Beirut’s most legendary clubs — in the Karantina quarter.

Chamran Hamieh [left], Hamza Akel Hamieh’s son, goes through his father’s collection of images from the civil war, stored in old suitcases in his home in the the Bekaa Valley, Taraya, Lebanon. Nicole Sobiecki

“In 2017 I travelled to Lebanon with writer Robin Wright to try and make sense of what peace means in a place so defined by conflict. As we met with former fighters and young creatives, I thought back to one of Aesop’s fables, The Oak and the Reed, and the countless storms this country has weathered without breaking. Peace here comes in shades of grey. It’s the reason to bend with the next wind, to endure, and to embrace the present despite the fire under the ashes.” Nicole Sobiecki

A Cambodian government soldier firing his outdated M1 carbine at the Khmer Rouge from a fox hole. Kien Svay, Route 1, Cambodia 1973. Roland Neveu

“In 1973, I was a student in sociology in Brittany and was very motivated to experience the ills of our world first- hand. During the summer break, a friend and I dreamed of getting to Cambodia to hone our skills as burgeoning photographers. We managed to fly into Phnom Penh a couple of weeks ahead of the end of the US B-52 bombing of the country. That for me was a revelation in covering a conflict, a big leap after trailing my camera along the student protests of the early 1970’s in France. It also became a jumping off point from university and the entry into a career as a photojournalist. Reporting that war became a passion, and with the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge in April 75, it altered my life forever. Witnessing the tragedy of Cambodia over the years has taken me from the disembodiment of the country to the relatively prosperous time it has entered now. Peace has been a very long and tortuous road for the Cambodians, affecting many generations of its people.” Roland Neveu

During the heavy monsoon in September 1979, travelling in the forest of Western Cambodia with a group of Cambodian guerilla favourable to Prince Sihanouk. Photo by Roland Neveu. Right; Sophary Sophin, bomb disposal engineer. Photo by Gary Knight/VII

Cambodian opposition political activists (left to right) Sin Chanpouraseth, Chay Vannak, Ney Leak and Douch Sovunth. Photo by Gary Knight/VII

“The story of peace – much like the story of war – is personal. Everyone who lives through it has a different experience, and the breadth of those experiences cannot all be expressed within a photo essay. In creating this work, I revisited places that I have been visiting since the war of the 1980s and 1990s when I started my career in Cambodia. I spoke to men and women of all generations and wrote down what they told me. Some had lived through the civil war of the 1970s and the Khmer Rouge genocide that followed. All of them had lived through the years of violence and deprivation of the post-Khmer Rouge period. All had expectations of the peace that followed. For many, the reality of that peace was desperately inadequate. There are people in Cambodia for whom peace has been a great benefit, such as the family members and associates of the political classes, the military, and the police. No one would argue that peace has been less favorable than war, especially that war – but sit on a stool next to a Cambodian villager and ask about the peace, and the stories of suffering and injustice will soon begin to flow.” Gary Knight

An RPF soldier (Rwandan Patrioric Front) advancing in Gikoro district, 1994. Jack Picone

“In 1994 as Rwanda was in the throes of genocide, I illegally crossed the Ugandan border to document one of recent history’s darkest events. I documented a broken country gouged, burnt, scarred and littered with corpses.

“Twenty-five years later, I revisited Rwanda and found a very different country. A country that carries the genocide with it in its collective memory but refuses to be defined by it. Instead, Rwandan people have been transformative and accomplished the impossible, turning the darkness of the genocide, into light.

The Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, 1994. During the genocide the stadium was temporarily a “UN Protected Site” hosting up to 12,000 mainly Tutsis refugees.

Alice Mukarurinda and Emanuel Ndayisaba. Ndayisaba admits to killing dozens of people during the genocide. Alice is one of his victims, left for dead in a swamp after he cut off her hand. Ndayisaba was imprisoned for his crimes, but under the laws of ‘Gacaca’; the local courts set up to encourage truth and reconciliation, he confessed to his murders and was released. He later recognised Alice and admitted to her it was he who had tried to kill her. In an unlikely partnership they have both reconciled and now work in a restorative group teaching reconciliation within the community.

“A country once gouged is now full, a country once broken is now whole and scars once obvious are fading. Rwanda’s transformation is squarely rooted in the Rwandan people’s unparalleled ability to forgive.” Jack Picone

Senad Medanovic, sole survivor of a massacre finds his home in ruins after the Bosnian army recaptured his village from Serb forces. He is standing on what is believed to be a mass grave of sixty-­nine people, including his family, 1995. Ron Haviv/VII

“What happens when 3.5 million people suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder for an entire generation? What happens when a whole nation – forged from an imposed peace agreement, with opposing sides forced to live together – can’t move beyond the past? Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country that continues to battle itself as it moves in a constant circle.

A defaced photograph that was found by a Bosnian family when they returned to their home in a suburb of Sarajevo, Bosnia, March 17, 1996.

Nedžiba Salihović, who lost her husband and son during the Srebrenica massacre, celebrates the conviction of Bosnian Serb General Ratio Mladic for his role in the genocide.

“Memorials litter parks and hilltops. Conversations turn to politics and at a moment’s notice back to the war. The political parties remain the same as those that brought the conflict to fruition. There is no agreed-upon history of the war taught in schools. Children learn old grievances from their parents, ensuring that for many the war will always be a dividing line. Stories from the 1990s now take their place alongside older tales of war, those from the 14th century to World Wars I and II. Repressed anger and hatred simmer just beneath the surface. The pressing question: how can we use memory to move past the loss and create one nation for all Bosnians?” Ron Haviv

• Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Derry, North of Ireland, 1996. Gilles Peress/Magnum/for Imagine:Reflections on Peace

“In 1994, the Irish Republican Army and the Combined Loyalist Military Command declared ceasefires on behalf of the predominant paramilitary organizations in the North of Ireland. Political conversations had dragged on for decades, but the ceasefires kickstarted a process that eventually led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and the cessation of active hostilities. Another 25 years on, no one knows if this will be permanent: There have been similar pauses throughout the 800-year British occupation of Ireland, and even the 1994 ceasefires proved neither lasting nor universal. But something unquestionably changed.”

12th of July Parade, City Centre, Derry, North of Ireland, 1996.

Short Strand, East Belfast, North of Ireland, 1994.

“The previous 30 years had been dominated by the Troubles, a conflict defined not by violence but by the tension between the necessities of everyday life and periodic, inescapable eruptions of violence precipitated by the British Army, by Loyalists, and by Republicans. During this era, dark and full of murders, Gilles Peress defined the structure of history as helicoidal. Nothing seemed to progress or regress; rather, each day became a repetition of every previous day.” Gilles Peress (excerpt from The Battle for History, with Chris Klatell)

Residents of Ituango, Antioquia, a region that has suffered greatly from the armed conflict, converse outside a polling station on the day of the national plebiscite to approve or reject the peace treaty negotiated between Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) insurgents and the government. Stephen Ferry

“Colombia is a country where the Cold War combined with internal factors to create a human rights disaster, one which implicates all players in the Colombian armed conflict as well as United States foreign policy. I documented the Colombian conflict from 1997 to the signing of the Havana peace accords and then, of course, followed the peace process with great interest and hope.

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos shakes hands with Rodrigo Londoño, alias “Timochenko,” top commander of the FARC insurgent army, at a celebration for the completion of the FARC’s disarmament.

Family members mourn during the funeral services for Wílmar Asprilla Allim, a FARC member who, after laying down arms, was participating in the organization of the FARC’s new political movement.

“It’s too early to know whether Colombia has found its way out of a cycle of brutal internal wars, but certainly the signing of the peace accords is a big step forward.” Stephen Ferry

Fighters with the Free Syrian Army fire at regime forces on the front line in Qastal Al Harami, a section of the Old City in Aleppo, Syria, on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Nicole Tung

“To step into the wake of the war against Isis was to enter a dystopian world. As the circle closed in on the terrorist military group, first in Mosul, then in Raqqa, and then in their last redoubt in Baghouz, I travelled between newly liberated villages and cities. I went to document that vital moment between the end of a conflict and peace – the space where life begins to emerge. At first, everything seemed a blur of rubble, like a dark, smudgy water colour of a never-ending nightmare about war and how it forever mutilates lives.

Students in class at the heavily damaged Hawari Bu Medyan School, in Raqqa, Syria. May 2018.

“But, very quickly, the streets buzzed back to life. I witnessed civilians, so utterly traumatized, do the only thing they knew how to do: go on and survive. It was dark, yet remarkable, to see the cautious hope among people who had lost everything. They know: peace is so incredibly fragile. Unless the marginalization of peoples in each country is addressed, unless resolution is brought to disputed territories, unless the systematic corruption that hinders everything from rebuilding to job creation is ended, peace can once again unravel with astonishing speed.” Nicole Tung

The book is available through the website www. reflectionsonpeace.org and Waterstones

• The Guardian picture essay
• Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Photo essay - Generation Equality: The time is now!

Date: 13 March 2020

The 64th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women took stock, assessed gaps, and charted a path forward for fulfilling the promise of gender equality enshrined in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 25 years after its adoption.

This photo essay is an adaptation of an exhibit at the United Nations Headquarters, running from 6 March – 20 April. It presents key milestones in the women’s rights movement, the progress and pushback, and voices and aspirations of women leaders from every corner of the world.

Women have always made a difference…everywhere

400 BC, Greece

10th – 11th Century, Japan

1199 – 1267, Tunisia

1581 – 1663, Angola

1648 – 1695, Mexico

1686 – 1755, Jamaica

1815 – 1852, United Kingdom

But they have faced many obstacles to equality.

Until women started to organize and protest inequality, the vast majority could not vote or run for office. They were prohibited from getting a loan or working where they choose.Even if they did the same work as men, they were paid less. And they inherited less, if at all. At home, domestic violence took place with no legal sanction. A married woman could not even prosecute her husband for rape.

So women decided “Let's make some change!”

United states.

Indignant over women being barred from speaking at an anti-slavery convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott congregate a few hundred people at their nation’s first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Together they demand civil, social, political and religious rights for women in a Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.”

New Zealand

32,000 people sign a “monster” 270-metre-long suffrage petition presented to New Zealand’s Parliament. Soon after, New Zealand becomes the first self-governing nation to allow women to vote and inspires suffragists across the globe.

First International Women's Day

On 8 March, the first International Women’s Day amasses more than 1 million people for women’s suffrage and labour rights. In its early years, the Day becomes a mechanism to protest World War I. Most notably, in Russia, a large women-led demonstration breaks out demanding “bread and peace!” Four days later, the Czar abdicates. Some historians believe the Day ignited the Russian Revolution.

In the first-known campaign of its kind, the Egyptian Society of Physicians goes against tradition by declaring the negative health effects of female genital mutilation. It takes until the late 20th century before the practice is explicitly classified as a form of violence. Today, the United Nations, grass-roots women’s movements, civil society and others are working together to put an end to it.

Incensed by their social standing under colonial rule, Igbo women send palm leaves — similar to today’s Facebook invite — to their fellow sisters across South-eastern Nigeria. Together they descend in the thousands to “sit on” or make “war on” undemocratically appointed chiefs by publicly shaming them through singing, dancing, banging on their walls and even tearing down roofs. This eventually forces the chiefs to resign and results in the dropping of market taxes imposed on women.

What would you do without clean clothes for weeks? In 1945, Dubliners in Ireland learn the hard way. Tired of unhealthy work conditions, low wages, overtime and limited leave, around 1,500 unionized laundresses go on strike. Commercial laundries get hit, a big business at the time. More than three months (and lots of dirty clothes) later, the strike ends in victory and gives all Irish workers a statutory second week of annual holidays.

Dominican Republic

A symbol of popular feminist resistance, the Mirabal sisters — Minerva, María Teresa, and Patria — also known as Las Mariposas (the butterflies) form an opposition movement to openly protest the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. On 25 November, the sisters are assassinated. The reaction to the brutal murders shakes the dictatorship and contributes to its eventual downfall. Since then, people around the world have marked 25 November as a day to raise awareness of ending violence against women.

25,000 women, a tenth of the nation’s population, gather in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, to protest economic inequality. The “Women’s Day Off” puts the city’s services, schools and businesses at a virtual standstill.

A protracted civil war impels thousands of Liberian women to form a movement. Driven by activist Leymah Gbowee, the movement employs various tactics, most notably: a sex strike to pressure men to partake in peace talks. The movement is so successful it ends a 14-year civil war and leads to the election of Africa’s first woman head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

In Uttar Pradesh state, a handful of bamboo-wielding women take matters into their own hands when they hear of a neighbour abusing his wife. Together, they force the husband to acknowledge the abuse and put a stop to it. A modest movement on domestic abuse snowballs into a statewide one: Today, a “gang” of tens of thousands of women dressed in pink (gulabi) collectively tackle social injustices against women in the state and are inspiring similar uprisings in the nation.

Arab Region

Streams of women vigorously protest for their rights as part of a broader uprising: the pan-Arab movement. The outcry thrusts women into the global limelight. In Tunisia, activism leads to gender equality being enshrined in the nation’s new constitution; in Lebanon, campaigning leads to the scrapping of a controversial law allowing rapists to avoid prison by marrying their victims.

3.5 to 5.5 million people globally attend the “women’s marches” on 21 January to show solidarity for women’s rights. They are among numerous mass movements that mark the decade, including: in India, following the gang rape of a student; across Latin America after a succession of femicides; and in Nigeria, following the kidnapping of almost 280 school girls

The movement goes global

Since the founding of the United Nations, a timeline of the landmark international agreements and conferences that pushed for women’s rights and gender equality.

The world is closer to gender equality than ever before. Still, we have much work ahead. Discriminatory laws in some places still mean that:

• Women inherit nothing or less than their brothers
• A woman’s testimony counts for half of that of a man’s
• Labour laws restrict the types of jobs women can take
• Women can be beaten with impunity
• Women cannot pass on citizenship in the same way as men
• Homosexuality is a criminal offense

The rise of digital activism

The hashtags say it all: Women, girls and people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities want a life free of violence and a gender-equal world. The digital space has amplified feminist voices, sparked transformations and brought a surge of young activists to the vanguard of movements for equality.

Generation Equality takes the stage

2020 marks the 25 th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women. It is a time to celebrate progress, but also to recognize that change has been too slow. Forces are at work to reverse some advances that have been made.

Not a single country today has fully achieved gender equality . Women everywhere still put more hours into unpaid care work, earn less, occupy fewer leadership positions, and risk violence at home and in public spaces. Adding to their struggles are complex and escalating crises, from conflict to climate change to narrowing hopes for decent work.

The movement for gender equality must continue and grow . Around the world, UN Women is connecting a vibrant young generation of women’s rights activists with the visionaries who created the Platform for Action, and everyone in between.

Together, they are Generation Equality. Their brave and energizing cry: finish the unfinished business of achieving gender equality . End imbalances in power and resources that have brought the world to the brink of a planetary crisis. Advance the rights of women and girls as indispensable to economic, social and environmental justice for all.

Progress and pushback. What needs to be done?

Remove discriminatory laws and practices

Progress: Between 2008 and 2017, 131 countries adopted legal reforms related to gender equality. Progress was most significant in sub-Saharan Africa.

Problem: Yet over 2.5 billion women and girls still live in countries with at least one discriminatory law. And even with legal equality on paper, gaps remain in upholding laws.

We can do better: Eliminate discriminatory laws. Close disparities in women and girls realizing their legal rights.

Make economies work for women

Progress: More women are in the paid workforce than ever before.

Problem: Globally, the gender gap in labour force participation is still 31 percentage points. Women do three times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men. Those aged 25-34, many of whom have small children, are 25 per cent more likely than men to live in extreme poverty.

We can do better: Expand universal care services. Uphold labour rights and create more decent work. Extend social protection and financial services. Harness new technology sothat it empowers women and girls.

Invest real money to achieve gender equality

Progress: The Platform for Action was never costed, although a growing number of countries use tools such as gender budgets to track whether or not public spending aligns with gender advances.

Problem: Shortfalls in financing are obvious across the board, keeping girls out of school, slowing progress on maternal mortality and constraining the response to gender-based violence, among many other issues.

We can do better: Mobilize and allocate resources in ways that are progressive, sustainable and gender-responsive.

Back women leaders at the forefront of change

Progress: Strong and autonomous feminist movements drive progress on gender equality. Women leaders have made their mark across public institutions, and in business, the arts, the media and beyond.

Problem: Spaces for women to lead and participate are shrinking. Some outspoken activists put their lives on the line. Globally, men control more than three-quarters of seats in parliaments. In 2018, only a dismal 7.7 per cent of peace agreements had provisions responsive to gender.

For more voices from Generation Equality and to get involved, visit https://www.unwomen.org/en/get-involved/beijing-plus-25

Get involved

Join UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign today.

This is your chance to show the world that you stand on the right side of history. So, what are you waiting for? Voice your commitment to an equal future on social media, using #GenerationEquality! You can download cool GIFs, slogans and more in our social media package . Sign up for monthly newsletters for more stories from around the world.

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Photos From the Civil Rights Movement

From rosa park's arrest to the freedom rides, high museum of art.

I Am a Man/ Union Justice Now, Martin Luther King Memorial March for Union Justice and to End Racism, Memphis, Tennessee (1968/1968) by Builder Levy High Museum of Art

The High Museum of Art holds one of the most significant collections of photographs of the Civil Rights Movement. The works in this exhibition are only a small selection of the collection, which includes more than 300 photographs that document the social protest movement, from Rosa Parks’s arrest to the Freedom Rides to the tumultuous demonstrations of the late 1960s. The city of Atlanta—the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—was a hub of civil rights activism and it figures prominently in the collection. Visionary leaders such as Dr. King, Congressman John Lewis, and former mayor Ambassador Andrew Young are featured alongside countless unsung heroes. The photographs in this collection capture the courage and perseverance of individuals who challenged the status quo, armed only with the philosophy of nonviolence and the strength of their convictions.

Outside Looking In, Mobile, Alabama (1956/1956) by Gordon Parks High Museum of Art

This photograph was originally published in a groundbreaking Life Magazine photo essay by Gordon Parks, which exposed Americans to the effects of racial segregation. Parks focused his attention on a multigenerational family from Alabama. His photographs captured the Thornton family’s everyday struggles to overcome discrimination.

Department Store, Mobile, Alabama (1956/1956) by Gordon Parks High Museum of Art

Gordon Parks's choice of subject matter sets his series of photographs of a family living under segregation in 1956 Alabama apart from others of the period. Rather than focusing on the demonstrations, boycotts, and brutality that characterized the battle for racial justice, Parks emphasized the prosaic details of one family’s life. His ability to elicit empathy through an emphasis on intimacy and shared human experience made them especially poignant.

Rosa Parks Being Fingerprinted, Montgomery, Alabama (1956/1956) by Unknown Photographer High Museum of Art

This photograph was made at the time of Rosa Parks’s second arrest, and was widely reproduced in newspapers and magazines. Civil rights leaders quickly understood the power of photography to help stimulate awareness of their cause and raise funds for their effort to overthrow segregation laws.

Elizabeth Eckford Entering Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas (1957-09-05) by Unknown Photographer High Museum of Art

One of the most iconic images of the civil rights era, this photograph shows 15-year-old Elizabeth Eckford walking alone in front of Little Rock High School while being taunted by a menacing, hateful mob. Eckford was alone because she failed to receive notification that the date for desegregating the school had been postponed by a day.

National Guardsman, Montgomery Bus Station, Alabama (1961/1961) by Unknown Photographer High Museum of Art

Members of SNCC Praying at Burned-out Church, Dawson, Georgia (1962/1962) by Unknown Photographer High Museum of Art

March on Washington, D.C. (1963/1963) by Builder Levy High Museum of Art

Builder Levy frequently focuses on social issues, reflecting his personal commitment to causes he has embraced during his thirty-five year tenure as a teacher of at-risk adolescents in a New York inner-city school. This image documents one of the many historic marches on Washington, D.C., that took place during the civil rights era.

Cleaning the Pool, St. Augustine, Florida (1964/1964) by James Kerlin High Museum of Art

The man seen here pouring cleaning agents into a swimming pool occupied by men and women engaging in a “swim-in”, is James Brock, manager of the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida. Like most other white business owners, he banned blacks from his establishment. While the protestors floated in a pool of chemicals, off-duty policemen dove in and arrested them.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy, John's County Jail, St. Augustine, FL, 1964 (1964/1964) by Unknown Photographer High Museum of Art

Dr. King and his fellow Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) leader Ralph Abernathy led a ten-person contingent to the Monson Motor Lodge in St. Augustine, Florida, in June 1964. King engaged the owner, James Brock, in a discussion that grew long and heated. King explained the kinds of humiliations blacks endured daily, to which Brock replied – smiling into the television cameras – “I would like to invite my many friends throughout the country to come to Monson’s. We expect to remain segregated.” The police arrived to arrest King and his group. They were held without bail in St. John’s County jail for several days.

Firemen Hosing Demonstrators, Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham, Alabama (1963/1963) by Unknown Photographer High Museum of Art

CORE Demonstration, Brooklyn, New York (1963/1963) by Leonard Freed High Museum of Art

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Baltimore (1964/1964) by Leonard Freed High Museum of Art

In October 1964, King learned that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize. At thirty-five he was the youngest ever recipient. On his way back from Oslo, Norway, to receive his prize he stopped off in Baltimore, where he was thronged by supporters offering congratulations on this landmark honor.

State Troopers Break Up Marchers, Selma, Alabama (1965/1965) by Unknown Photographer High Museum of Art

Civil Rights Demonstrators and Ku Klux Klan Members Share the Same Sidewalk, Atlanta (1964/1964) by Unknown Photographer High Museum of Art

The Ku Klux Klan was picketing a newly desegregated hotel a few doors down from a segregated restaurant where a group of young civil rights workers were protesting. The lettering on a sign held by one of the young demonstrators, bearing the slogan “Atlanta’s Image is a Fraud”, has been enhanced by newsroom staff, presumably to read more effectively in newspaper print. Reflected in reverse in the storefront window behind the protestors is the signage for a Cary Grant movie being screened in a theater across the street.

Coretta King and Family around the Open Casket at the Funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., Atlanta (1968/1968) by Constantine Manos High Museum of Art

Coretta Scott King, Poor People's Campaign, Washington, D.C. (1968/1968) by Larry Fink High Museum of Art

Larry Fink, best known for his portraits of high society reproduced in magazines such as Vanity Fair, was also very engaged with the civil rights cause. He was on hand in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 1968 – a month after Dr. King’s assassination - to photograph Coretta Scott King’s arrival at Resurrection City. Fink skillfully framed Mrs. King’s face in the doorjamb of the car, as she is greeted by Fred Bennette, a member of Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Garbagemen's Parade, Memphis, Tennessee (1968/1968) by Dennis Brack High Museum of Art

The tenacity and courage of members of the Civil Rights Movement - including those on both sides of the camera - continues to inspire social justice activists today. With protests and cries for equality happening across the United States, images like this one resonate more than ever.

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CAPTURING HUMAN RIGHTS

Photographs and text by pcij-pcp fellows.

Twelve photojournalists. Twelve photo essays. Human rights stories as told through the lens of a camera.

This online exhibit is produced under the Capturing Human Rights fellowship program organized by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and the Photojournalists' Center of the Philippines (PCP).  

In loving memory

by Lauren Alimondo

Pinagtatagpi-tagpi: Mother, daughter struggle between making a living and modular learning

by Gerimara Manuel

Terminal: The constant agony of commuting amid the pandemic

by Larry Monserate Piojo

Filipinos face the mental toll of the Covid-19 pandemic

by Orange Omengan

Duterte's Drug War: Lies and Death Certificates

by Dada Grifon

Amid the pandemic, women bear the burden of invisible work

by Bernice Beltran

Enduring the current

by Bernadette Uy

Hinubog ng panata: The vanishing spiritual traditions of Aetas of Capas, Tarlac

by Pau Villanueva

Paradise lost: Decades-old urban garden sinks into a river

by Sharlene Festin

HIV positive mother struggles through the Covid-19 Pandemic

by Ria Torrente

Mission in peril: 'Red-tagging' the religious sector in

The philippines.

by Mark Saludes

From sea to shelf: What happens before a can of sardines is sealed

by EC Toledo

Larry Monserate Piojo – "Terminal: The constant agony of commuting amid the pandemic"

Orange Omengan – "Filipinos face the mental toll of the COVID-19 pandemic"

Lauren Alimondo – "In loving memory"

Gerimara Manuel – "Pinagtatagpi-tagpi: Mother, daughter struggle between making a living and modular learning"

Pau Villanueva – "Hinubog ng panata: The vanishing spiritual traditions of the Aetas of Capas, Tarlac"

Bernice Beltran – "Women's 'invisible work'"

Dada Grifon – "From the cause"

Bernadette Uy – "Enduring the current"

Mark Saludes – "Mission in peril"

EC Toledo – "From sea to shelf: The story before a can is sealed"

Ria Torrente – "HIV positive mother struggles through the Covid-19 pandemic"

Sharlene Festin – "Paradise lost"

PCIJ's investigative reports

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Trans day of visibility photo essay campaign.

March 30, 2021

The Human Rights Campaign is celebrating International Transgender Day of Visibility with a "See Me on TDOV" photo essay series. We worked with five trans and non-binary folks from across the country to participate in this campaign and asked them to share a bit of who they are and what Trans Day of Visibility means to them. See them. Get to know them.

Allyn (he/him/his)

“My little cousin has taught me so much about patience, trust, guidance and sensitivity. He reminds me that change can happen if we just learn to listen to the smallest voice in the room...Similarly, TDOV is a moment for everyone to listen to voices that too often go unheard and think about creating a world that is more inclusive, loving and diverse.”

View Allyn's full photo essay here.

Dorcas (they/them/theirs)

“Visibility has undoubtedly brought advancements, like the appointment of Dr. Rachel Levine as Assistant Health Secretary, but deadly hate violence impacting Black trans women most has still increased each year. Murders of transmasculine people have also risen, and studies show they attempt suicide most in the LGBTQ+ community...Visibility matters, but stopping the violence cutting lives short matters even more.”

View Dorcas' full photo essay here.

Keelan (they/them/theirs)

“Growing up, I never saw my whole self in mainstream media. My closest connection to representation were high-femme superheroes and villains...I began drawing these characters and creating my own without realizing I was subconsciously expressing how I wanted to show up in the world...TDOV is essential because our stories and bodies need to be uplifted. We are helping to push culture forward. It shows others in our community that they are not alone and allows them to see themselves.”

View Keelan's full photo essay here.

Micha (she/her/hers)

“I'm an author, entertainer and entrepreneur who is always evolving. Through my life, and in my work, I transparently transcribe my truth and transcend all the naysayers that have tried to hold back...Trans visibility is vital not just in our deaths and pain, but also in our moments of triumph and transcendence.”

View Micha's full photo essay here.

Samantha (she/her/hers)

“I am a proud trans Latina woman of color, a CHINGONA, like I always say...I am a guerrera (warrior) that will fight for my family, friends and community...My message to my trans siblings out there is always walk with your head up high and feel proud to be transgender, and never forget that YOU ARE UNSTOPPABLE.”

View Samantha's full photo essay here.

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Photo Essay: Ramadan in exile

This Ramadan thousands of displaced Iraqis and Syrians are forced to observe the Islamic holy month in refugee camps.

More than one million Iraqis and three million Syrians have been displaced this year, forced to flee their homes the families observe Ramadan this year in a state uncertainty.

Many have lost all their possessions and are now dependent on humanitarian aid.

Keep reading

Does israel’s attack on aid workers mark a turning point for its allies, thousands of israelis protest against government, urging captive deal, ‘mission impossible’: families slam canada’s gaza visa scheme as a failure, rights advocates demand end to haiti deportations as unrest continues.

Save the Children, a UK based charity, met some of the displaced families in Iraq, Jordan and Egypt to see how they are living during this Ramadan away from home.

In  Khazar transit camp, a Save the Children child protection officer, a Syrian refugee himself, plays with children during a sandstorm as they wait for a safe area to be opened just for them.

Thousands of Iraqis displaced this year are facing their first ever Ramadan away from their homes in extremely harsh desert conditions, in searing heat, poor shelter and with very basic food.

The latest spike in Iraqis’ displacement came less than a month before Ramadan when thousands fled from Mosul, Tikrit and other cities into the relative safety of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, which was already hosting 250,000 Syrian refugees and other Iraqis displaced earlier this year from Anbar.

A growing number of people are now staying in a hastily set-up camp near the Khazar checkpoint on the outskirts of Erbil, 40km from Mosul, where the number of displaced Iraqis grows by the day.

Aisha, 20, and her daughter Farrah, 1, stand outside their tent in Khazar transit camp on the outskirts of Erbil. Her husband killed during the confict, Aisha fled with her daughter and her husband’s family from Mosul when the conflict broke out last month.

“I’m trying to fast this Ramadan but it’s very difficult,” Aisha said.

“It’s so hot here, we have no electricity, no water. My family is all fasting and we’re doing it together. I’m here with my husband’s family; he was killed several months ago so now I am alone with my daughter. This will not be a happy time like it has been in previous years.”

Displaced families are now staying in hastily set-up camps outside the cities of Erbil and Dohuk, as well as schools, mosques, community centres and abandoned buildings. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of people continue to stream into the region every day escaping the violence.

Mohammed, 2, sits in the area his family now uses as a kitchen in their tent at Khazar camp.

His mother arrived from Mosul several weeks ago, along with her husband, mother-in-law and five children, aged two to seven.

“Normally I fast every year for Ramadan, praise be to God. But this year, how can we fast when there is no food to break our fast in the evening?” she said.

“We have no bread, no meat. At home I would be in my kitchen preparing food for the family along with my relatives, but here you can see – we have no kitchen, just this tent.”

“It makes me really sad to be spending Ramadan like this because normally it’s such a happy time. The first few days of Ramadan are like a festival, with everyone out in the bazaar buying sweets and treats at night. But this year, our lives are totally different.”

Syrian children find their own fun and play outside their makeshift tents on a tomato farm as their parents prepare food for iftar (the evening meal).

Syrian refugees live in equally harsh conditions, displaced by the protracted war back home that has displaced more than 3 million Syrians, half of them children.

There are more than 605,000 Syrian refugees living in Jordan. Four out of every five refugees live outside camps, mostly renting substandard housing or staying in informal settlements like this one on the outskirts of Amman.

Um Ahmad, a Syrian refugee from Hama, prepares the traditional qatayef sweets, very popular during Ramadan, minutes before the breaking of the fast in a tent on the outskirts of Amman. The grandmother is surrounded by some of her grandchildren as she prepares.

“I’m not happy,” Um Ahmad said. “My children are dispersed everywhere. Some are in Azraq Camp, some in Syria, it’s heart-breaking to spend Ramadan away from them. We always used to have iftar together.”

Um Ahmad (centre) is breaking the fast with her children and grandchildren, in their tent on the outskirts of Amman. They fled Hama two years ago and have been living in Jordan since.

“We can’t afford to have meat today so we’re just having vegetables,” Um Ahmad said.

“It is one of our traditional values, to share whatever we have particularly during Ramadan. We used to have much more to share; in Syria we’d slaughter a sheep and share it with our neighbours. It feels like that was ages ago. I miss Syria too much.”

Anas, a Syrian refugee from Deraa, makes traditional Ramadan sweets at his little shop in Zaatari Camp, Jordan.

“Business is good at this time of the year,” a beaming Anas said. Back in Deraa, he worked in a confectionary, and last January he decided to open his own stall in Zaatari. “We have to make the best of what we have and stay positive. There are many more who are in a worse situation. We always have to thank God for whatever we have.”

At  night after iftar, Zaatari Camp turns into a hive of activity, with families coming out of their tents and caravans for a stroll or to buy their items from the main market street. Home to 90,000 refugees, the camp comes back to life after 16 hours of fasting.

Ziyaad, a Syrian refugee from Deraaa, gets his first customer tonight at his barber shop that he has been running for the last year.

“You can’t compare Ramadan here to how it was back home but one tries and make the most of it,” he says. “We will hopefully return soon to our homes.”

*Names have been changed to protect children and relatives.

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The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) held a nationwide photo-essay competition in 2021 to create greater awareness of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. To view the winning entries of this competition on HRCP’s online exhibition webpage, click here.

The right to freedom of peaceful assembly:

“Every citizen shall have the right to assemble peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of public order.”  (Article 16, Constitution of Pakistan)

Assemblies are platforms to advocate for change and to raise awareness of civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly allows a democratic society to function smoothly by giving every citizen the chance to express their beliefs, convey their grievances and pursue change collectively. This right also facilitates a participatory form of government, and is simultaneously dependent on other rights, such as the right to freedom of expression, the right of movement, the right to freedom of association, the right of non-discrimination and the right to liberty.

This right is also preserved by international law, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of which Pakistan is one of the founding signatories. The UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), form the ‘International Bill of Human Rights’ and together enumerate a series of rights, including the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, that call upon state parties to protect, respect and fulfil these rights. Pakistan ratified the ICESCR in 2008 and the ICCPR in 2010, hence undertaking an obligation to bring domestic law related to freedom of peaceful assembly in consonance with international standards and best practices.

Despite being enshrined in Pakistan’s constitution, the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is routinely curtailed by various legal provisions that directly or indirectly allow state authorities to impinge upon this right. For an exhaustive review of these legal provisions, click here .

HRCP’s photo-essay competition:

In 2021, HRCP invited Pakistan-based photographers to submit photo-essays (a series of photographs that tells a story) that illustrated the right to peaceful assembly. The submissions focused on a single public gathering or more than one, connected to a particular theme. The gatherings included protests, rallies, marches, sit-ins, vigils, demonstrations or protest camps that took place between 1 January 2021 to 15 March 2022.

The winning entries of the competition include a photo-essay submitted by Mr Sibth Ul Hassan Turi that depicts land dispossession in Rawalpindi’s villages; a photo-essay submitted by Ms Muskan Firdous that depicts a rally by women labourers; and a photo-essay submitted by Mr Aun Jafri on marches for women’s rights in Lahore. These entries were selected as the winner and runners-up respectively by an independent panel of artists, photographers and human rights defenders, and illustrate how the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is exercised in Pakistan by everyday people.

To view these entries on HRCP’s online exhibition webpage, click here.

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Essay on Human Rights: Samples in 500 and 1500

• Updated on  
• Dec 9, 2023

Essay writing is an integral part of the school curriculum and various academic and competitive exams like IELTS , TOEFL , SAT , UPSC , etc. It is designed to test your command of the English language and how well you can gather your thoughts and present them in a structure with a flow. To master your ability to write an essay, you must read as much as possible and practise on any given topic. This blog brings you a detailed guide on how to write an essay on Human Rights , with useful essay samples on Human rights.

This Blog Includes:

The basic human rights, 200 words essay on human rights, 500 words essay on human rights, 500+ words essay on human rights in india, 1500 words essay on human rights, importance of human rights, essay on human rights pdf.

Also Read: List of Human Rights Courses

Also Read: MSc Human Rights

Also Read: 1-Minute Speech on Human Rights for Students

What are Human Rights

Human rights mark everyone as free and equal, irrespective of age, gender, caste, creed, religion and nationality. The United Nations adopted human rights in light of the atrocities people faced during the Second World War. On the 10th of December 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Its adoption led to the recognition of human rights as the foundation for freedom, justice and peace for every individual. Although it’s not legally binding, most nations have incorporated these human rights into their constitutions and domestic legal frameworks. Human rights safeguard us from discrimination and guarantee that our most basic needs are protected.

Did you know that the 10th of December is celebrated as Human Rights Day ?

Before we move on to the essays on human rights, let’s check out the basics of what they are.

Also Read: What are Human Rights?

Also Read: 7 Impactful Human Rights Movies Everyone Must Watch!

Here is a 200-word short sample essay on basic Human Rights.

Human rights are a set of rights given to every human being regardless of their gender, caste, creed, religion, nation, location or economic status. These are said to be moral principles that illustrate certain standards of human behaviour. Protected by law , these rights are applicable everywhere and at any time. Basic human rights include the right to life, right to a fair trial, right to remedy by a competent tribunal, right to liberty and personal security, right to own property, right to education, right of peaceful assembly and association, right to marriage and family, right to nationality and freedom to change it, freedom of speech, freedom from discrimination, freedom from slavery, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of movement, right of opinion and information, right to adequate living standard and freedom from interference with privacy, family, home and correspondence.

Also Read: Law Courses

Check out this 500-word long essay on Human Rights.

Every person has dignity and value. One of the ways that we recognise the fundamental worth of every person is by acknowledging and respecting their human rights. Human rights are a set of principles concerned with equality and fairness. They recognise our freedom to make choices about our lives and develop our potential as human beings. They are about living a life free from fear, harassment or discrimination.

Human rights can broadly be defined as the basic rights that people worldwide have agreed are essential. These include the right to life, the right to a fair trial, freedom from torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to health, education and an adequate standard of living. These human rights are the same for all people everywhere – men and women, young and old, rich and poor, regardless of our background, where we live, what we think or believe. This basic property is what makes human rights’ universal’.

Human rights connect us all through a shared set of rights and responsibilities. People’s ability to enjoy their human rights depends on other people respecting those rights. This means that human rights involve responsibility and duties towards other people and the community. Individuals have a responsibility to ensure that they exercise their rights with consideration for the rights of others. For example, when someone uses their right to freedom of speech, they should do so without interfering with someone else’s right to privacy.

Governments have a particular responsibility to ensure that people can enjoy their rights. They must establish and maintain laws and services that enable people to enjoy a life in which their rights are respected and protected. For example, the right to education says that everyone is entitled to a good education. Therefore, governments must provide good quality education facilities and services to their people. If the government fails to respect or protect their basic human rights, people can take it into account.

Values of tolerance, equality and respect can help reduce friction within society. Putting human rights ideas into practice can help us create the kind of society we want to live in. There has been tremendous growth in how we think about and apply human rights ideas in recent decades. This growth has had many positive results – knowledge about human rights can empower individuals and offer solutions for specific problems.

Human rights are an important part of how people interact with others at all levels of society – in the family, the community, school, workplace, politics and international relations. Therefore, people everywhere must strive to understand what human rights are. When people better understand human rights, it is easier for them to promote justice and the well-being of society. 

Also Read: Important Articles in Indian Constitution

Here is a human rights essay focused on India.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. It has been rightly proclaimed in the American Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Created with certain unalienable rights….” Similarly, the Indian Constitution has ensured and enshrined Fundamental rights for all citizens irrespective of caste, creed, religion, colour, sex or nationality. These basic rights, commonly known as human rights, are recognised the world over as basic rights with which every individual is born.

In recognition of human rights, “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was made on the 10th of December, 1948. This declaration is the basic instrument of human rights. Even though this declaration has no legal bindings and authority, it forms the basis of all laws on human rights. The necessity of formulating laws to protect human rights is now being felt all over the world. According to social thinkers, the issue of human rights became very important after World War II concluded. It is important for social stability both at the national and international levels. Wherever there is a breach of human rights, there is conflict at one level or the other.

Given the increasing importance of the subject, it becomes necessary that educational institutions recognise the subject of human rights as an independent discipline. The course contents and curriculum of the discipline of human rights may vary according to the nature and circumstances of a particular institution. Still, generally, it should include the rights of a child, rights of minorities, rights of the needy and the disabled, right to live, convention on women, trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation etc.

Since the formation of the United Nations , the promotion and protection of human rights have been its main focus. The United Nations has created a wide range of mechanisms for monitoring human rights violations. The conventional mechanisms include treaties and organisations, U.N. special reporters, representatives and experts and working groups. Asian countries like China argue in favour of collective rights. According to Chinese thinkers, European countries lay stress upon individual rights and values while Asian countries esteem collective rights and obligations to the family and society as a whole.

With the freedom movement the world over after World War II, the end of colonisation also ended the policy of apartheid and thereby the most aggressive violation of human rights. With the spread of education, women are asserting their rights. Women’s movements play an important role in spreading the message of human rights. They are fighting for their rights and supporting the struggle for human rights of other weaker and deprived sections like bonded labour, child labour, landless labour, unemployed persons, Dalits and elderly people.

Unfortunately, violation of human rights continues in most parts of the world. Ethnic cleansing and genocide can still be seen in several parts of the world. Large sections of the world population are deprived of the necessities of life i.e. food, shelter and security of life. Right to minimum basic needs viz. Work, health care, education and shelter are denied to them. These deprivations amount to the negation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Also Read: Human Rights Courses

Check out this detailed 1500-word essay on human rights.

The human right to live and exist, the right to equality, including equality before the law, non-discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, and equality of opportunity in matters of employment, the right to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence, the right to practice any profession or occupation, the right against exploitation, prohibiting all forms of forced labour, child labour and trafficking in human beings, the right to freedom of conscience, practice and propagation of religion and the right to legal remedies for enforcement of the above are basic human rights. These rights and freedoms are the very foundations of democracy.

Obviously, in a democracy, the people enjoy the maximum number of freedoms and rights. Besides these are political rights, which include the right to contest an election and vote freely for a candidate of one’s choice. Human rights are a benchmark of a developed and civilised society. But rights cannot exist in a vacuum. They have their corresponding duties. Rights and duties are the two aspects of the same coin.

Liberty never means license. Rights presuppose the rule of law, where everyone in the society follows a code of conduct and behaviour for the good of all. It is the sense of duty and tolerance that gives meaning to rights. Rights have their basis in the ‘live and let live’ principle. For example, my right to speech and expression involves my duty to allow others to enjoy the same freedom of speech and expression. Rights and duties are inextricably interlinked and interdependent. A perfect balance is to be maintained between the two. Whenever there is an imbalance, there is chaos.

A sense of tolerance, propriety and adjustment is a must to enjoy rights and freedom. Human life sans basic freedom and rights is meaningless. Freedom is the most precious possession without which life would become intolerable, a mere abject and slavish existence. In this context, Milton’s famous and oft-quoted lines from his Paradise Lost come to mind: “To reign is worth ambition though in hell/Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven.”

However, liberty cannot survive without its corresponding obligations and duties. An individual is a part of society in which he enjoys certain rights and freedom only because of the fulfilment of certain duties and obligations towards others. Thus, freedom is based on mutual respect’s rights. A fine balance must be maintained between the two, or there will be anarchy and bloodshed. Therefore, human rights can best be preserved and protected in a society steeped in morality, discipline and social order.

Violation of human rights is most common in totalitarian and despotic states. In the theocratic states, there is much persecution, and violation in the name of religion and the minorities suffer the most. Even in democracies, there is widespread violation and infringement of human rights and freedom. The women, children and the weaker sections of society are victims of these transgressions and violence.

The U.N. Commission on Human Rights’ main concern is to protect and promote human rights and freedom in the world’s nations. In its various sessions held from time to time in Geneva, it adopts various measures to encourage worldwide observations of these basic human rights and freedom. It calls on its member states to furnish information regarding measures that comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights whenever there is a complaint of a violation of these rights. In addition, it reviews human rights situations in various countries and initiates remedial measures when required.

The U.N. Commission was much concerned and dismayed at the apartheid being practised in South Africa till recently. The Secretary-General then declared, “The United Nations cannot tolerate apartheid. It is a legalised system of racial discrimination, violating the most basic human rights in South Africa. It contradicts the letter and spirit of the United Nations Charter. That is why over the last forty years, my predecessors and I have urged the Government of South Africa to dismantle it.”

Now, although apartheid is no longer practised in that country, other forms of apartheid are being blatantly practised worldwide. For example, sex apartheid is most rampant. Women are subject to abuse and exploitation. They are not treated equally and get less pay than their male counterparts for the same jobs. In employment, promotions, possession of property etc., they are most discriminated against. Similarly, the rights of children are not observed properly. They are forced to work hard in very dangerous situations, sexually assaulted and exploited, sold and bonded for labour.

The Commission found that religious persecution, torture, summary executions without judicial trials, intolerance, slavery-like practices, kidnapping, political disappearance, etc., are being practised even in the so-called advanced countries and societies. The continued acts of extreme violence, terrorism and extremism in various parts of the world like Pakistan, India, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Somalia, Algeria, Lebanon, Chile, China, and Myanmar, etc., by the governments, terrorists, religious fundamentalists, and mafia outfits, etc., is a matter of grave concern for the entire human race.

Violation of freedom and rights by terrorist groups backed by states is one of the most difficult problems society faces. For example, Pakistan has been openly collaborating with various terrorist groups, indulging in extreme violence in India and other countries. In this regard the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva adopted a significant resolution, which was co-sponsored by India, focusing on gross violation of human rights perpetrated by state-backed terrorist groups.

The resolution expressed its solidarity with the victims of terrorism and proposed that a U.N. Fund for victims of terrorism be established soon. The Indian delegation recalled that according to the Vienna Declaration, terrorism is nothing but the destruction of human rights. It shows total disregard for the lives of innocent men, women and children. The delegation further argued that terrorism cannot be treated as a mere crime because it is systematic and widespread in its killing of civilians.

Violation of human rights, whether by states, terrorists, separatist groups, armed fundamentalists or extremists, is condemnable. Regardless of the motivation, such acts should be condemned categorically in all forms and manifestations, wherever and by whomever they are committed, as acts of aggression aimed at destroying human rights, fundamental freedom and democracy. The Indian delegation also underlined concerns about the growing connection between terrorist groups and the consequent commission of serious crimes. These include rape, torture, arson, looting, murder, kidnappings, blasts, and extortion, etc.

Violation of human rights and freedom gives rise to alienation, dissatisfaction, frustration and acts of terrorism. Governments run by ambitious and self-seeking people often use repressive measures and find violence and terror an effective means of control. However, state terrorism, violence, and human freedom transgressions are very dangerous strategies. This has been the background of all revolutions in the world. Whenever there is systematic and widespread state persecution and violation of human rights, rebellion and revolution have taken place. The French, American, Russian and Chinese Revolutions are glowing examples of human history.

The first war of India’s Independence in 1857 resulted from long and systematic oppression of the Indian masses. The rapidly increasing discontent, frustration and alienation with British rule gave rise to strong national feelings and demand for political privileges and rights. Ultimately the Indian people, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, made the British leave India, setting the country free and independent.

Human rights and freedom ought to be preserved at all costs. Their curtailment degrades human life. The political needs of a country may reshape Human rights, but they should not be completely distorted. Tyranny, regimentation, etc., are inimical of humanity and should be resisted effectively and united. The sanctity of human values, freedom and rights must be preserved and protected. Human Rights Commissions should be established in all countries to take care of human freedom and rights. In cases of violation of human rights, affected individuals should be properly compensated, and it should be ensured that these do not take place in future.

These commissions can become effective instruments in percolating the sensitivity to human rights down to the lowest levels of governments and administrations. The formation of the National Human Rights Commission in October 1993 in India is commendable and should be followed by other countries.

Also Read: Law Courses in India

Human rights are of utmost importance to seek basic equality and human dignity. Human rights ensure that the basic needs of every human are met. They protect vulnerable groups from discrimination and abuse, allow people to stand up for themselves, and follow any religion without fear and give them the freedom to express their thoughts freely. In addition, they grant people access to basic education and equal work opportunities. Thus implementing these rights is crucial to ensure freedom, peace and safety.

Human Rights Day is annually celebrated on the 10th of December.

Human Rights Day is celebrated to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UNGA in 1948.

Some of the common Human Rights are the right to life and liberty, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom from slavery and torture and the right to work and education.

We hope our sample essays on Human Rights have given you some great ideas. For more information on such interesting blogs, visit our essay writing page and follow Leverage Edu .

Sonal is a creative, enthusiastic writer and editor who has worked extensively for the Study Abroad domain. She splits her time between shooting fun insta reels and learning new tools for content marketing. If she is missing from her desk, you can find her with a group of people cracking silly jokes or petting neighbourhood dogs.

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