Human Rights Act and Its Implication on the Health of the Poor - Research Paper Example

?Human Rights Act and its implication on the health of the poor Human rights are generally known as inseparable rights of human beings belonging to any race or community in this world. Human rights are entitled to all individuals and are same for everyone. These rights are indoctrinated in national and international laws as natural or legal rights. The concept of human rights is that it is the common moral language that exists in this global society. Human rights are inherently applicable to every person irrespective of religion, color, place of residence, sex, nationality and language. Human rights are promoted to preserve the self respect of every individual without making any kind of discriminations. Except in exceptional situations human rights are inalienable and cannot be separated from any individual. Every human being has the right to take legal action if his inherent and legal rights and privileges are violated or the individual in question is forced to forgo his rights. There are some basic human rights which are recognised in the global arena and are protected by international laws. In spite of this the legal book of human rights calls upon criticisms regarding the nature and justifications of human rights. This paper focuses on the Human Rights Act and its implication on the health of the poor. Human Rights Human rights are indiscriminately inherent to all individuals irrespective of caste, religion, color, sex, nationality or language. All human rights are “interrelated, interdependent and indivisible”. Human rights that are recognized all over the world are penned down explicitly in the international law in the form of treaties and general principles. International human rights law “lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.” (What are Human Rights? n.d.) The concept of human rights is relatively new although it has a long and mixed lineage. The mere existence of human beings contains the prospect of certain expectations and commitments some of which are comprehended as legal and moral rights and privileges of individuals by the community. In the premodern times there were both moral and legal codes and these codes emphasized more on the duties of one individual towards the other rather than recognizing them as human rights. Moral codes were written down in philosophical and religious texts while the legal codes were formed to preserve law and order in the social life during the premodern times. Many philosophers and human rights advocates recognize the human rights as interrelated with social and moral duties of individuals towards the society. Thus, the duties and obligations of individuals are defined by certain cultural norms and practices, and these “can be taken as implicit references to rights that served as preludes to the modern notions of human rights.” (Arat, 2006, p.1) Individuals have been subjected to extreme torture and mutilations in the hands of other individuals in the name of religion and other issues. The extremities of human suffering are expressed with terms like ‘atrocity’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ to invoke in the minds of common people myriad emotions like horror, sympathy and extreme rage. Words fall short to express the emotions that are aroused from such atrocities that exist in the society in all eras (Freeman, 2011, pp.1-2). The concept of human rights allows people to take a philosophical insight of such events that occur all over the world. The reports of cruelties and injustices appear everyday on media sources like television, internet, radio and newspapers. All these stories are examples of violation of human rights. Although these events are real, human rights are merely abstract ideas. It is a way to ponder upon the real events and subsequently realising human thoughts regarding these events. To understand the concept of human rights is the subject of conceptual analysis of philosophical discipline. However, since the idea of human rights is abstract in nature, its analysis may seem unrelated to the real human experiences of brutality. Therefore, the concept of human rights “must be combined with a sympathetic understanding of the human experiences to which the concept refers.” (Freeman, 2011, p.3) European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) is an international agreement that was drafted in the 1950 for the purpose of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. It became applicable from 3 September 1953 and by October 1997 it was endorsed by 39 member states of the Council of Europe thus all the states becoming members of the convention. It came into existence just after the Second World War ended, and the subject of international protection of human rights became a matter of grave concern in the global arena. The convention was formed in response to the demand from the Allied Powers to formulate a human rights agenda. The purpose was to avoid all kinds of atrocities on human beings that had occurred during the Second World War (Dijk, et al., 1998, pp.1-2). The European Court of Human Rights was formed as a permanent legal body that promises to protect all the human rights proposed by ECHR. The court is accessible to all states and individuals irrespective of nationality. It is an international court based in Strasbourg. It is seated by judges whose number equals to that of the member states of the ECHR. The judges of the court are in essential impartial as they do not represent any state and are elected according to their individual efficiency. The court can pronounce a judgement if it feels that a state party has violated the rights and guarantees set by the ECHR. Similarly, an individual has the privilege to take the assistance of the court if he or she feels that human rights proposed by the ECHR have been violated by a state party. Any judgements issued by the court are irrevocable and the concerned countries are bound to oblige them. However, the court does not have the power to “overrule national decisions or annul national laws.” The court has been primarily established to protect all persons from violations of human rights. The court is however not responsible to supervise the proper follow up of the judgements. It is the responsibility of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and their job is to ensure proper execution of the judgements and also to ensure that any payments that have been ordered by the court have been paid to the victim of damages (European Court of Human Rights, n.d.). Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act (HRA) came into force on 2 October 2000. It incorporates several rights and freedoms that were proposed by the European convention into the UK law (Human Rights Act, n.d.). The convention rights that are included in the HRA are as follows :- Article 2: Right to life Article 3: Prohibition of torture Article 4: Prohibition of slavery and forced labour Article 5: Right to liberty and security Article 6: Right to a fair trial Article 7: No punishment without law Article 8: Right to respect for private and family life Article 9: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion Article 10: Freedom of expression Article 11: Freedom of assembly and association Article 12: Right to marry Article 14: Prohibition of discrimination Article 16: Restriction on political activities on aliens Article 17: Prohibition of abuse of rights Article 18: Limitation on use of restrictions on rights (Review of the Implementation of Human Rights Acts, 2006, pp.43-46) Human rights principles include 1) indivisibility, 2) equality and non-discrimination, 3) participation and inclusion, and 4) accountability, transparency and the rule of law. Indivisibility means that dignity of human beings can be maintained only with every privileges like social, economic, civil, cultural and political rights. Equality and non-discrimination implies that human rights are privileges of every individual irrespective of race, color, sex, ethnicity, age, language, religion, nationality and health status. Participation and inclusion means that all people are entitled to active contribution towards social, economic, civil, political and cultural development for the proper realization of human rights. It also indicates that the poor people are empowered to participate in decision making processes for poverty eradication. For this purpose, it is required that all individuals have access to information about programs and policies of the government. Accountability, transparency and the rule of law means that all people including the poor have the right to challenge the effectiveness of the services provided both by the state and the private sectors. Under this element the governments have the right to justify their actions and choices, and the public service organizations need to address the complaints of the individuals (Andrea & Fergusson, 2008, pp.6-7). Social issue: Health of the poor International laws of human rights are aware of the severe disadvantages that developing countries have to endure. As such it is not always viable for realization of all social, economic and cultural rights in all sections of the population especially among the poor and underprivileged. However, the governments in such cases are obliged to create long term policies and strategies that will pave the way for progressive realisation of human rights. The objective must be to take immediate and appropriate measures in terms of financial and political issues that would align with the available resources for the complete realization of all the human rights stated in the HRA. In countries where a large chunk of the population i.e. the poor people are denied the basic human rights like availability and accessibility of proper medical provisions, the government is obliged to prove that all available resources including resources available through international cooperation are being utilized at optimum level to fulfill human rights. In general, poverty is defined as an individual’s financial and material incapacity, and lack of opportunities to maintain his or her household. According to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights poverty is “a human condition characterized by sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.” (Andrea & Fergusson, 2008, p.6) A society can develop only when the people living in it are provided with a proper environment to enjoy a long, healthy and creative life. For improvement of public health and to ensure a continuous development, it is necessary to advocate human rights and self respect of human beings, and to develop an intergenerational approach. It is the primary duty of the government to “respect, protect and fulfill human rights” and this can be achieved only by providing proper health and social conditions. There are dual responsibilities of public health officials. They must protect and promote public heath, and also they must respect, protect and fulfill human rights. This kind of amalgamation of human rights and public health services can be achieved through education, training and research in human rights. In a developing country like India, expenditure on health care facilities is a major reason for indebtedness among the rural population. The major driving force that causes health concerns among the poor is lack of nutrition. HRA upholds right to life (Article 2 as mentioned above) as an inseparable privilege of human beings. Therefore, human rights and health are interlinked and hence experts of both sectors must have a collective responsibility to ensure a healthy society. With the progress of globalization, it has become possible to share health related information, technologies and resources. Although this sharing can improve health services in all countries, it carries the risk of spreading health problems and diseases. The contributions of NGOs (Non-government organizations) and MNCs (multinational corporations) are not clearly defined and managed. The universal responsibility of governments is to ensure that the role of private sectors and civil authorities are in accordance with the human rights principles. The international legal system needs to have a clearer definition of human rights and health. It is important to create “participatory regulatory norms” to enable the private sectors to provide “quality health care at reasonable cost.” In developing countries, governments should take immediate and positive measures to arrest the continuous neglect of public health which is the main reason of backward conditions in those countries (Kanmony, 2009, pp.1-4). Conclusion Human rights are basic ingredients for the maintenance of dignity of human beings all over the world. Various human right acts are designed and implemented to protect and upload those rights and privileges for the betterment of the society. Among the many articles of HRA, right to life indicates the right to enjoy a long, health and creative life. For this, it is necessary that the governments of all countries specially developing countries should focus on health issues of the poor population. Accessibility and affordability of health measures must be the priority of all government policies and strategies with active participation of common people in formulating the policies. References 1. Andrea, P. & C. Fergusson (2008). Human Rights, Health and Poverty Reduction Strategies. Health and Hunan Rights Publications Series, No.5, 1-73 2. Arat, Z.F.K. (2006). Human Rights Worldwide: A Reference Handbook. USA: ABC-CLIO 3. Dijk, P.V. et al. (1998) Theory & Practice of the European Convention on Human Rights, 3rd ed. Hague: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 4. European Court of Human Rights, (n.d.) UKCOE, available at: http://ukcoe.fco.gov.uk/en/uk-and-the-coe/the-court/ (accessed on January 7, 2013) 5. Freeman, M. (2011). Human Rights: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Cornwall: Polity Press 6. Human Rights Act, (n.d.) ELC, available at: http://www.elc.org.uk/pages/lawhra.htm (accessed on January 7, 2013) 7. Kanmony, J.C. (2009) Human Rights and Health Care. New Delhi: Mittal Publications 8. Review of the Implementation of Human Rights Acts, (July 2006) Department for constitutional affairs, available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/www.dca.gov.uk/peoples-rights/human-rights/pdf/full_review.pdf (accessed on January 7, 2013) 9. What are Human Rights? (n.d.) OHCHR, available at: http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx (accessed on January 7, 2013) Read More