President Murmu to lead Human Rights Day celebrations tomorrow

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): President Droupadi Murmu will be the Chief Guest at an event to celebrate Human Rights Day here on Tuesday, an official statement said. The theme for this year’s Human Rights Day, “Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now,” emphasises that human rights are not just aspirational but also a practical tool for empowering individuals and communities to create a better future, it said. To mark Human Rights Day, the NHRC will organise a programme at the Plenary Hall of the Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. The event will be followed by a day-long National Conference on 'Mental well-being: Navigating stress from classroom to workplace’. The conference will have three sessions including ‘Stress among Children and Adolescents’, ‘Mental health challenges in institutions of higher learning’ and ‘Stress and burnout at workplaces’, said the statement.

More than 23.14 lakh cases of human rights violations have been registered and Rs 256.57 crore recommended as a relief by the National Human Rights Commission to victims of human rights violations since its inception in 1993, it said. Human Rights Day is observed on December 10 every year to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The UDHR serves as a global benchmark for the protection and promotion of human rights. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India views Human Rights Day as an opportunity for various stakeholders worldwide to reflect on their actions and responsibilities, ensuring that they do not contribute to the violation of human rights. The UDHR embodies the principle that all human beings are born free and equal, with the right to life, liberty, and security, equality before the law, and freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion, and expression.

This principle is also reflected in India’s Constitution and the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993, which provided the legal framework for the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India on October 12, 1993. The President will be the Chief Guest, in the presence of the NHRC Acting Chairperson Vijaya Bharathi Sayani, Secretary General Bharat Lal, along with senior officers, members of statutory commissions, SHRCs, diplomats, civil society, and other dignitaries.