AUGUST 2014

ISSUE 01
iaIGO is a Geneva-based, non-prot
organizaton (with a Dubai oce) fully
dedicated to upholding and
implementng the Universal Declaraton
of Human Rights at local, regional and
internatonal levels. Its membership is
comprised of individuals, educators, and
groups from around the world who are
actvely protectng and promotng the
human rights knowledge. More
importantly, iaIGO does not hold on to
any politcal strategy or scheme, rather it
constructvely aims to uphold
internatonal human rights norms and
laws in the GCC region and globally.
iaIGOs core purpose is to provide human
rights educatonal resources and
actvites that specically educate, assist,
and unite individuals, educators,
organizatons and other bodies. It further
aims to disseminate and adopt the
Universal Declaraton of Human Rights
and other internatonal and domestc
human rights instruments in all societes.
iaIGOs mission is to protect and uphold human rights around the
world. We stand to prevent discriminaton, to protect people from
inhumane conduct, and to uphold justce. We believe that we are
most powerful when we collectvely stand together for human
rights. IGO will identfy, analyze, and report human rights
violatons around the world.
OUR MISSION
Founded in 2012, Internatonal Associaton Internatonal Gulf
Organizaton (iaIGO)s primary objectve is to improve and enhance
the overall human rights conditons in the GCC and abroad, while
simultaneously developing actons and initatves within the
internatonal legal framework. To further protect and uphold
human rights globally, iaIGO aims to facilitate the following core
objectves: actvely partcipatng in the GCC reform process of the
legal systems, lobbying new laws and amendments to the existng
laws, conductng eld-based studies to report human and labor
rights violatons to the concerned state authorites and to the
public, and most importantly, educatng citzens and residents of
the country on the basic principles of human rights.
OUR HISTORY
I am very pleased to announce the Internatonal Associaton Internatonal Gulf
Organizaton (iaIGO)s magazine, Insight. Our magazines primary objectve is to
create and share an open discussion on human rights issues, while empowering
those voiceless and promotng iaIGOs ongoing core priorites- human rights,
women/children rights and labor rights- based on the Universal Declaraton of
Human Rights. As shown over the previous years, iaIGO has contnued to engage
in various complex issues by holding and partcipatng in conferences that aim to
protect and promote human rights dialogues and actons especially in the GCC.
Our magazine provides a platorm to connect with the internatonal community,
sharing with them with a deeper understanding about human rights issues
across the region. I hope that this iaIGO magazine will not only provide a highly
stmulatng intellectual discussion, but also serve as a vehicle towards
developing more genuine and acton-oriented human rights solutons globally.
Sincerely,
Mansoor Lootah
President
02
INDEX
HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
A brief history of human rights
development.
12
LABOR RIGHTS
Development of labor rights in the
GCC and abroad.
06
WOMEN AND THIER RIGHTS
Important developments in the
history of womens rights.
10
CHILDRENS RIGHTS
Brief history about the development
of childrens rights.
14
THE VAN GUJJAR STORY
Oped about issues faced by the
minority group Van Gujjar.
On behalf of Internatonal Associaton Internatonal Gulf
Organizaton (iaIGO), I am extending my deepest grattude for
supportng our ongoing global eorts to promote and protect
the Universal Declaraton of Human Rights in the GCC region
and globally.
iaIGOs role has contnued to expand by actvely being
involved in regional and internatonal cooperaton, while
facilitatng knowledge sharing with relevant human rights
actvists and organizatons. Our most recent partcipaton in
global human rights conferences in Switzerland, Egypt, and
Bahrain, have not only deepened our human rights
understanding, but also further reinforced our unfailing
commitment to addressing our core priorites globally.
Our rst iaIGO magazine explores the interplay and complex
dynamics of human rights, labor rights, and women/children
rights that aect GCC communites and beyond. This
partcular magazine will not only provide deeper insights on
human rights issues, but also demonstrate our eorts to
contribute to contemporary human rights discussion in the
GCC region and globally.
We greatly look forward to receiving your feedback for our
upcoming issue.
Sincerely,
Hasan Bin Thaleth
General Secretary
OUR TEAM
Editor
Nasreen Abdulla
Sub-Editor
Safa Ghafoor
Sub-Editor
Froilan Malit Jr.
Media & Marketng Manager
Robert Resto
Graphic Designer
Muhammed Hisham
Human Rights Advisor
Isa Alarabi
lthough the practce of guaranteeing a person his rights can be
traced back several centuries, the basic ideas of the modern
human rights movement developed afer the Second World War. The
internatonal community was determined not to repeat the atrocites
that occurred during the wars. They knew that it was the need of the
hour to establish an independent body that would make it a mission
to uphold peace and security in the world.
The League of Natons had been established in 1919 afer the First
World War with the same goal but it ceased to functon afer it failed
to prevent the Second World War.
Then in 1942, US President Franklin D Roosevelt suggested using the
term United Natons to refer to the Allied Power or the group of
countries that opposed Germany and the Axis Power. It was rst used
in the Declaraton by United Natons of 1 January 1942, during the
Second World War, when representatves of 26 natons pledged their
governments to contnue ghtng together against the Axis Powers.
In 1945, representatves of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw
up the United Natons Charter, which was signed on 26 June 1945.
Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later
and became one of the original 51 Member States. The United
Natons ocially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the
Charter had been rated by the 5 permanent members of the
Security Council- China, France, the Soviet Union, the United
Kingdom, and the United States- and by a majority of other
signatories.
A
INTRODUCTION
02
HISTORY
OF HUMAN RIGHTS
INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
Universal Declaraton of Human Rights (UDHR)
On 10th December 1948, the UN adopted the Universal Declaraton
of Human Rights which recognized the inherent dignity and the
equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as
the foundaton of freedom, justce and peace in the world. It
consisted of 30 artcles and outlined the basic right every human
being should have.
It was drafed over 2 years by the Commission of Human Rights.
According to the UDHR website :
The Commission on Human Rights was made up of 18 members
from various politcal, cultural and religious backgrounds. Eleanor
Roosevelt, widow of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
chaired the commitee. With her were Ren Cassin of France, who
composed the rst draf of the Declaraton, the Commitee
Rapporteur Charles Malik of Lebanon, Vice-Chairman Peng Chung
Chang of China, and John Humphrey of Canada, Director of the
UNs Human Rights Division, who prepared the Declaratons
blueprint. But Mrs. Roosevelt was recognized as the driving force
for the Declaratons adopton.
At a tme when the world was deeply divided and stll reeling from the
eects of two wars, it was an uphill task to nd a common ground for
human rights that every country could agree to. But the UDHR
drafing commitee completed the task adeptly.
The UDHR has inspired more than 80 internatonal human rights
treates and declaratons, a great number of regional human rights
conventons, domestc human rights bills, and consttutonal
provisions.
Building on the achievements of the UDHR, the Internatonal
Covenant on Civil and Politcal Rights, and the Internatonal Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force in 1976.
Together with the UDHR, the Covenants comprise the Internatonal
Bill of Human Rights.
The body of internatonal human rights law contnues to grow, evolve
and further elaborate the fundamental rights and freedoms
contained in the Internatonal Bill of Human Rights. It now addresses
concerns such as racial discriminaton, torture, enforced
disappearances, disabilites, and the rights of women, children,
migrants, minorites, and indigenous peoples.
03
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
Holding a large copy of
Universal Declaraton of Human Rights
INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
U N I T E D N A T I O N S H U M A N R I G H T S
Aim: to promote and protect human rights guaranteed under internatonal law and in the Universal Declaraton of Human Rights.
The Oce is headed by the High Commissioner of Human Rights, who co-ordinates human rights actvites throughout the UN System and
supervises the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.
OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (OHCHR)
An inter-governmental body within the United Natons system
made up of 47 States responsible for the promoton and
protecton of all human rights around the globe.
Upcoming session: 27th session of the HRC (8 - 26 Sept 2014)
Human Rights Council
Central element of the United Natons human rights machinery
and covers all human rights: civil, cultural, economic, politcal, and
social.
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council
A unique process which involves the review of the human rights
records of all UN Member States.
By October 2011, it had reviewed the human rights records of all
193 UN Member States.
Upcoming session: 20th session (27 October - 7 November 2014)
Universal Periodic Review
CHARTER-BASED BODIES
Navanethem Navi Pillay
High Commissioner for Human Rights (2008 Current)
U N I T E D N A T I O N S H U M A N R I G H T S
04 INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
U N I T E D N A T I O N S H U M A N R I G H T S
Body of independent experts that monitor implementaton of the
Internatonal Covenant on Civil and Politcal Rights by its State
partes.
Human Rights Commitee (CCPR)
TREATY-BASED BODIES
Body of 10 independent experts that monitors implementaton of
the Conventon against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its State partes.
Commitee against Torture (CAT)
Body of independent experts which monitors implementaton of
the Conventon on the Rights of Persons with Disabilites by the
States Partes.
Commitee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilites (CRPD)
Body of independent experts which monitors implementaton of
the Conventon for the Protecton of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance by the States Partes.
Commitee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)
Body of independent experts that monitors implementaton of the
Conventon on the Eliminaton of All Forms of Discriminaton
against Women.
Commitee on the Eliminaton of Discriminaton against Women
(CEDAW)
It also monitors implementaton of two Optonal Protocols to the
Conventon, on involvement of children in armed conict and on
sale of children, child prosttuton and child pornography.
Body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementaton of
the Conventon on the Rights of the Child by its State partes.
Commitee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Body of independent experts that monitors implementaton of the
Internatonal Conventon on the Protecton of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families by its State
partes.
Commitee on Migrant Workers (CMW)
There are nine human rights treaty bodies that monitor implementaton of the core internatonal human rights treates:
Body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementaton of
the Internatonal Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights by its States partes.
Commitee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
Body of independent experts that monitors implementaton of the
Conventon on the Eliminaton of All Forms of Racial Discrimina-
ton by its State partes.
Commitee on the Eliminaton of Racial Discriminaton (CERD)
U N I T E D N A T I O N S H U M A N R I G H T S
05 INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
HISTORY
All humans have equal rights irrespectve of whether they are men or women. Thats the theory. But in reality, womens rights are
repeatedly violated with impunity in most- if not all- countries across the world. Tracking, honor killings, forced marriages, acid
atacks, slave labor, rape, abuse, harassment- the list of violatons against women is scarily long. The gures are also clear- Women
and girls represent 98 per cent of the estmated 4.5 million forced into sexual exploitaton. 2-3rds of the illiterate adults in the world
are women. Approximately 140 million girls and women in the world have suered female genital mutlaton/cutng.
hen the Universal Declaraton of
Human Rights was writen in the
afermath of two crushing world wars, the
emphasis was placed on restrictng powers of
countries rather than ensuring gender
equality. But as the world advanced and
technology improved, the gap between what
womens rights should be and what they
actually were had began to show. It was later
recognized that certain rights are specic to
women, or need to be emphasized in the case
of women.
The Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW) was established on 21 June 1946. They
elaborated on several conventons relatng to
politcal rights, marriage and other rights.
However these did not deal with
discriminaton and the lack of rights that
women faced comprehensively.
Thus, the General Assembly (GA), on 5
December 1963, invited the CSW to prepare a
draf declaraton that would combine in
single instrument internatonal standards
artculatng the equal rights of men and
women.
The Declaraton on the Eliminaton of
Discriminaton against Women was adopted
by the GA on 7 November 1967. It had no
contractual obligaton but some of its artcles
pertaining to marriage and employment
created a lot of controversy.
In 1972, the CSW started considering a
binding treaty on womens rights and
requested the Secretary-General to ask UN
Member States to voice their opinion on such
a proposal. The following year, a working
group was appointed to consider the
elaboraton of such a conventon and in 1974,
the Commission decided to complete a single,
comprehensive and internatonally binding
treaty to eliminate discriminaton against
women.
The Conventon on the Eliminaton of All
Forms of Discriminaton against Women
(CEDAW) was adopted by the GA in 1979 by
votes of 130 to none, with 10 abstentons.
At the special ceremony that took place at the
Copenhagen Conference on 17 July 1980, 64
States signed the Conventon and two States
submited their instruments of ratcaton.
On 3 September 1981, the Conventon
entered into force - faster than any previous
human rights conventon had done.
Later in 1996, the Commissions mandate was
expanded and it took a leading role in
monitoring the progress in implementng the
Beijing Declaraton and Platorm for Acton,
the key global policy document on gender
equality, and in mainstreaming a gender
perspectve in UN actvites.
The 58th session of the CSW took place at
the UN Headquarters in New York from 10
to 21 March 2014
Its Priority theme was Challenges and
achievements in the implementaton of
the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) for women and girls

W
06
WOMEN
AND THEIR RIGHTS
INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
CEDAW (1979)
CEDAW is one of the most important
internatonal treates that guarantees several
civil and legal rights to women. Artcle 2
condemns discriminaton while artcle 3 calls
on all State Partes to put in place legislatons
that ensure women equal rights as men. The
agenda for equality is specied in fourteen
subsequent artcles in the document.
Described as an internatonal bill of rights for
women, the Conventon also focuses on one
of the most vital concern of women- their
reproductve rights. Artcle 5 requires that
family educaton includes a proper
understanding of maternity as a social
functon. And Artcle 16 provides women
equal rights as men to decide freely and
responsibly on the number and spacing of
their children and to have access to the
informaton, educaton and means to enable
them to exercise these rights.
The implementaton of the Conventon is
monitored by the Commitee on the
Eliminaton of Discriminaton against Women
that is composed of 23 experts nominated by
their Governments and elected by the States
partes as individuals "of high moral standing
and competence in the eld covered by the
Conventon".
At least every four years, the States partes
are expected to submit a natonal report to
the Commitee, showing what measures they
have adopted to provisions of the
Conventon.
World Conference on Human Rights
Vienna (1993)
The 2-week world conference in Vienna was
marked by an unprecedented degree of
partcipaton with some 7,000 people
atending. It marked the beginning of a
renewed eort to strengthen and further
implement the body of human rights
instruments constructed on the foundaton of
the Universal Declaraton of Human Rights
since 1948. In terms of womens rights, it was
a historic conference for several reasons. One
was that it supported the creaton of a new
mechanism, a Special Rapporteur on Violence
against Women, subsequently appointed in
1994. Another was that the The Vienna
Declaraton and Programme of Acton
idented that violence against women (VAW)
as a key issue.
Soon afer Vienna, the UN General Assembly
adopted the Declaraton on the Eliminaton of
Violence Against Women. In 1994, the
UNHCR adopted its rst resoluton on gender
integraton, which has evolved into regular
sessions at the Human Rights Council as well
as a wide range of eorts to bring womens
perspectves more fully into work on human
rights in all areas.
I MP O R TA N T D E V E L O P ME N T S I N WO ME N S R I G H T S
187 - The number of countries, out of 194
countries, that have rated the treaty.
7 - The number of countries that have NOT
rated CEDAW, including the United
States, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan,
and two small Pacic island natons (Palau,
and Tonga).
Dec 2000 - The Optonal Protocol to
CEDAW, entered into force in December
2000.
99- 99 countries have rated the protocol.
CEDAW AT A GLANCE
07 INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
Beijing Declaraton and Platorm for Acton (1995)
September 1995 saw the culminaton of decades of a global
movement. From September 4th to 15th ocial representatves from
over 180 countries gathered in Beijing, China, for the Fourth World
Conference on Women. For ten days, they worked on rening the
document that would reect the issues and concerns of the worlds
women at the end of the 20th century- the Beijing Declaraton and
Platorm for Acton. The Beijing Platorm concentrates on 12 "critcal
areas of concern" that require atenton in order to achieve gender
quality and women's empowerment:
The responsibility of implementng the Beijing Platorm for Acton was
given to not just governments, but also to insttutons in the public,
private and non-governmental sectors at the community, natonal, sub
regional, regional and internatonal levels.
The Platorm acknowledges that signicant progress will depend on
building strategic partnerships and involving all stakeholders in the
eorts towards change. In every sense, it was one of the most
profound documents for womens rights. It aimed to enhance the
social, economic and politcal empowerment of women, improve their
health and their access to relevant educaton and promote their
reproductve rights by setng tme specic targets and urging
countries to take acton.
UN Security Council Resoluton 1325 (2000)
On 31 October 2000, the United Natons Security Council unanimously adopted United Natons Security Council Resoluton 1325, the rst formal
and legal document from the United Natons Security Council that requires all states to respect the rights and protecton of women and girls
during and afer the armed conicts.
The persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women
Inequalites and inadequacies in and unequal access to educaton
and training
Inequalites and inadequacies in and unequal access to health
care and related services
Violence against women
The eects of armed or other kinds of conict on women,
including those living under foreign occupaton
Inequality in economic structures and policies, in all forms of
productve actvites and in access to resources
Inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and
decision-making at all levels
Insucient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement
of women
Lack of respect for and inadequate promoton and protecton of
the human rights of women
Stereotyping of women and inequality in women's access to and
partcipaton in all communicaton systems, especially in the
media
Gender inequalites in the management of natural resources and
in the safeguarding of the environment
Persistent discriminaton against and violaton of the rights of the
girl child
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I M P O R T A N T D E V E L O P M E N T S I N W O M E N S R I G H T S
INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
I M P O R T A N T D E V E L O P M E N T S I N W O M E N S R I G H T S
CONCLUSION
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000)
The MDGs are 8 internatonal development goals that all 191 UN
Member States have agreed to try to achieve by the year 2015.
Although these goals are not exclusively about womens rights, the
general improvement of the status of women forms the core of it. The
goals are
MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Targets include:
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proporton of people whose
income is less than $1 a day
Achieve full and productve employment and decent work for all,
including women and young people
Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proporton of people who
suer from hunger
MDG 2: Achieve Universal Primary Educaton. Target includes:
Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike,
will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women. Target
includes:
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary
educaton, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of educaton no
later than 2015
MDG 4: Reduce child mortality. Target includes:
Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-ve
mortality rate
MDG 5: Improve maternal health. Target includes:
Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality rato
Achieve universal access to reproductve health. Inadequate
funding for family planning is a major failure in fullling
commitments to improving womens reproductve health
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases. Targets include:
Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for
all those who need it
MDG 7: Ensure Environmental stability. Targets Include:
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country
policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental
resources
Reduce by half the proporton of people without sustainable
access to safe drinking water and basic sanitaton
MDG 8: Establish a global partnership for development. Targets
include:
Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable,
non-discriminatory trading and nancial system
In cooperaton with the private sector, make available the
benets of new technologies, especially informaton and
communicatons.
Since their adopton more than 13 years ago, signicant and
substantal progress has been made in meetng many of the eight
Millennium Development Goals. However, progress is uneven,
partcularly for women and girls.
The UN is now working with governments, civil society and other
partners to build on the momentum generated by the MDGs and carry
on with an ambitous post-2015 sustainable development agenda that
is expected to be adopted by UN Member States at a Summit in
September 2015.
-will mark 20 years since the Beijing Declaraton and Platorm
for Acton. The CSW will carry out a review and appraisal for
the implementaton of the program.
-is the deadline year to achieve the 8 Millennium Development
Goals adopted in 1995.
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I M P O R T A N T D E V E L O P M E N T S I N W O M E N S R I G H T S
s is evident from the artcle, womens rights have slowly evolved
over the years, giving them more rights, opportunites and
protecton. However, the progress has been largely uneven, with
some countries championing the cause of women and others
choosing to outright ignore it. The Global Gender Gap Report 2013 by
the World Economic Forum shows that Iceland is the country that has
the least gender gap while Chad, Pakistan and Yemen are the worst
o in case of gender equality. A 2014 study by European Union for
Fundamental Rights found that 55% of women have experienced
some form of sexual harassment since the age of 15.
A 2013 report by the World Health Organizaton (WHO) shows that
35% of women worldwide suer from physical or sexual violence. The
report goes on to elaborate that the ndings show that violence
against women is not a small problem that only occurs in some
pockets of society, but rather a global public health problem of
epidemic proportons, requiring urgent acton.
Serious violatons of womens rights contnue unabated across the
world on a daily basis. Last month, a pregnant woman in Pakistan was
beaten to death outside the court by her family for marrying a man of
her choice. Earlier this month two Indian girls- aged 14 and 15- were
raped and hanged from a tree afer leaving the house at night to
relieve themselves in a nearby eld. In Democratc Republic of Congo
(DRC) rape is used as a war tool. In Nigeria, last month, more than 200
schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram and are yet to be found.
These incidents highlight the need to hold governments across the
world accountable for investng in and protectng women. Although
the 8 Millennium Development Goals and Beijing Declaraton and
Platorm for Acton were largely successful in mobilizing global and
natonal eorts to improve the status of women, a lot more work
needs to be done. This puts an even greater responsibility on the UN
Task Force to design a meaningful post-2015 development agenda
that will specically address womens issues like violence and
improved social and economic status for women.
The challenges to improving the state of women are varied. With
economic austerity on the rise, few governments are ready to invest
in womens issues. Acton on socio-economic aspects of sex
discriminaton languishes. Most troubling is the growing gap between
women whose economic and personal status has improved and those
who have been lef behind as the gap between rich and poor has
widened in the last 20 years.
A
09 INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
he noton of giving children special rights did not come untl the
middle of the 19th century. Earlier, kids were thought of as an
extended entty of their parents on whom the mother and father had
absolute control. However, views began to change in the 17th century
when children started being seen as human beings who had their own
rights.
During the industrial revoluton, children were specially employed at
the factories and mines and as chimney sweeps, working long hours
for low wages. In coal mines, children were made to crawl through
tunnels that were too narrow for adults. The poverty of families forced
many children to work- some of them were as young as 3 years. But as
the century progressed, people became more aware of the plight of
working children, largely from the books by Charles Dickens who
rendered horric descriptons of Londons street life. His literature
reected his experience of working 10 hour days in a factory stcking
labels on pots of boot blacking.
Afer many protests, a series of laws were passed by the Parliament of
the United Kingdom to limit the number of hours worked by women
and children- rst in the textle industry and then later, in all industries.
These are collectvely called The Factory and Workshop Acts 1878 to
1895. This set the precedent for other countries.
The rst formal charter to set out the rights of children was drafed in
1923 by Britsh social reformer Eglantyne Jebb who founded Save the
Children Internatonal Unit (SCUI) in 1919- one of the rst charites
aimed at kids. This charter was adopted by the League of Natons in
1924 as the World Child Welfare Charter. In 1925, the rst
Internatonal Child Welfare Congress was held in Geneva, where the
Declaraton was widely discussed and supported.
In 1946 afer the debilitatng eects of the Second World War, the
United Natons Internatonal Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was
established. The group's rst leader was Maurice Pate, an American
investment banker. He agreed to accept the job only on the conditon
that he could use the organizaton to help all needy children, no mater
what their natonality was and what the ex-combatant status of their
governments was. This was, of course, a controversial point, but Pate
made clear from the start that UNICEF would put children above
politcs, and all would be treated equally.
1979 was declared as the Internatonal Year of Children (IYC). It was
the brainchild of Canon Joseph Moerman, Secretary General of the
Internatonal Catholic Child Bureau who felt that even though many
organizatons were compassionate about children, their issues and
rights were being drowned out by more fashionable debates. The
success of the Year was unprecedented. Not only did many
governments increase budgets for child-centric programs but the Year
also brought in a contributons windfall to UNICEF.
A decade later, in 1989, the Conventon on the Rights of the Child was
adopted and it entered into force in 1990. The four core principles of
the Conventon are non-discriminaton; the best interests of the child;
the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of
the child. Every right spelled out in the Conventon is inherent to the
human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The
Conventon changed the way children were viewed and treated. The
unprecedented acceptance of the Conventon clearly showed a wide
global commitment to advancing childrens rights.
By February 2010, 193 out of 195 States had become party to the
Conventon on the Rights of the Child more than for any other human
rights treaty.
T
10
CHILDRENS RIGHTS
INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
11
Did you know?
Despite the provisions of the
CRC, blatant violatons of
childrens rights contnue:
An estmated 9.2 million children
under the age of ve die each
year from mostly preventable
causes.
Over 450,000 children in the
developing world needed
life-saving ant-retroviral therapy
for AIDS in 2008 but did not
receive it
One in four children under the
age of ve in the developing
world are underweight, stuntng
their motor and cognitve
development
Over 101 million children of
primary school age are out of
school; more than half of them
are girls
One in six children in developing
countries are engaged in child
labour
86% of children are disciplined in
ways that are intended to cause
physical pain or emotonal
distress, according to data from
37 countries.
About 51 million children born in
2007 were unregistered at birth,
depriving them of a name,
natonality and other
fundamental rights
Source: United Natons Populaton Fund
htp://www.unfpa.org/webdav/site/global/
shared/documents/publicatons/2011/Wo
men-Children_nal.pdf
INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
abor rights are a fundamental element of universal human life. It
encompasses a complex form of protecton and respect for human
life in the workforce. These labor rights are legally governed and
enforced by the Internatonal Labor Organizaton (ILO), a specialized
agency of the United Natons that provides guidance and standards for
governments labor practces around the world.
Over the past 90 years, the ILO has adopted 188 conventons to regulate
core labor rights, including the freedom of associaton, collectve
bargaining, forced/compulsory labor, child labor, gender discriminaton,
social security, working conditons, health and safety. In 1998, the ILO
established the Declaraton on Fundamental Principles and Rights at
Work to uphold human values that are vital to contemporary social and
economic lives. This Declaraton covers four fundamental principles and
rights at work enforced today by various governments globally (see
Table 1).
Additonal governance (priority) and technical conventons have also
been passedwhich strictly regulates labor and employment-related
conditonsto further increase protecton for workers, partcularly
those living and working under inhumane conditons. Such internatonal
labor conventons have not only provided a guiding policy framework for
governments, employers, and other related organizatons, but also
signicantly strengthened universal workers' rights.
L
12
LABOR RIGHTS
INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
Current Global Labor Rights Status The Case of GCC Countries
Since the adopton of the ILO Declaraton in 1998, many governments,
employers, and workers' organizatons have increasingly extended
commitment to protectng and promotng the labor rights and welfare
of workers globally. A recent ILO report (2012), Giving Globalizaton a
Human Face shows that out of 183 UN member states, 48 of
them--partcularly those with high populaton levelshave yet to
ratfy these core conventons to ensure full labor protecton and
respect for all workers.
The Gulf Cooperaton Council (GCC) --comprising of six-oil rich
countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and
the United Arab Emirates- have increasingly adopted the ILO
conventons. Kuwait, for example, has the highest ratcaton status
among all the GCC countries, signing all ILO conventons, excluding
C100 Equal Remuneraton Conventon. The United Arab Emirates
(UAE) has also rated six of the major ILO conventons. Other GCC
countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman, are yet to ratfy some
important conventons. In partcular, Bahrain has contnued to have
the least number of ratcaton records relatve to other GCC countries
over the past few decades.
Although GCC countries have increasingly improved their existng
ratcaton records, more protecton eorts and implementaton of ILO
conventons are needed to uphold fundamental rights for all workers.
Some of the key concerns highlighted by internatonal human rights
organizatons, include: the exploitatve working conditons under the
Kafala Sponsorship System; poor living conditons; restrictons on
freedom to organize or bargain collectvely; non payment of wages;
weak implementaton of labor laws; and other sexual abuse and
violence that make migrants vulnerable in the GCC countries.
Therefore, stronger and unied GCC-wide policy coordinaton is
imperatve to collectvely address these ongoing labor violatons and
improve regional protecton mechanisms and standards in line with
the ILO Declaraton.
The Case of Qatar
Over the past few years, Qatar has experienced major critcisms from
internatonal labor and human rights organizatons, for failing to
adequately protect fundamental rights of migrant workers. In
partcular, these Western-based human rights organizatons heavily
critcized the Qatari government for failing to uphold internatonal
conventons.
Qatar also faces mountng critcisms of its natonal labor
markets--partcularly in the constructon and domestc work
sectors--for failing to extend protecton to migrant workers. A highly
respected Qatar-based human rights organizaton, Pravasi Nepali
Coordinaton Commitee found that more than 400 Nepali workers
have died since Qatar won the World Cup's 2020 bid. Other labor
rights organizatons also predict that these deaths are expected to
increase over the coming years.
Apart from the constructon sector, domestc work sector has also
generated major critcisms from internatonal human rights
organizatons. A recent ILO report highlighted how domestc workers'
legal exclusion from the country's labor laws have inevitably led to
rising number of labor violatons in Qatar and other GCC countries.
Similarly, a forthcoming iaIGO's policy study found that out of 303
surveyed Filipina domestc workers, 89% of them reported that
employers forced them to surrender their passports. Only 2.9% of
Filipina domestc workers reported having a single day o per week,
which directly violates the ILO conventons. These labor violatons
systematcally subject and make domestc workers' to vulnerable (i.e.
lack of legal redress) in the domestc labor market.
While the Qatari government has introduced new legal reforms to
eliminate abuses under the Kafala Sponsorship System, many
internatonal labor and human rights organizatons, as well as sending
country governments, remain pessimistc about these eorts.
CONCLUSION
lthough various governments globally
have increasingly rated major ILO
conventons, more labor protecton and
enforcement of labor laws are needed to
guarantee life, dignity, and respect for all
workers around the world. The ILO
Declaraton has not only provided a guiding
policy framework, but has also helped
countries improve their existng labor
standards . In the GCC context, while
countries have exerted eorts to ratfy and
improve their labor standards, stronger and
unied region-wide coordinaton is needed to
mitgate ongoing workers exploitatons in the
constructon and domestc work sector (i.e.
partcularly in the recruitment process).
More importantly, ongoing regional and
global dialogues, combined with expansive
technical assistance (specically on labor
standard/policy training for GCC country
ocials) and other developing/developed
natons, are immediately required to protect
fundamental labor and human rights for all
workers around the world.
A
13 INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
14
In the milieu
Ever since Britain occupied the Indian sub-contnent more than two
hundred years ago, millions of forest-dependent people have been
living in a state of subjugaton. Thats because the ruling class always
considered them a nuisance as it was impossible to usurp the forest
wealth without kicking them out from their abode. The picture didnt
change even afer independence in 1947.
In order to undo the historic injustce to them and provide them a
sustainable base of existence, the government of India passed the
Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditonal Forest Dwellers (Recogniton of
Forest Rights) Act, called the FRA in 2006. But it has been more than
seven years since this act was passed and there is a pressing need to
look at the status of its implementaton. It was supposed to aect the
lives of more than 100 million forest dependents in the country, which
is most evident in Rajaji Natonal Park in the foothills of Utarakhand.
Van Gujjars in Rajaji Natonal park
The Rajaji Park, which covers an area of 820 sq km, is home to the Van
Gujjars who consider the forest to be their veritable lifeline. It is the
only Muslim forest dwelling community in the country. Traditonally,
the Van Gujjars have practced bualo husbandry, and on an average,
a family owns up to 25 heads of bualoes that are considered sacred
and are treated with utmost care and aecton. The high quality,
pestcide-free milk and dairy products they produced would fetch a
good price in the urban centers of Utarakhand and Utar Pradesh.
Sustainable use of forest resources is a signicant feature of their
trade, as the forest caters to the fodder needs of the animals, and the
agricultural land is lef free for producing food crops. This fodder
imparts a special avor to the milk, thereby enhancing its quality.
And these people, who erect their makeshif dwellings called dera in
the foothills where they live during winter months and migrate to the
hills with their herds during the monsoon, nurture and nourish the
forest they live in. Their animals provide manure to the forest and their
well-planned and nely tuned transhumance helps to regenerate
vegetaton in the upper Himalayan stretches.
Sadly, they are facing the brunt of the forest ocials who destroy their
deras, kick them out, even beat their women and throwing their milk
and milk products away. And, as they arent classied as adivasis
(Scheduled Tribes) in Utarakhand, getng their forest rights is almost
impossible as they must give a 75-years proof of residence in the
forests.
THE VAN GUJJAR STORY
OPINION PIECE
INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
15
ll countries in the world include persons belonging
to natonal or ethnic, religious and linguistc
minorites. Although these people enrich the diversity of
their societes, they ofen have to face severe and
multple forms of discriminaton.
The protecton of the rights of minorites is provided for
under artcle 27 of the Internatonal Covenant on Civil
and Politcal Rights and artcle 30 of the Conventon on
the Rights of the Child. However, the United Natons
Declaraton on the Rights of Persons Belonging to
Natonal or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistc Minorites is
the document which sets essental standards and oers
guidance in adoptng appropriate legislatve and other
measures to secure the rights of persons belonging to
minorites.
The fundamental pillar of human rights and minority
legal protecton are the principles of non-discriminaton
and equality which consttute the basis of all core human
rights. They apply to everyone and prohibit
discriminaton on the basis of several categories such as
race, colour, religion, language, natonality and ethnicity.
Ensuring equal rights to minorites face several hurdles.
One of them is that there is no internatonally agreed
deniton as to which groups consttute minorites. The
diculty in arriving at a widely acceptable deniton lies
in the variety of situatons in which minorites live. Some
live together in well-dened areas, separated from the
dominant part of the populaton. Others are scatered
throughout the country. Some minorites have a strong
sense of collectve identty and recorded history; others
retain only a fragmented noton of their common
heritage.
According to a deniton oered in 1977 by Francesco
Capotort, Special Rapporteur of the United Natons
Sub-Commission on Preventon of Discriminaton and
Protecton of Minorites, a minority is: A group
numerically inferior to the rest of the populaton of a
State, in a non-dominant positon, whose members -
being natonals of the State - possess ethnic, religious or
linguistc characteristcs diering from those of the rest
of the populaton and show, if only implicitly, a sense of
solidarity, directed towards preserving their culture,
traditons, religion or language.
However, the natonality criterion in the above deniton
has ofen been challenged. The requirement to be in a
non-dominant positon remains important. In most
instances a minority group will be a numerical minority,
but in others a numerical majority may also nd itself in a
minority-like or non-dominant positon, such as Blacks
under the apartheid regime in South Africa.
That is why it is now commonly accepted that recogniton
of minority status should not be solely decided on a set of
rules laid down by a document or an organizaton, but
should be based on both objectve and subjectve
criteria.
Here is a brief outline of some of the important artcles
in the UN Declaraton on the Rights of Persons belonging
to Natonal or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistc Minorites.
A
Every country should protect people of natonal or ethnic, cultural, religious
and linguistc identty of minorites. They should also encourage conditons
for the promoton of that identty, using legislatve or other methods
Artcle 1
States should cooperate on questons relatng to persons belonging to
minorites, inter alia, exchanging informaton and experiences, in order to
promote mutual understanding and condence.
Artcle 6
Persons belonging to minorites may exercise their rights, including those
set forth in the present Declaraton, individually as well as in community
with other members of their group, without any discriminaton, without any
reprisals.
Artcle 3
Natonal policies and programmes shall be planned and implemented with
due regard for the legitmate interests of persons belonging to minorites.
Artcle 5
States should cooperate in order to promote respect for the rights set forth
in the present Declaraton.
Artcle 7
People belonging to these minority groups have the right to enjoy their own
culture; to profess and practce their own religion; to use their own
language; to partcipate in cultural, religious, social, economic and public
life; to partcipate in making natonal and regional decisions concerning
their minority; to establish and maintain their own associatons and to
maintain, free and peaceful contacts with other members of their group and
with persons belonging to other minorites without any discriminaton.
Artcle 2
Countries have the responsibility to ensure that minorites can exercise their
fundamental human rights without discriminaton; to create favorable
conditons to help people belonging to minorites to express and develop
their culture, language, religion, traditons and customs; to ensure that
these minorites have adequate opportunites to learn their mother tongue
or to have instructon in their mother tongue; to encourage knowledge of
the history, traditons, language and culture of the minorites existng within
their territory and to ensure that persons belonging to minorites may
partcipate fully in the economic progress and development in their country.
Artcle 4
While following this Declaraton countries should not violate the obligatons
and commitments they have assumed under internatonal treates and
agreements to which they are partes; prevent the enjoyment by all persons
of universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms; permit
any actvity contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Natons,
including sovereign equality, territorial integrity and politcal independence
of States.
Artcle 8
M I N O R I T Y R I G H T S
INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
A Struggle to Live with Dignity
Faced with evicton notces and harassment
from the park authorites, who refused to
recognize their traditonal rights, the Van
Gujjars, under the banner of Ban Gujjar
Kalyan Samit (BGKS), approached the
Utarakhand High Court in Nainital in 2005. A
legal batle ensued over the next few years,
and the director of the RNP was served a
notce of contempt by the High Court in
September 2008 for trying to resetle the
community against their will outside the
park; a move in clear violaton of the previous
court orders, which had ordered the director
to acknowledge the rights of the community
under the FRA, 2006. The High Court also
ordered the state government to form
commitees under the rules of the Act and
establish the process for ling claims within a
period of two months.
As intense pressure mounted on the ocials,
they relented and in December 2013, the
forest ocials accepted 797 claims, out of
which only 41 were disposed of and rejected
because of the lack of evidence.
Over the last few years, approximately 1,390
families have been relocated, though not
rehabilitated, in squalid one-room makeshif
huts. They are living in inhumane conditon,
far removed from their social, cultural and
environmental milieu, in Pathri and
Gaindikhata villages in Haridwar district.
However, the families remaining in the forest
are contnuously being harassed and beaten
by the RNP ocials and police and their deras
are being destroyed. Noorjamal, a Van Gujjar
from the park and a member the BGKS, was
detained in Biharigarh police staton, on 28
June 2011 on false charges was released only
afer strong protests by the Van Gujjars. On
26 November 2013, an order was passed by
the Utarakhand government, to move 228
Van Gujjar families residing in the Chillawali
range of the RNP to Shahmansur locality of
Bandarjud area, in the Haridwar district. Afer
this recent relocaton, about 215 Van Gujjar
households, residing in the Ramgarh and
Gauhri ranges, will be lef in the Park.
As Van-Gujjars are nomadic tribe, there are
many internatonal human right declaratons
such as
Artcle 13 of the Universal Declaraton of
Human Rights to which India is also a
signatory, says, Everyone has the right to
freedom of movement and residence
within the borders of each State.
Segovia Declaraton of Nomadic and
Transhumant Pastoralists, adopted in Spain
in September 2007 called upon the
natonal leader to ensure the full
partcipaton of nomadic and other
indigenous peoples in naton building by
extending legal and instruments to protect
the collectve rights of mobile peoples, by
ratfying the ILO Conventon 169
concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
in Independent Countries, and by
developing natonal legislaton in line with
this declaraton and other relevant
internatonal instruments.
The United Natons Declaraton on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples that was
adopted by the United Natons General
Assembly during its 61st session at UN
Headquarters in New York City just afer
this Declaraton, which says that such an
approach is necessary for removing human
rights violatons against the planet's 370
million indigenous people and stopping
discriminaton against them and removing
their marginalizaton.
Clearly, kicking them out and not
implementng the FRA in its true leters and
spirit would also mean violatng these
internatonal human rights conventons, of
which India is a part.
A well thought out plan is needed to secure
the forest rights and enttlements of the Van
Gujjars and their right to live with dignity in
their traditonal forest surroundings. If no
acton is taken, then this politcally powerless
and socially disadvantaged community, not
equipped to earn a living outside the forest
environment, will contnue to be harassed
and intmidated by the forest authorites.
Rakesh Agrawal is a researcher and writer based in India's Dehradun. Afer
graduatng from New Delhi's JNU in 1995, where he earned a Ph.D. deree in
internatonal relatons, he got involved with the development sector- doing
research, analysis, writng and documentaton for NGOs. He started working
with the Delhi-based NGO, CSE where he was the grassroots correspondent
with Down to Earth magazine. Now, he does research, writng and
documentaton covering issues like land, water, agriculture and forests
(natural resource management) and people's rights.
as they arent classied as adivasis (Scheduled
Tribes) in Utarakhand, getng their forest rights is
almost impossible as they must give a 75-years proof
of residence in the forests.
16 INSIGHT AUG 2014 ISSUE 01
2. Right to vote:
It wasnt untl the 20th
century that womens surage
became a global reality and
women were allowed to vote
and stand for electoral
oce.
4. Right to equal pay:
Women work two-thirds of the
worlds working hours and
produce half of the worlds food,
yet they earn only 10% of the
worlds income and own less
than 1% of the worlds
property.
1. Freedom of expression:
The Conventon of the Eliminaton of All Forms of
Discriminaton Against Women (CEDAW) places
importance on politcal partcipaton and educaton
but does not support free expression as a key right
for women.
3. Right to educaton:
a. 2-3rds of illiterate adults are women, a gure
that has remained almost statc since 1990.
b. Improving girls' educatonal levels has been
demonstrated to have clear impacts on the health and
economic future of young women, which in turn
improves the prospects of their entre community.
In the poorest countries of the world, 50% of
girls do not atend secondary school.
5.Right to equality before law:
128 countries stll have at least one legal
dierence on how men and women are treated-
including laws that make it impossible for a
woman to independently obtain an ID card, own
or use property access credit or get a job.
b. Approx. 150 million girls under the age of
18 have experienced some form of sexual
violence.
c. Female Genital Mutlaton: An estmated 100-140
million girls and women worldwide are currently living
with the consequences of FGM or cutng with
majority in Africa and the Middle East. In half the
countries for which gures were available in
2013, most girls were cut
before the age of ve.
6. Right to
bodily integrity:
a. A 2008 gure by UNDF
says One in three women
globally will be beaten,
raped or otherwise
abused during her
lifetme.
7. Marital or parental rights:
a. Child marriage is stll widespread; especially in
least developed countries where 30% of women aged
15-19 are married and due to this, maternal deaths are
28% higher among adolescents than among those aged
20-24.
b.Millions of mothers around the world undergo forced
abortons every year- to adhere to one-child policies
or because they did not conceive a child of the
preferred gender.
8.Right to healthcare:
a. According to a UN gure, more than 900
women and girls die every day due to
pregnancy and childbirth. The vast majority
of them could have lived if they were
treated equally, without discriminaton,
and had access to the basic care we
have known for over 60 years
Women form the majority of the worlds poorest people and the number of women living in rural poverty has increased
by 50% since 1975. Violence against women throughout the world and in all cultures prevails on an unimaginable scale,
and womens access to justce is ofen paired with discriminatory obstacles in law as well as in practce.
YOUR RIGHTS
iaIGO
Internatonal Associaton Internatonal Gulf Organizaton 2014
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