Udupi Judge advocates better awareness on human rights

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Dec 11, 2018: Speaking after inaugurating the Human Rights Day programme organised by the District Legal Services Authority, the Udupi Bar Association, and other departments, Udupi Principal District and Sessions Judge and Chairman of District Legal Services Authority Venkatesh Naik T. said on December 10,  Monday that it was the responsibility of every citizen to see that there was no violation of human rights in society.

Judge Naik said that every individual in society had the right to lead a life with self-respect. If this was violated, it amounted to violation of human rights.

Children should not neglect their aged parents. So too, parents should not treat their differently abled children in a negligent manner. Both of these amounted to violation of human rights, he said.

The government had brought in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to remove inequality in society and yet there were instances of its violation, he said.

It was essential that all people were made aware of human rights and that they should respect and protect them, he said.

Principal of Vaikunta Baliga College of Law Prakash Kanive, who was the resource person, said that a person got entitled to human rights from his birth. It was the duty of governments to protect human rights. There was a lot of violation of human rights during World War I and II.

This led to the United Nations Organisation giving importance to human rights. The Human Rights Day is observed on December 10 every year as it was on this day in 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly adopted Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he said.

Human rights had been incorporated in the Constitution. But there were several instances of violation of human rights in the country during Emergency (1975-77). It was due to human rights that any offender is prosecuted only after an enquiry and after being given an opportunity to defend himself, he said.

Destruction of natural resources, damaging environment and not providing rehabilitation to those who had lost their land also constituted violation of human rights, Prof. Kanive said.

Vice-President of Bar Association Prithviraj Hegde welcomed the gathering. President of the Bar Association Sripathi Acharya presided over the function.