"The poor state of human rights in the country calls for the adoption of a National Charter of Human Rights on the lines of Charter of Democracy". This was stated by the former President Asif Ali Zardari in a message on the international human rights day on Saturday. "Human rights are indivisible, universal and its frontiers constantly expanding and it requires that political parties agree on some minimum standards that must be achieved within a specified time frame", he said.
Peace and democracy will elude us as long as there are no human rights because they all are intertwined, he said. We also need an environment of freedom and liberalism to promote these values the former President said in his message. Apart from guaranteeing the most fundamental right to life, liberty and security the minimum agreed charter should also guarantee the four basic freedoms: namely freedom of expression, freedom of information, right to assembly and the right to association, he said. It is a sad thought on the eve of this year's human rights day that the right to information has been denied by the absence of RTI (Right to Information) legislation at the federal level. The right to life threatened by enforced disappearances and extra judicial killings, he said.
It is pertinent to recall that the previous PPP government had signed the international human rights conventions on ending torture and ensuring civil and political rights of citizens, he said and demanded that implementation reports of these conventions be made public. He said that the sometime back the Senate unanimously passed the Bill against torture which is now before the National Assembly. "I wish to compliment the Senate I also urge the Senate to pass the Bill expeditiously". On this day let us also pay homage to those who have suffered in the course of struggle for human rights. We salute the human rights defenders and demand that special protection be given to them for causing of human rights.-PR