1. Introduction:
After the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, the concept of Human Rights assumed a significance of its own though earlier than this, International Labour Organisation in 1920 also initiated the Conventions on the rights of workers to form unions and organisations, abolition of forced labour and right to collective bargaining.
The UN Charter in 1945 affirmed faith in the fundamental human rights and appointed a Commission on Human Rights under Mrs. E. Roosevelt. This declaration was the outcome of the latter’s deliberations A.A. Said aptly remarked “The concept of Human Rights may be difficult to define but impossible to ignore”. The Human Rights are concerned with the dignity of the individual—the level of self esteem that secures personal identity and promotes human community.
The human rights as proclaimed by the UN Assembly find their origin in the concept of natural rights as espoused by political philosophers like Locke and Paine. Vincent holds “Human rights are the rights that everyone has and everyone equally by virtue of their very humanity. They are grounded in our appeal to human nature “.
2. Characteristic Features of Human Rights:
(i) The Characteristic Features of the Concept of Human Rights are Enumerated Below:
(i) They are essential for every human being. They cannot be categorized as the preserve of one particular nation but are in fact the possession of mankind as a whole.
(ii) Just like that of moral rights the element of their enforcement lies in the individual’s conscience.
(iii) They cover legal rights which are safeguarded by the law of the land. They also comprise fundamental rights which are included in the constitution of a particular country. As such, they are accorded special treatment as regards their amendment and forms of rights—social, economic and political—which enable a person to lead a life of dignity and live in peace and security.
(iv) The human rights are universal. They are provided to members of the human society as a whole whether or not some section of them are aware of them or not. The uncivilized Negroes of Somalia or LTTE of Sri Lanka who are always involved in civil war also cannot be deprived of them.