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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION What is Human Right
The concept of human rights is, historically, the flower of a European plant. It has now received the support of world nations. The term has come into common currency during the 20th century though the idea of 'human rights' is essentially the product of 17th and 18th century European thought. Respect for human rights is becoming a universal principle of good government. Human rights are rights possessed by people as human beings. They include all fundamental freedoms and are based on mankinds demand for a life in which the inherent dignity and worth of each human being will receive respect and protection. Human Rights were seen as fundamental to the well-being of society, under the influence of philosophers such as Grotius, Hobbes and Locke. Then, these rights were called 'natural' rights, or 'the rights of man'. These natural or moral rights became part of the political agenda. Philosophers such as Thomas Paine in his essay, The Rights of Man, John Stuart Mill in his Essay on Liberty, and Henry David Thoreau in his Civil Disobedience expanded the concept. Thoreau is the first philosopher to use the term, "human rights". This work has been extremely influential on individuals as different as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. Gandhi and King, in particular, developed their ideas on non-violent resistance to unethical government actions from this work. The great religions of the world - Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and others contribute profound ideas on the dignity of the human being, and are concerned with the duties and obligations of man to his fellow being. Ancient Indian thinkers like Manu, Parasar and Kautilya had tried meticulously to protect the rights and dignity of individuals from the rapacity of the rulers. These Indian thinkers prescribed many duties to the rulers to protect the dignity of the citizens.

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The history of human rights may be traced to early slave revolts. Later on liberalism, Marxism, socialism and anti-colonial freedom struggles shaped the human rights perspective. Some important events, which have contributed for the growth of human rights movement, are the Renaissance, the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688 that led to the English Bill of Rights, in 1689, the American and French Revolutions, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Industrial Revolution (1930) and the World War II.

Social Contract and Positive Law

One of the fundamental contributions to the philosophy of human rights arose from the idea of positive law. Thomas Hobbes saw natural law as being very vague and hollow and too open to vast differences of interpretation. Hobbes wanted to make the Leviathan all-powerful to protect individuals from, the anarchical state of nature through contract. For, he believed that human beings were basically greedy and violent creatures who lived on anarchy in their natural state. He was, however, conscious of the need to ensure the right to security to the individuals to thwart the exploitation by the rulers; and state came into being because of the recognition of this basic need. The individuals in the civil society acquired certain rights that are inalienable and inviolable that the ruler has to protect those rights. In case the ruler does not perform the task of protecting those rights he has to go. This is the essence of Hobbes contribution in empowering individuals against the Leviathan who might be all powerful. Lockes ideas laid the foundation for human rights. He believed that in the state of nature humans were basically good, peaceful and mercantile. He felt that the need for the protection of right to life and property necessitates the creation of a state. He insisted on having a ruler who might act as an arbiter to settle dispute that might arise over trade and property. Rousseau saw the first virtue of the social contract as its capacity to organize in collective defense of liberty and order. The social contract establishes a community with a potential for doing justice, thereby giving the citizens the morality which had been wanting in the state of nature.

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Thoughts of Karl Marx

Karl Marx was highly critical of the natural rights of individuals. He argued that these rights were idealistic and ahistorical. To him, in the society where the capitalist monopolizes the means of production and distribution, ideas like individual rights are illusory. These rights are meant to cater to the interest of the ruling bourgeois class only. The proletariats would have nothing but their chains. This Marxist paradigm is considered to be one of the most formidable theoretical tools to analyse the human rights abuses.

Human Rights as fabric of United Nations

In 1945, leaders of the world's nations met in San Francisco to form the United Nations. Inspired by the great South African pre-apartheid leader Field-Marshall Smuts, they included in the preamble to the Charter of the UN, an important reference to human rights. The relevant part of the preamble said: "We the peoples of the United Nations [are] determined to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small". This reference to human rights was followed up by six references throughout the UN Charter's operative provisions to human rights and fundamental freedoms. In addition, largely as a result of pressure brought to bear on the political leaders by some 42 United States non-government organizations, Article 68 was included. It required the Economic and Social Council to set up commissions in the human rights and economic and social fields. The outcome was the establishment of a Commission on Human Rights. Thus the Commission is one of the very few bodies to draw its authority directly from the Charter of the United Nations. The Commission then turned to formulating the declaration. It decided to name it the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The very name emphasizes the UDHR to set a standard of rights for all people everywhere - whether male or female, black or white, communist or capitalist, victor or vanquished, rich or poor, for members of a majority or a minority in the community.

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(There are 30 Articles in the Declaration, of which 17 could be regarded as relating to civil and political rights and 8 to economic and social rights). On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly endorsed the text of the UDHR. The Declaration had not managed at that time to achieve full recognition from the communist and certain Middle Eastern countries, but at least they had not voted against it. The UDHR has become a part of the fabric of the UN itself and has become an increasingly powerful instrument for the achievement of human dignity and peace.

About the Human Rights Day

The UDHR was adopted on 10th December, 1948. The date has since served to mark Human Rights Day worldwide. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the main UN rights official, and her office play a major role in coordinating efforts for the yearly observance of Human Rights Day.

Celebration of 60th Anniversary of the UDHR

The celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with the theme, Dignity and Justice for all of us, has been of great importance to the world community at large. It encapsulates and recognizes the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. A common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge. And therefore, the General Assembly, proclaims that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a common standard of achievement for all the peoples and all the nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of the society, keeping this declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the people of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

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CHAPTER 2
HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
The Constitution of India is one of the most rights-based constitutions in the world. Drafted around the same time as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Indian Constitution captures the essence of human rights in its Preamble, and the sections on Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy. The Constitution of India is based on the principles that guided India's struggle against a colonial regime that consistently violated the civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights of the people of India. The freedom struggle itself was informed by the many movements for social reform, against oppressive social practices like sati, child marriage, untouchability etc. Thus by the mid-1920s, the Indian National Congress had already adopted most of the civil and political rights in its agenda. The movement led by Dr B R Ambedkar against discrimination against the Dalits also had an impact on the Indian Constitution and its framing into the worlds largest written constitution. In spite of the fact that most of the human rights found clear expression in the Constitution of India, the independent Indian State carried forward many colonial tendencies and power structures, including those embedded in the elite Indian Civil Service. Though the Indian State under Jawaharlal Nehru took many proactive steps and followed a welfare state model, the police and bureaucracy remained largely colonial in their approach and sought to exert control and power over citizens. The casteist, feudal and communal characteristics of the Indian polity, coupled with a colonial bureaucracy, weighed against and dampened the spirit of freedom, rights and affirmative action enshrined in the Constitution. Thought there have been several constitutional amendments to sort out these problems, but the structure of Indian society was needed to overhaul if any desirable and satisfactory result is wanted. In the first 15 years of the Indian republic, such inherent contradictions within the Indian polity were glossed over by the euphoria of 'nation-building', an agenda generally

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endorsed by political parties, the middle class and elite civil society. However, when the contradictions within the Indian polity and State came into the open in the late-'60s, the oppressive character of the State began to be challenged by student movements and ultraleft formations like the Naxalite movement. When the Indian State began to suppress such expressions of political dissent and mini-rebellions, the violation of human rights by the State began to command attention. Over a period of 30 years, the articulation and assertion of human rights within civil society has grown into a much richer, more diverse and relatively more powerful discourse at multiple levels. A brief historical sketch of the different trajectories of human rights discourse will help us locate human rights in the historical context. There are four specific trajectories of human rights discourse in the Indian context 1. Civil and Political Rights, 2. Rights of the Marginalized (such as women, Dalits and Adivasis), 3. Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and 4. The Right to Transparent and Accountable Governance. Though each of these trajectories is interconnected, they were promoted by different sets of actors (often with varying ideological affiliations) at different points in time. There has always been tension and lack of mutual appreciation between those who promoted civil liberties and the left-oriented groups who worked towards the structural transformation of socio-economic conditions and consequently of the State. As the concept of human rights was perceived as a western idea to gloss over inequalities and as a means of legitimising the capitalist and imperialist projects of the west (particularly the US) the left-oriented groups were clearly skeptical about human rights, particularly as expressed by the civil liberties groups. Though in some quarters such skepticism still exits, there has been a greater recognition of the need to promote and protect human rights, in spite of the misuse of the human rights discourse by the new

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imperialist forces and as far as the misuse of human rights discourse is concerned it can only be sort out by making the target group aware of their rights.

Civil and Political Rights

The growing disenchantment with the Indian State that was expressed in various movements and political formations in the late-'60s and early-'70s was not tolerated by Indira Gandhi's regime. It is in this context that the movement for civil liberties led by liberal middle class intellectuals and activists became relevant. Organisations like the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) played a significant role in initiating and promoting a new discourse on civil liberties. However, many of the mainstream left parties, influenced by the socialist pretensions of Mrs Gandhi's regime, viewed the middle class movement for civil liberties as the agenda of the bourgeoisie and mistrusted the liberal voices of human rights groups as part of the American agenda. As many liberal institutions that promoted civil and political rights received funding from international agencies, the pro-establishment conservative groups as well as the leftist groups began to mistrust any organisation that received foreign funds. The insecurity of Mrs Gandhi's regime resulted in the suppression of all dissent and the ultimate suspension of most Civil and Political Rights during the Emergency (1975-77). Almost all political opponents and activists were imprisoned and democratic rights suspended. The forced eviction of slum dwellers in Delhi and forced mass sterilisations created a sense of fear and insecurity among the people. It was during the Emergency, when every civil and political right was violated by the State, that the need to promote and fight for human rights was accepted across political classes. The civil liberties movement highlighted and challenged arbitrary detention, custodial violence and police atrocities. In the last 20 years, the movement for civil and political rights has become much more coherent and widespread. It has grown beyond a set of urban middle class liberal

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intellectuals to a wide and diverse socio-political base. With the increase of insurgencies in the 1980s and the consequent State suppression of separatist movements in different parts of the country, various kinds of human rights organisations -- some genuine and some fronts for underground groups -- began to appear. The massacre of the Sikh community following the assassination of Mrs Gandhi in 1984 raised serious questions about the role of the State in protecting the fundamental rights of citizens. The rise of right-wing Hindu 'nationalist' forces, the biased stand of the State machinery, and the consequent communal violence all over the country in the last 15 years have given rise to a different set of actors who stress on the civil and political rights of the minorities. The complicity of the State in abetting and supporting the planned violence against the Muslim community in Gujarat in 2002, where more than 1,500 people were killed and hundreds of homes and shops destroyed and looted, brought out the contradictions inherent in the Indian polity and State. But the rise of fanatical and right-wing forces and their anti-human rights postures have, in a way, helped to bring together human rights activists across the political spectrum, including leftist groups and minority rights groups. Public Interest Litigation and the judicial activism of the Supreme Court initiated by Justices V R Krishna Iyer and P N Bhagwati has played a major role in expanding the scope of human rights and giving it a much-needed legitimacy through some very important verdicts (on prisoners' rights, rights of landless labourers, release of bonded labourers, etc). Justice Krishna Iyer, the law minister of the first elected communist government in Kerala in 1956, was instrumental in building a new discourse that brought together the left-oriented groups and the civil liberties groups as part of the larger human rights community in India. Most of his judgements reiterated the obligation of the State to protect rights and equally, the participation of people in securing their rights and giving them meaning. The establishment of the National Commission of Human Rights under the Human Rights Act of 1993 provided a new impetus to civil and political rights in India.

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Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

This Act was passed in the year 1993 with a view to provide for a constitution of a National Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Courts for better protection of human rights and for matters concerned therein. It lays down provisions for constitution of National Human Rights Commission, appointment of its chairperson and other members, removal of the members of the Commission, term of office of members, terms and conditions of service of members, procedure to be regulated by the Commission, officers and other staff, functions and powers of the Commission and the method to be followed in case of a complaint. In the same way, these things are laid down in case of State Human Rights Commission. The National Commission is empowered to inquire into and investigate complaints of human rights violations and recommend appropriate relief measures to the Government. At the state level, similar functions are entrusted to State Commissions. The Act had a vowed objective of establishment of Human Rights Court at district level, apart from establishing Human Rights Commissions at the national and state level. Chapter VI of the Act deals with the Human Rights Courts. It also states that for every Human Rights Court, the State Government shall, by notification, specify a Public Prosecutor or appoint an advocate who has been in practice as an advocate for not less than seven years, as a Special Public Prosecutor for the purpose of conducting cases in that Court. The Act also contains provisions for grants and funds by the Central and State Governments as they find appropriate to the National and State Governments respectively. Both Central and State Commissions are required to keep proper accounts and records and is required to maintain annual accounts. The Commission cannot inquire into any matter which is pending before a State Commission or any other Commission duly constituted under any law for the time being in force. The government of India can also constitute special investigating teams if necessary for investigation in the matters of

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human rights violations. Also no action can be taken against the Central or State government and National and State governments for anything done in good faith or with good intention in accordance with the rules of this Act. The Central and State governments can also make rules by notification to carry out the provisions of this Act. In case of any difficulty, the Central government can make provisions which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act and help in removing difficulty.

Rights of the Marginalized

While civil and political rights focused largely on the rights of the individual, in the mid-'70s a new human rights discourse, based on group rights, collective rights and people's rights, began to be articulated within the framework of social and political empowerment. The emergence of the women's movement in the 1970s gave a new dimension to the rights discourse in India. In 1974, the Committee on the Status of Women in India submitted a report that highlighted the marginalisation of women in every sphere of life. The emergence of a number of women's groups such as Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), Manushi, Joint Women's Forum etc raised a new consciousness and public debate on the issue of women's status, domestic violence, dowry, rape, custodial violence, trafficking and the invisible labour of women in the household. The women's movement not only critiqued the Indian patriarchy, casteism and feudalism, it also promoted a new awareness of women's rights. Though it began as a largely urban movement, over a period of 30 years, the women's movement has emerged as one of the most articulate and widespread movements in India, with new campaigns for women's political participation and rights. It is partly because of the pressure from the women's movement that the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments to introduce local self-government provided 33% reservation for women in local self-government

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institutions. The women's movement has played a key role in ensuring the participation of women in the electoral process and governance. In the post-Emergency period a number of political and social activists and public-spirited professionals opted out of party/electoral politics and focussed on the micro-level process of social mobilisation amongst marginalised communities. These social action groups working at the micro level began to highlight the historic and structural marginalisation of the Dalits (the so-called outcasts), Adivasis (more than 80 million tribal people who form around 8.3% of the Indian population) and landless labourers. The empowerment of the marginalised has been the key mission of such social action groups. However, when it came to the demand for entitlement for these communities, most of these groups began to use the rights language, particularly because of the constitutional guarantees. As many of these groups were skeptical of mainstream human rights discourse, they have used the term 'People's Rights' to emphasise the collective characteristics of rights and to focus on the political aspect of their rights. Thus from the mid-'80s there has been a consistent effort to define and rearticulate Dalit rights, the rights of Adivasis, people's rights over natural resources, etc. This became more pronounced following the large-scale displacement caused by large dams, development projects, forestry projects, mining companies, etc. Most of the displaced people were Adivasis and Dalits. The Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Movement), the Fishworkers Struggle and the Dalit Human Rights campaigns brought the issue of people's rights and rights of the marginalised communities into the mainstream political discourse of India. This trajectory of human rights discourse combined an integrated vision of human rights based on social justice, affirmative action, people's participation and economic justice. The adverse effects of neo-liberal globalisation helped to develop a pan-Indian discourse on people's rights and also helped to connect with similar movements in the global south.

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Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The explicit focus on Economic, Social and Cultural (ESC) Rights is relatively new compared to civil and political rights and group rights. The emergence of ESC rights in the mainstream development agenda is in consonance with the emergence of more institutionalised and funded initiatives for poverty eradication and social development. In the initial years, many such initiatives and institutions (commonly termed nongovernment organisations or NGOs) began with a welfarist approach, trying to supplement or substitute the welfare State. However, over a period of time there has been a widespread realisation of the limitations of micro-level development intervention and poverty eradication programmes that do not question the politics and policy frameworks that perpetuate deprivation. Most of the welfare/development NGOs, with foreign funding support, became either subcontractors of the dominant development models or well-meaning do-gooders who addressed the symptoms of poverty and not the socio-political conditions and structural inequalities that perpetuate poverty. It is in this context that the need to bridge the microlevel action and macro-level political and policy arenas became relevant. As a result, a number of grassroots action groups and mass movements working with women, Dalits, Adivasis and the landless poor began to draw from the fundamental rights and directive principles of the Indian Constitution to pressurise and persuade the State to meet its obligation to fulfil ESC rights. An activist judiciary has also served to expand the scope of fundamental rights to incorporate economic and social rights as well. Progressive and creative judicial intervention expanded the scope of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution which guarantees the Right to Life. Justice Krishna Iyer and other activist judges, through a series of very significant judgements, drew extensively from human rights law, to conclude that the right to life means the right to live with dignity, and that the right to live with dignity includes the right to livelihood, right to education and right to health.

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These progressive judicial pronouncements were in many ways a response to the social action groups and movements that sought judicial intervention to persuade and pressurise the government to protect and fulfil the rights of the most marginalised. Thus the emergence of ESC rights is the result of advocacy efforts by grassroots action groups and NGOs in India. The series of World Summits, starting with the Vienna Summit on Human Rights in 1993, helped to bring ESC rights onto the agenda of many international development organisations. This in turn also resulted in many of the specialised groups taking up campaigns to promote specific rights. This includes the campaign for the fundamental right to education, which resulted in the 86th amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing the fundamental right to education. There have been similar campaigns for the rights of self-employed women and unorganised workers, the right to universal healthcare and a number of other campaigns focussing on economic and social rights. The emergence of the environmental and consumer movements in the1980s paved the way for a series of new legislations and policy interventions to protect the rights of consumers and people. The resurgence of the Adivasi (tribal) movement and the increased marginalisation of the minority communities by the right-wing Hindu nationalist government has brought cultural rights into public debate and policy discourse. While the 1970s can be termed the decade of the emergence of the civil liberties movement, the 1980s witnessed the emergence of group rights and people's rights over resources and livelihoods. It is in the 1990s that ESC rights came center-stage. Various factors including rights-based reorientation by international development agencies and organisations, political compulsions on the ground and the increased visibility of the rights discourse provided the right conditions for advocating ESC rights. However, it is ESC rights that are most elusive. This is because the rhetoric of economic and social rights is not necessarily reflected in policies, programmes and

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budgetary allocations. As a result, the State pretends to promote economic and social rights, while systematically undermining these rights following the dictums of the IMF, World Bank and WTO. This situation leads to a growing sense of disillusionment and cynicism about the so-called rights-based approach. As a result the political content and policy feasibility of the rights-based approach is increasingly questioned, particularly because it is more often used as a development strategy than a means for political empowerment of the people and policy transformation.

Right to Transparent and Accountable Governance

The great expectations of India's welfare State began to recede after 20 years of hope and optimism. Over a period of time, the welfare State became too fat to be functional. The saturated State failed to either deliver welfare or protect and fulfill rights. The government apparatus and the government itself faced a credibility crisis. Political parties as the legitimising vehicle of parliamentary democracy suffered a lack of credibility due to the criminalisation of politics. The proliferation of career politicians and increasing instances of corruption in all aspects of governance brought the issues of accountability and transparency into the development discourse. The saturation of the State, coupled with the debt crisis, forced the government to seek financial and policy assistance from the Bretton Wood institutions to make the failed welfare State work. However, the accompanying neo-liberal policy prescriptions of these institutions in the form of structural adjustments, privatisation and liberalisation further alienated the poor from the Indian State. That is how two clear tendencies in governance became clear by the mid-'90s. The first set of actors, led by the World Bank, advocated 'good governance' to address resource leakage, misappropriation and mismanagement of the loans taken from the Bank and to ensure that there would be relatively less risk in credit management and repayment. This was more for strategic reasons than any commitment to the democratic

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principles of public accountability and transparency. The second set of proponents of transparent governance have been grassroots action groups (like the Mazdoor Kisaan Shakti Sangathan in Rajasthan) and advocacy organisations who sought government accountability as part of the citizen's right to know and the right to participate in governance. The Jan Sunwais (public hearings) and social audits initiated by MKSS in Rajasthan are a well-known example of a process of mobilization that combines a rightsbased approach with people's participation. The people's planning process in local selfgovernance in Kerala promoted by the Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) is another example of participatory practices with a rights-based perspective. The Community Learning Movement for accountable governance, promoted by the National Centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS), is an example of a rights-based praxis, based on the principles and practice of participation. Thus the new movements and institutions are working to advance the right to accountable governance and ensure that the peoples' right to participate in governance and development are the basic premises for people-centred governance and development. In spite of the relatively greater visibility and legitimacy of the human rights discourse, the meaning and utility of rights is still a highly contested arena. Though India has ratified five of the six covenants (ICCPR, ICESCR, CEDAW, ICCRC, and CERD) and conventions that constitute the legally-binding international human rights treaties, the implementation of these rights is rather poor. Although the new policy papers and the documents of the Planning Commission of India increasingly use the rights language, in terms of real programmes and implementation the performance of the Government of India is far from satisfactory.

Making Human Rights Work: Linking Rights with Participation

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If human rights are to have real meaning, they must be linked to public participation. And participation must be preceded by empowerment of the people. A sense of empowerment requires a sense of dignity, self-worth and the ability to ask questions. The sense of empowerment along with a sense of legal entitlements and constitutional guarantees gives rise to a political consciousness based on rights. A process of political empowerment and a sense of rights empower citizens to participate in the public sphere. Most mass movements in modern India (the All India Democratic Women's Association, Ragpickers Union etc) have emphasised the process of empowerment while they also 'struggled' for rights. The notion of 'struggle' was implicit in claiming and promoting rights. Most social action groups and people's organisations started by challenging and changing oppressive power structures that perpetuate patriarchy, casteism and poverty. Thus at the core of many such organisations was political transformation through people's empowerment wherein people can assert their rights and voices and demand justice. The process of social and political empowerment encompassed a sense of conscience based on dignity, rights and participation. That is why the slogans of the Shramajeevi Sanghatana, the union of erstwhile bonded labourers and Adivasis (tribal) in Thane district of Maharashtra assert that "We are not animals, but human beings", "We are not here to beg, but to demand justice". People-centred advocacy is a possible link between rights and participation. People-centred advocacy seeks to connect social development, human rights and governance. It is about creating enabling conditions for socio-political empowerment and enhancing the capability of the marginalised to advocate for themselves so that they can claim their rights, seek public accountability and participate in the process of governance. People-centred advocacy seeks to go beyond changing public policies to changing people's attitudes, behaviour and unjust power relationships.

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The Community Learning Movement (CLM) promoted by the National Centre for Advocacy Studies (NCAS) is an effort to empower grassroots communities so that they can seek accountability from the institutions of governance, demand their rights and participate in the political process. CLM takes a cluster of 10-25 villages. Four volunteers from each village participate in an action-learning cycle of 18 months, in six phases of three months each. Once in three months, the volunteers meet for two to three days to share experiences, learn new topics and build strategic plans for addressing local issues. The Learning Space or Open Notice Board maintained by the CLM local unit provides information (policy, budget, local government etc) that affects the villagers and the volunteers update the Board regularly. As a result of these initiatives, the CLM group in Karnataka has come up with its own community newspaper and wall magazine. Ordinary women, who have developed a sense of their rights and responsibility, have sought accountability from local government officials and exposed corrupt forest officials involved in illegal tree-felling and smuggling of timber from the forest. People-centred advocacy can be an effective way to link rights and participation. However, the challenge is how to transform this linkage into an emancipatory politics that would help the poor emerge from the structural inequalities that perpetuate poverty. Human rights are legitimized claims and the State has an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil these rights. However, rights become real only when people begin to realise their full potential as human beings and assert their rights in the private and public sphere.

Public Interest Litigation

In the course of more than 60 years of working of the Constitution of India, Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has proved to be a useful tool the protection of unheard people against draconian actions of the government and the resourceful people. It has

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now became a social activism by raising voice against any malpractice or violation of human rights by this litigation. This is a jurisdiction that was sponsored by the court, but which developed with the participation and enterprise of activists and the press. The 1990s have, however, seen an appropriation of this jurisdiction by judges and by lawyers, often acting at crosspurposes with activist concerns. At its inception, the PIL jurisdiction of the High Courts and the Supreme Court, with a relaxed rule of standing and simplified procedure, where even a postcard sent to the court highlighting human rights violations could be converted into a petition was a means of asserting the courts relevance in the human rights arena. The court has used commissioners to do fact finding expert agencies to assist in deciding upon a course of action the issuance of directions, and the monitoring of their implementation by the court through report-back methods the involvement of all governments, at the state and the centre, since many of the issues have been systemic, and widespread, e.g., the condition of undertrial populations, or the cleaning up of cities. PIL was conceived as a non-adversarial process, though located within an adversarial judicial system. In 1988, the Supreme Court asserted its hold over a case, and the cause, even where a public interest petitioner may seek to withdraw the case from the court. The power of the court to reach issues has expanded with PIL, as has the Supreme Courts exercise of its constitutional power to do what it considers necessary in the interests of complete justice.74 The rights orientation of the court has therefore acquired significance. Conflicts among rights have manifested over time. The use of the courts, and the PIL jurisdiction, by activists, and other public interest petitioners, has

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come into contention particularly since the Delhi Industries Relocation case, Almitra Patel and the proceedings in the Bombay High Court in the Borivili National Park case. The cradle scheme in Tamil Nadu was initiated by the state government to prevent female infanticide. The midday meal scheme has been a means of reducing malnourishment among children, while bringing them into the schoolroom. Among schemes to improve the status of the girl child, we heard of a government scheme where if a girl child studies up to standard X, the government will pay Rs.10,000 on marriage. In the nature of help lines, which are sometimes located within the offices of high-ranking police personnel, we heard of a Crime Stopper Control Bureau in Tamil Nadu. The coopting of NGOs in monitoring and implementing laws, policies and schemes has been routinised in the last decade. It may take the form of membership of a commission, such as the Rehabilitation Council of India membership of committees set up by the government to make policies, e.g., in the making of a population appointing NGOs as monitoring agencies, e.g. under the Equal Remuneration Act 1976. empowering NGOs to take action under the law, e.g., s. 13 of the JJ Act 198675 funding NGOs carrying out programmes devised by state agencies, e.g., providing child care facilities for children of women in prostitution participating in training of judicial officers and policemen, for instance, in gender issues, matters of human rights, and child rights..

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In the Janmabhoomi programme of the Andhra Pradesh government, one example of the process of involvement of the people in reviving, or creating, resources - in desilting tanks lying long in disuse, for instance - is achieved through giving work contracts to collectives such as Mahila Mandals. This, however, is not accompanied by a transfer of rights to the local people. The impact this has on the panchayat system may need to be studied. The changes in the role, and autonomy, of the NGOs in relation to the state was adverted to by many respondents, and may need a more systematic appraisal.

Right to Information
Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI), is big achievement for the democracy and constitutionalism in India. It has empowered the common man to know all about the implementation of public policies and working of the government institutions. From the start it has been used as a weapon against unaccountable and corrupt government officials. By using this right various journalists and social workers have came to light many issues of official irregularities and neglect. The RTI has became an activism today, this Act has strengthened the right to freedom of expression. A concerted, and effective, campaign for the right to information has been underway in Rajasthan, spearheaded by the Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (MKSS). It has caught the imagination of activists and groups across the country, particularly as a tool for preventing and challenging violations as well as asserting the right to development. A norm of transparency has been given prominence, including transparency of the government as well as the group working in the area. The irresistible force it has generated has moved the government, albeit reluctantly, to table a Freedom of Information Bill 2000.

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Meanwhile, the right to information has been introduced into the law following the Bhopal Gas disaster. Among the persons now entitled to receive information about potential hazards in a factory are: the workers the local authority people living in the vicinity of the factory

as also the Inspector appointed under the Factories Act 1948. The information is to include the means of disposal of hazardous substances, and the arrangements for their storage or transportation. Information on what should be done to limit damage in the event of a disaster is also to be disseminated; the onus is on those running the factory. We did not, however, hear of anyone having used these provisions. The rights inherent in these provisions demand to be asserted.

CHAPTER 3
FORMS OF VIOLATION
Today there is universal consensus that all individuals are entitled to certain basic rights under any circumstance. These include certain civil liberties and political rights. The most fundamental of these rights is the right to life and physical safety. Human rights are the articulation of the need for justice, tolerance, mutual respect, and human dignity in all the activities. Speaking of rights expresses the idea that all individuals are part of the scope of morality and justice. To protect human rights is to ensure that people receive some degree of decent, humane treatment. To violate most basic human rights is to deny individuals their

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fundamental, moral entitlements. Examples are acts typically deemed "crimes against humanity," including genocide, torture, slavery, rape, enforced sterilization or medical experimentation, and deliberate starvation. Because these policies are sometimes implemented by governments, limiting the unrestrained power of the state is an important part of international law. Underlying laws that prohibit the various "crimes against humanity" is the principle of non discrimination and the notion that certain basic rights apply universally.

Assault on Political and Fundamental Rights

Over the course of time, assaults on political rights and the fundamental right to life are typically widespread. Some of the gravest violations of the right to life are massacres, the starvation of entire populations, and genocide. The term "war crime" refers to a violation of the rules of justice in war by any individual, whether military or civilian. The laws of armed conflict prohibit attacks on civilians and the use of weapons that cause unnecessary suffering or long-term environmental damage. Government forces may carry out programs of torture. Torture can be either physical or psychological. Torture is used in some cases as a way to carry out interrogations and extract confessions or information. Political oppression may also take the form of discrimination. When this occurs, basic rights may be denied on the basis of religion, ethnicity, race, or gender. Apartheid, which denies political rights on the basis of race, is perhaps one of the most severe forms of discrimination. Violations of political and economic rights are the root causes of many crises. When rights to adequate food, housing, employment, and cultural life are denied, and large groups of people are excluded from the decision-making processes, there is likely to be great social unrest. Such conditions often give rise to justice conflicts, in which parties demand that their basic needs be met.

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Human rights are the rights of all to equal opportunity for social, economic, and psychological development, regardless of race, religion, caste, class, or gender. It is sad that we have to remind ourselves that all of us are human, and none should assume that some are more human than others. Sadder still, that we have to lay down laws to protect this natural equality, because some do believe and behave in ways which prove that some humans are more equal than others, meaning entitled to more privileges than others. The situation in our country has deteriorated to such an extent that the majority are deprived of the opportunity to develop themselves. Theirs is a struggle for mere survival. Denied their natural human rights to personal development, they are fighting to assert simply their right to be human. Indeed, many conflicts are sparked or spread by violations of human rights. For example, massacres or torture may inflame hatred and strengthen a determination to continue fighting. In cases where extreme violations of human rights have occurred, reconciliation and peace building become much more difficult. Unresolved human rights issues can serve as obstacles to peace negotiations. This is because it is difficult for parties to move toward conflict transformation and forgiveness when memories of severe violence and atrocity are still primary in their minds.

War Crimes and Discrimination Against Women

The term "war crime" refers to a violation of the rules of justice in war by any individual, whether military or civilian. Women and girls are often raped by soldiers or forced into prostitution. Trafficking in women is a form of sexual slavery in which women are transported across national borders and marketed for prostitution. This is another form of the human rights violation as far as women are concerned.

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Women face double discrimination being members of specific caste, class or ethnic group apart from experiencing gendered vulnerabilities. Women have low status as compared to men in the Indian society. They have little control over the resources and important decisions related to their lives. In India, early marriage and childbearing affects the health of the women adversely. Also, maternal mortality rate is very high. During infancy and growing years a girl child faces different forms of violence like infanticide, neglect of nutrition needs, education and healthcare. As adults they face violence due to unwanted pregnancies, domestic violence, sexual abuse at the workplace and sexual

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violence including marital rape and honor killings. The experience of violence and its impact on health varies according to the womens caste, class and ethnic identity. Women have always been exploited by the patriarchal society. Even after more than 50 years of our independence, Indian woman wear a pathetic look. They face an atmosphere of debilitating violence.

Child Abuse In Its Various Forms

Children form a very vulnerable part of the human societies. They deserve to be valued, nurtured, and have their rights protected by responsible adults. It is incumbent upon every human being to protect and nurture his biological children. The world shall be a better place depending on how children are treated today. Therefore, own selfish interests, it is advisable to wake up to the plight of vast number of children living in poverty, where they are denied their basic right to live as human beings. So pathetic is the condition of the children that the UN has formulated The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in order to awaken slumbering nations to prevent the waste of their most valuable natural resource.

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India has more working children than any other nation. Despite Constitutional guarantee of civil rights, children face discrimination on the basis of caste, religion and ethnicity. Even the basic need for birth registration that will assure them nationality and identity remain unaddressed, affecting childrens right to basic services. Everyday news of children dying of starvation, dipping sex ratio, child marriage, child trafficking, child abuse, etc. is very common. Violations of childrens rights are not limited to poor and downtrodden only. They happen in middle class and elite homes also, though in different forms. Girls in vulnerable situations such as poverty, disability, homelessness etc. find

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themselves doubly disadvantaged, by their gender and the physical, economic, political, social situation that they find themselves in. It is therefore imperative to take a gender perspective into account in examining the situation of children. Some other examples of violations of childrens rights are pre-natal diagnostic techniques to determine the sex, illegal sale of babies, imposition of corporal punishment on the child, children as victims of crimes sexual abuse, bonded labour, child labour, child prostitution, use by criminal gangs, juveniles, etc. Various legislations like Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, etc. have been made in addition to the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, to deal with specific issues.

Vulnerability of Senior Citizens and Disabled people

In India, the growing number of elderly is a matter of serious concern for government as well as policy planners. The vulnerability among the elderly is not only due to an increased incidence of illness and disability, but also due to their economic dependency upon their spouses, children and other younger family members.

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Vulnerability among the elderly also depends on their living arrangement since the elderly are less capable of taking care of themselves compared to younger persons and need the care and support of others in several aspects. Disability poses greater challenges in obtaining the needed range of services. Persons with disabilities face several forms of discrimination and have reduced access to education, employment and other socioeconomic opportunities. Mental illness is a prominent form of disability.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

The concept of secularism is one facet of right of equality. Secularism is the basic feature of the Indian Constitution. It envisages a cohesive, unified and classless society. The aim of any civilized society is to secure dignity to every individual. There cannot be dignity without equality of status and opportunity. The absence of equal opportunities in any walk of social life is a denial of equal status and equal participation in the affairs of the society. The condition of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes was very bad in the society. The Scheduled castes (lower castes) remained economically dependent, politically powerless and culturally subjugated to the upper caste. The Scheduled Tribes like the Scheduled Castes face structural discrimination within the Indian society. Unlike the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes are a product of marginalization based on ethnicity. Their birth-right was the badge of shame, degradation, lifelong poverty, and their only fault was to be born to their parents. In India, the population of Scheduled Tribes is around 8 million and they are socially and economically disadvantaged. They are mainly landless with little control over resources such as land, forest and water. They constitute a large proportion of agricultural laborers, casual laborers, plantation laborers, industrial laborers, etc. This has resulted in poverty among them, low level of education and reduced access to health care services. Initially as according to the hierarchy followed in the society, the work of the

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lowest caste in the society was to eliminate the pollution from the society. This caste was economically dependent on the upper caste for existence.

One sixth of Indias population live a precarious existence, shunned by much of Indian society because of their rank as untouchables or Dalits literary meaning

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broken people at the bottom of the Indian caste system. Dalits are discriminated against, denied access to land and basic resources forced to work in degrading conditions and routinely abused at the hands of police and dominant caste groups that enjoy state protection. In the case of Janki Prasad Parimoo v. State of Jammu and Kashmir it was held that Article 15(4) speaks about socially and educationally backward classes of citizens, while Article 16(4) speaks only of any backward class of citizens. However, it is now settled that the expression backward class of citizens in Article 16(4) means the same thing as the expression any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens in Article 15(4). When the Constitution of India was adopted in the year 1950, under the influence of Dr. [Link], it departed from the norms and values of the caste system in favour of Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity guaranteeing all citizens the basic human rights regardless of caste, creed, race or ethnicity. The implementation and enforcement of these principles has however been a dismal failure. Various legislations and rules like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 have also been passed but the ground reality is have not changed enough encouragingly. Even today the practice of discrimination on the basis of caste is prevailing.

Cutodial Violence
Custody death, torture in custody and custodial rape have been subjects of much concern. Custodial violence has been on the agenda of civil rights groups for over two decades, and reports documenting instances of violence and its systemic occurrence, have been instrumental in the campaigns against custodial violence. Although custody deaths have found an acknowledgment from the state, and the NHRC has issued directions to the states

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to report of the NHRC any death in custody within 24 hours of the occurrence, and to videotape the post-mortem proceedings, it is difficult to assess if this has resulted in any reduction in the incidence of custody deaths. NHRC reports show a marked increase in the reported cases of custody deaths each year. This is attributed, by the NHRC, to increased reporting and not to increased incidence of the crime; this, however, needs to be further investigated.

The incidence of custody deaths demonstrates more undeniably the brutalisation of the processes of law enforcement by the police and armed forces. However, custodial torture (not resulting in death) is not at the focus of campaigns to reduce custodial violence. There are few places which have taken up the treatment of the victims of torture as victims of torture. The Indian state, in the meantime, has resisted attempts (including that of the NHRC) to have it ratify the Torture Convention.

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In recent reported cases from the Gauhati High Court, it is 15 and 16-year olds who are found to have been victims of state violence, and the defence of the state has been that they were hardened militants. Custodial rape has found an expanded definition - in terms of power rape - in the Penal Code, 1860.8 However, these provisions have hardly been invoked. In the meantime, most often, judicial perceptions of the victim of custodial rape have in significant measure, discredited the victims version, and blamed the victim resulting in reduction of sentence for policemen convicted of rape to less than the minimum prescribed in law. From Mathura to Rameeza Bi to Maya Tyagi to Suman Rani - these women have become symbols of patriarchal prejudices. Campaigns in the matter of custodial rape have invoked their name, and they are now names that are etched into the history and legend of the womens movement. In the meantime, the legal dictum that the identity of a victim of rape be not disclosed to protect her privacy has been set in place.

Fake Encounters (Extra-Judicial Killings)

In India, extra-judicial killings by the police or the security forces are called encounter killings, meaning that the killing occurred during an armed encounter between the police or security forces and the victim. The killing by the state forces is most often declared to be defensive, cases of attempted murder and other related offences are registered against the victims, and the cases closed without further investigation since criminal cases come to an end upon the death of the accused. Despite being unnatural deaths, and the victim having being killed, no investigation ensues to determine whether the death was in fact in an actual encounter, nor whether the use, and the extent of use, of force was justified. This is an acknowledged strategy of the state for eliminating certain kinds of opposition to the state and the established order. In Andhra Pradesh, for

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instance, the naxalites have been the targets; in Punjab, it was the militant; in Mumbai, it is those who are alleged to be part of the underworld.

Civil liberties groups, journalists and lawyers have consistently challenged this practice over the past two decades. The demand as it has been articulated after recent episodes has been for doing away with state violence in the form of killings in fake encounters, and that all cases of encounter killings ought to be registered as first information reports (FIRs) and investigated before the case is closed. The practice of registering cases against the deceased and terminating the proceedings even before it begins is being vigorously challenged. The NHRC too has issued directions endorsing this recommended practice, but to little effect. These court, and out-of-court, battles have carried on throughout the 80s and the 90s to the present.

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The Committee of Concerned Citizens (CCC), a group of individuals in Andhra Pradesh, has approached encounter killings differently. Addressing both naxalite groups and the state, the CCC has been working at de-escalation of violence. While the naxalite response has taken the CCC to the issue of land reforms as being fundamental in understanding violence of the opposition, the state, it is widely believed, is pursuing the path of unbridled unleashing of the use of encounters. The numbers killed in encounters have increased in the two years when the process of reconciliation was being negotiated by the CCC, making some of them ask if intervention by the human rights actors was actually prompting the state to escalate the violence. The human rights community has had to contend with the issue of impunity which is immediately seen as arising from thee non-registration and the non-investigation of cases.

Extraordinary Laws
These have been one of the means of routinising the enactment of laws that are normally promulgated in an emergency or in extraordinary situations. The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1987 (TADA) was contested for its denial of fair trial standards - e.g., it reduced the tiers of appeal34 the provision regarding making confessions to a police officer admissible in evidence the broad contours of the law on what constitutes terrorism, and potential and proven abuse - for e.g., the largest number of TADA detenues were in Gujarat, where militant activity was not present.

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The public condemnation of TADA, political opposition to it, the NHRCs spitited intervention and the states assessment that it was no longer necessary, led to the law not being reenacted when it lapsed in 1955. There have, however, been further attempts to receive the law- as in the Prevention of Terrorism Act recommended in 1999 by the Law Commission, for instance. Further, state laws in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and, more recently, in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka as a measure against organized crime have brought the TADA back into their states under hardly disguised identity. Tamil Nadu has also proposed a Prevention of Terrorism Bill along similar lines. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 (AFSPA) is another law which provides extraordinary powers. It has been in force in the Northeast for years. The TADA and the AFSPA survived challenge before the Supreme Court in the 90s. This has caused a serious rethink on the courts as a situs for testing the legitimacy of such extraordinary laws that deny fundamental rights, and breach human rights principles. It is evident that it is only vigilance, and resistance, which is keeping the proliferation of these laws in check. The arrest and detention of civilians under extraordinary laws, like the TADA, also appears to be routine. It has been alleged, for instance, that villagers in the vicinity of Veerappan, the sandalwood smugglers beat are routinely subjected to harassment, search and detention. In the negotiations for the release of actor Rajkumar who was taken hostage by Veerappan on July 30, 2000, the release of 51 detainees being held under TADA since 1992 on suspicion of having participated in the murder of policemen was in issue. Human rights activists claim that many of them were local people who had been roped in as being associates of Veerappan. When a civil liberties organization moved the court for release of those so incarcerated, the petition was not entertained. But during the negotiations, the government of Karnataka showed a readiness to release them in the interests of law and order, and also, significantly, since others released on bail earlier

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have not repeated the offences and they have not involved themselves in any similar offences and terrorist activity have not been noticed recently in the area.

Detention
A range of detentions including those that were plainly illegal came to light during the course of our work: 1. The incarceration of persons deemed to be non-criminal lunatics (NCLs) or the wandering mentally ill in jails was investigated in a PIL before the Supreme Court. These are persons picked up under the Police Acts of the states, or under police powers in other laws such as the Indian Lunacy Act 1912, or its successor law, the Mental Health Act 1987. They are treated as `nuisances, or bracketed as being dangerous, this providing the rationale for putting them away. The term NCL is in contradistinction to `criminal lunatics, that is, those accused of crime but found to be mentally ill or suffering from mental disorder. For years NCLs were received in jails as places of `safe custody under the Indian Lunacy Act 1912 and later under the Mental Health Act 1987. In the states of West Bengal and Assam, where the Supreme Court sent Commissioners to investigate, it was found that many of those in jails as NCLs were in fact not mentally ill at all, but had been placed there deviously, to serve some completely unrelated purpose. For instance, a 70-year woman was found to have been put away as an NCL apparently because her landlord was using it as a means of evicting her. We heard resonances of this reasoning from a lawyer-activist in Chennai. 2. The Supreme Court declared, in August 1993, that using jails as places of safe custody to house non-criminal mentally ill persons (NCMI) is unconstitutional.36 Apart from the state of Assam, which admitted in an affidavit in the Supreme Court to continuing the practice, the NHRC has intermittently reiterated that

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NCMI should be housed in places other than jails. It is plain that the practice continues. 3. This is an area that has not been widely addressed within the human rights community. NHRCs recognition of the issue too has been desultory. 4. There is evidence in law reports, and activists have admitted to have knowledge of, the practice of hostage taking by the police where the person to be apprehended is not within reach of the police. Relatives of the person sought are then picked up and kept in custody till he surrenders. This appears to have happened with some regularity in Punjab, but we also heard of it in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh, for instance. This breach of the law needs further investigation and response. 5. There have been reports of people spending long years in jail, which could have been averted if prisons were not as inaccessible as they are. Rudul Sah,37 the man who spent fourteen years in jail because he had been considered unfit to stand trial, and continued to remain untried despite having been declared fit, is one well know instance. Recent instances form Bihar and West Bengal reveal the neglect that occasions such illegal incarceration continues. The incapacity of a person to follow up on his trial and sentence, and to procure orders in time has been known to keep him in prison long after he was due to have been released. The inability to furnish bail or sureties was reportedly one such reason for the large undertrial population. 6. It is evident that systemic changes are imperative if these questions of personal liberty are to be addressed. 7. In custodial institutions other than prisons - in protective homes for women, for instance, the problem of custody versus shelter has been raised. Protective homes are established under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 (ITPA). Since

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they are the only statutory institutions that can house women for protection as also for correction,41 they act as places of custody, operating within the executive-magistracy system. We met women in protective custody in the Agra Protective Home, who were witnesses in a case to be tried in Jhansi; they desired to leave and they had been in the institution for nearly two years. But the law would not let them. Rescued women were placed in these institutions, but the purpose of rehabilitation was found to be too inadequate to make the difference. 8. Prison jurisprudence since the late 60s recognizes that prisoners do not lose all their rights because of imprisonment. Yet, there is a loss of rights within custodial institutions which continue to occur. For instance, it was found that the HIV status of all the women in the Agra Protective Home was public knowledge, and there was no confidentiality attaching to this information. There was segregation within the institutions of those found to be HIV positive, and, for a while, the Supreme Court too endorsed this. The rules governing women in these institutions uncannily resemble prison rules - such as those concerning visitors, letters, and even punishment for conduct within the institutions. 9. Persons working in this area said that this was an area which called for an injection of human rights experience and perspectives. 10. The non-release of persons cured of mental illness from institutions was also reported to be a problem. We repeatedly met the need for halfway homes and support services which could help a person be restored to liberty. 11. In Delhi, we heard of persons who had been picked up as being persons of Bangladeshi origin, who were kept in custody in a night shelter till they could be repatriated if they were, in fact, found to belong to Bangladesh and the Foreigners Act 1946 could be invoked to effect this move.42 There was concern that even the basis of identifying them as possible foreigners was not clear and that

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dispelling suspicion of nationality could well be more difficult for the poor and the dispossessed. It is also found that it is common practice to pick up people for questioning, and not record their presence in the police station till the police is ready to present them before a magistrate - a way of thwarting the constitutional requirement that every person taken into custody be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours. Apart from the illegality of such detention, it also makes difficult proving torture in custody during the period of illegal, unrecorded, detention. Human rights activists suggest that telegrams be dispatched to the Chief Minister, the Director General of Police, the Superintendent of Police, and the Governor for instance, when information about such illegal detention is obtained, to establish the time of detention. The conditions of persons with mental illness in institutions have been cause for human rights concern. In Gwalior Mental hospital, for instance, it was found that persons with mental illness were left in nakedness; the explanation was that they tore their clothes if they were given them. The press raised the issue. Chaining of mentally ill patients was also a practice, and this was outlawed by an order of the court. One difficulty in ensuring that such violations do not occur, and in getting the law implemented, is access. The human rights community has not engaged with the problems faced within the walls of custodial institutions. Imaginative answers which will make open institutions of what are now bureaucratic, and closed, institutions is an imperative. The hysterectomy controversy in the early 1990s in Pune represents another aspect of the control and decision making within custodial institutions. The hysterectomy of girls below 18 years of age, who were mentally retarded, raised controversy about the decision made by the professionals. The professionals involved in making the decision neither denied that the hysterectomy was being done, nor did they see it as a violation. It was justified as being in the best interest of hygiene of the mentally retarded girl, as making practicable the care of the mentally retarded. The response did not rule out the

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possibility of sexual abuse when within the institutions, but said it would protect the girls from pregnancy in the even of such encounters. The person responsible for the decision responded angrily to the charges of human rights violations. The Medical Council of India, however, distanced itself from this position, and declared the practice as being against their norms. The intervention of the media and the human rights community precluded further hysterectomies from being done.

Sexual Harassment at the Workplace

This issue acquired visibility with the decision of the Supreme Court in Vishaka.18 Earlier efforts at having the problem addressed, as, for instance, in the Delhi University, has drawn strength from the guidelines set out in the judgment. It was widely reported, however, that it was still proving difficult to get institutions to adopt the guidelines and act upon it. The Madras High Court, for instance, was reportedly averring that the guidelines did not apply to the court; and allegations of sexual harassment by a senior member of the Registry were given short shrift. The process of setting up a credible grievance redressal mechanism was reportedly being watered down in the recommendation of a committee to the Delhi University. In Kerala, a Commission of Inquiry was set up after Nalini Netto, a senior official of the Indian Administrative Service, pursued her complaint of sexual harassment against a serving minister of the state cabinet - which is seen as a diversion from a representative investigative and redressal forum. P E Usha, in Kerala, faced hostility in her university when she followed up on her complaint of sexual harassment. There have been allegations of sexual harassment of women employees by senior persons within institutions working on human rights, and in progressive publications, which too have shown up the inadequacy of the redressal mechanisms.

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Above mentioned, a few forms of human rights violations are the kind of violations which is cognizable in our society and have got the glitter of media, but still there are many forms of such human rights violations which are still under veil of so called culture and customs. Examples of which are amply available in every part of the country a some of which are: 1. Arbitrary decisions of Khap Panchayats of Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. In a case after the decision of one such panchayat a young couple was killed by their own relatives in which three accused have awarded death penalty and two life imprisonment.

2. Child marriage and forceful sexual intercourse with underage girls and forcing them to bear child at the age, when they are neither physically, nor psychologically prepared for this, under the pretexts of culture. Most such cases are from Rajasthan. 3. Employment of minor children as household work is still unaffected even after the enforcement of the prohibition of employment of minor, because of the loopholes in the law and lack of awareness.

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4. The superstitious practice of Exorcism which have ruined the lives of many innocent girls suffering from psychiatric problems, particularly belonging to the rural areas, where going to a certified medical practitioner for the purpose is a subject of taboo and also an expensive affair. Under the existing laws, such practices attract Section 350 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with an offender who intentionally uses force on another without his consent and such force is made for the purpose of committing an offence or to cause injury, fear or annoyance to the victim. Unfortunately police cant take actions against them easily due to their influence on their superstitious victims.

CHAPTER 4

PUBLIC PROTESTS AND INHERRENT HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

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Public protest can play a vital role in the working of democracy the human rights concerns in the way it is crafted, the direction it took and the desired results of it whether negative or positive. According to Machiavelli, good examples proceed from good education form good laws and good laws. From those very tumults which many so inconsiderately condemn He went on to argue that in the republic of Rome where apparently such tumults were a common occurrence, far from leading to banishments or acts of violence inimical to the common good, they led to laws and institutions whereby the liberties of the republic benefited. Public protest are a

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common feature of a democratic system and whether or not they have had the beneficial consequences claimed for them in Rome, there is so recognition that they are not just the dangerous outbursts of unruly mobs but may be a legitimate form of political action. But there are difficulties in handling public protest. At the theoretical level, there is little common ground as to how the liberties involved assembly, speech, movement are to be reconciled with each other, with conflicting rights and liberties, or with notions of public order. At the practical level, these conflicts become real and immediate decisions have to be made and actions taken which directly or indirectly define the scope of public interests are solved by legislative enactment. The scope of personal liberties, and in particular the liberties involved in public protest, depends on a patchwork of legal regulation and in practice on the case-bycase decision of disparate officials. The object is to examine that patchwork, in order not so much to define some of the general characteristics of the way that issues in which the law is moving, and to point out the directions in which the laws are moving. The essay divides broadly in two parts, three background factors are considered: (i) (ii) (iii) The residual legal nature of civil liberties. The idea that liberties are to be balanced against other values and against notions of the public interest. The pervasiveness of discretion in the decisions of police, the courts, and other official in fixing these boundaries. In the second part of the essay, there are number of the specific issues that arist in fixing the boundaries: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) the clash between public protest and the everyday activities of the community. Public protest and the hostile audience Public protest and the conflict with other rights and liberties. Public protest aimed at harming specific vulnerable groups.

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Background Factors
The forms of public protest are various but usually involve meetings, marches, demonstrations, or processions in one guise or another. Amain element is communication whether through speech, writing, or symbols of some other kind. Protest may be the action of a lone demonstrator, but more often depends on a combination of people massing together, sometimes statically, but typically where free movement is an important feature. And while communication of an idea or position is a basic component, acts of public protest often portray a shared intensity of feeling and commitment to a cause, which adds to the impact. It may be possible to think fo public protest as a distince generic activity, but I am not able to develop that idea in this essay, nor to consider the place of public protest in political life: for ease of reference, however, I shall refer rather loosely to public protest as a mixture and combination of these various elements.

The Legal Status of Public Protest

Talk of rights in this context can serve useful political ends. The analysis of Dicey that, public protest is nothing more than a result of the view taken by the courts as to individual liberty of the person and individual liberty of speech. A, B, C, D, and a thousand or ten thousand other persons may meet anywhere that each otherwise has a right to say. This analysis holds true for the even broader idea of right to pretest; it consists in whatever scope the law allows for personal liberty to move about, to assemble, and to speak. Indeed, it might be added to Diceys account that the very act of assembling together with a view to protest may provide the basis for restricting those personal liberties of movement and speech that one otherwise would have. Whereas A may lawfully walk up and down a public road the moment he is joined for a common

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purpose by B, C, D, and a thousand others there is a risk of obstruction, conflict with other interest, and greater threat of disorder. Any putative legal right to public protest is negative rather than positive, negative in the sense that the right is primarily to forbearance by state officials and private individuals from restricting pubic protest. A case could be made for positive rights to the resources and facilities necessary to ensure the worth and effectiveness of public protest, but there is little support for even the most modest claims, if it isnt in the ambit of political calculations. All that the law typically recognizes is a liberty to enter certain public places, such as streets, parks, and halls, for a range of possible, activities which may include acts of protest. That liberty may, according to the circumstances, be protected by a range of immunities from interference by persons acting in an official or private capacity. But everything does indeed depend on the circumstances, and, when the object is public protest, the some flowing from the general law, for example the legal restrictions on the use of roads and streets, other depending on the discretion of officials, for example the powers conferred under local authority by laws to restrict access to public places or the powers of the police to maintain order. Another question is whether this view of rights to protest as reductivist, negative, residuary, and indirect has any significance in terms of the level of personal liberties. The differences between such a system and one where rights are proclaimed and entrenched may be more appearance than substance. Where civil rights do have express, constitutional status they are cast in abstract terms, leaving open their meaning and scope for settlement in specific cases. On the English approach, on the other hand, the general commitment to civil liberties should manifest itself in the decisions of legislatures, administrators, and courts. The same hard questions arise about the relative strength and importance of conflicting values and interests, and the net content of, for example, free speech as extrapolated from the residue of restrictions may be similar to the net content of a constitutional right to free speech after all exceptions and qualifications have been taken into account. And while there are obvious advantages for the protection of rights in

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a system of judicial review based on entrenched rights, so much depends finally on the political culture, and it is a complex empirical question as to whether one set of institutional arrangements is likely to produce greater overall regard for civil liberties than another. It might still be urged, however, that the positive enactment of a right to protest would have two clear advantages: it would give public protest a more secure legal basis, and it would give courts a greater role in its protection. As to the first, to have a general right to public protest would mean the community has recognized that activity to be sufficiently important to warrant special protection against6 competing factors. To have a right is to have a protected interest, protected in the sense that it carries a certain weight against competing goals. The precise content of the right would need to be worked out in different contexts, depending on what other rights or general, abstract right would be that, in those calculations, the guaranteed in the sense that the decision-maker, whether Parliament, administrator, or court, would have to show through its reasoning that a serious attempt had been made to give free protest an appropriate weighting against conflicting considerations. The result might but would not necessarily ensure grater net protection of free protest; however, it would ensure the acceptance of free protest as a positive, enduring value providing guidance in nevel and contentious cases.

Balancing Interests and Values

An another characteristic of the legal regulation of public protest is the idea that values and interests are likely to be in competition, and so must be balanced against each other. Balancing is the popular metaphor. The metaphor of balancing is a way of recognizing that freedom to protest is important but not absolute. Other interests must be given their place, and this may mean restricting protest. Those other interests can be substantial: ones interest is not being libeled; in being able to carry out the daily activities of social commercial life; the interests of individuals and groups in not being

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denigrated and vilified in the eyes of the community; and the common interest in public order. If balancing means that decision have to be made about the importance of different interests and as to mutual accommodation when conflicts occur, then balancing is unavoidable and lies at the heart of any system of legal regulation. All laws represent a view about the relative importance of different, conflicting interests, and we shall see later in this essay how the balance has been struck in for key areas. Moreover, no matter how clear the policies and principles within which decisions are made, it may be very difficult in a given case to provide a fully reasoned account of how the lines have been drawn and the balance settled. There is finally an irreducible element of personal judgment and assessment. However, the main point of present interest is the difficulty of finding any objective, generally accepted, or even rational basis for ranking interests in such an inherently contentious matter as public protest in a society which is deeply divided over many fundamental issues. One step towards making the process of balancing more critical and objective is to ensure that there are real interests in conflict. A minority group has a real interest in not being subjected to violence or intolerable provocation by the protests of others; those seeking access to their workplace have a real interest in not being prevented or intimidated by pickets. Similarly, serious outbursts of disorder are easy enough to identify, and there is both an individual and collective interest in their prevention; the riots of Brixton and Toxteth are clear cases of serious disorder against which preventive action must be taken. Often, however, the disturbances created by public behind the claim of public disorder or disruption of the community and identify the specific interests that are affected. Only then is it possible to consider their importance in relation to the interest in free protest. What, for example, is at stake in the claim to a right to continuous calm on the streets, or a right to go about ones business and pressure without obstruction or inconvenience? Either the claim is too abstract and subject to too many qualifications to carry any argumentative weight, or it is a pretext for interests less meritorious.

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The Discretionary Character of Legal Regulation

Talk of balancing leads to the third matter pertinent to the legal regulations of public protest: its discretionary character. Decisions about public protest are made by the police, local officials, the courts, and are to a substantial degree discretionary. By discretion is meant that decisions are made in the relative absence of reasonably specific and binding standards, and depend to a significant degree on the views and assessments of those making the decisions. Typically the exercise of discretion is not subject to appeal or review on the merits. The extent of discretion can be seen at each level of control: at the level of prior restraint in relation to processions, for example, in refusing permission fro, imposing conditions on, or banning altogether; at the level of preventive intervention in dispersing or controlling protest; and at the level of punitive action in deciding whether to prosecute or pursue some other course in respect of offences committed in protesting. The high level of discretion depends on a number of factors. One is that the law is expressed I general terms which leave open matters of interpretation and application. The concept of breach of the peace for example, is of basic importance, and yet there is still dispute as to its elements. A more important point is thatso many decisions, such as whether to impose prior restraints or whether to intervene once protest has begun, depend on the express or implied discretion of the police or other officials, usually with inadequate guidance from the law. Moreover, the question for the police is more likely to be not whether the conditions for intervention have been made out, but assuming they have been, whether or not action should be taken. That decision depends on the evaluation of the single officer at the scene, or it may reflect a whole set of policing policies made at various levels of authority and while some discretion in regulating public protest within a legal framework may be inevitable, there is another more fundamental way in which discretion occurs.

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The existence of an overriding duty to maintain order reinforces the point that the scope and enjoyment of personal liberties depend in so many ways not on the evenhanded application of clear legal standards, but on the discretion of the police and other officials, discretion against which there is seldom recourse. The pervasiveness of discretion in regulating public protest brings wit it obvious disadvantages. The very fact that the liberties at stake in public protest depend to a large degree on discretionary judgments is one. Reasonable certainty and stability in the law are not the only values, but they are important, particularly in matters relating to personal freedom. Secondly, the breadth and extent of discretion allow decisions to be made by officials about the importance of public protest relative to other social goals. The process of weighing and balancing, of drawing lines between legitimate protest, the interest of other social goals. Te process of weighing and balancing, of drawing lines between legitimate protests, the interests of others, and public order, often depends on what is a complex assessment, not the commitment to ensure that the liberty to protest gets a proper weighting. Moreover, questions of common sense become questions of policy and scrutiny tends to avoid a close examination either of the policies being pursu3ed or of the acceptability of individualized decisions. Also, there is evidence to show that policing proceeds to an extent according to its own organizational and ideological factors. There is no easy solution to te issues raised by widespread discretionary powers in regulating protest. Some discretion is inevitable in individualized decision-making; it is also unavoidable in decisions that more clearly involve matters of policy. However, the same issues of accountability occur to these areas as in other contexts of official discretion, and much can be done by applying the principles that have been developed in public law of various developed countries in the course of time. Steps along the following lines would mark the modest beginnings of effective accountability: (a) the channeling of policy issues, like the policies of policing major demonstrations through democratic processes,

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(b) (c) (d)

greater effort to specify clear legislative standards, The formulation and publication by those exercising discretion of the policies and strategies applied; More vigorous application of the principles of judicial review regarding unreasonableness, lack of evidence irrelevant considerations, the statement of reasons, and the requirements of procedural fairness. These strategies do not eliminate discretion, but they help to bring it within an acceptable framework of regulation.

Public Protest in Conflict with other Activities

Turning now to public protest in practical cases, the first concerns the clash between public protest and ordinary daily activities. Leaving aside the quiet and solitary demonstrator, the impact of acts of protest depends on numbers assembled together in a public place so that the community is forced to take notice. For this reason, virtually any act of public protest will disrupt daily life to some degree. How then are lined to be drawn? A major theme running through discussion of this issue is that protest is to e tolerated provided it is peaceful. Legitimacy depends on peacefulness and non-violence, the idea of peaceful protest has exerted a powerful influence. Provided that protest is peaceful, the consequential disruption of everyday activities will be tolerated. Once it crosses that line and degenerates into violence or the threat of violence, whether deliberately, unavoidably, or even because of the actions of others, protest loses its immunity and is liable to regulation. These ideas can be seen at work in the law. Where there is serious public disorder, which usually means a high level of confrontation between opposing groups with violence to persons or property the likely outcome, there are ample powers of prevention. These may take, in the case of marches or processions, impose, or, as a last resort, a banning order may be obtained. These methods are not available for forms of

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public protest that are static in character, such as meetings, demonstrations, and picketing. In respect of those, the police may call on a bevy of powers which are aimed primarily at intervention, but which may on occasions have the effect of prior restraint; those powers range from the quelling of riots and affrays to the preventin of breaches or threatened breaches of the peace. In clear cases of serious disorder the police are bound to intervene, whatever the initial causes, in order to restore order. It is in the more borderline cases, where the basis for intervention is a threatened breach of the peace, that the line between legitimate protest and public order opens up controversy. Breach of the peace has never been defined with precision, but it is a legal concept of antiquity, having been used for different purposes at different times. It certainly covers actions which constitute a threat of violence to the person; it may also extend to acts which produce alarm that what is being done causes or will cause real disturbance to the community and the breaking-up of the peace of the neighborhood. On the other hand, it appears not to extend to disturbances which noise, and so on, unless there is reasonable cause for apprehending a threat or use of force. Whatever the difficulties of definition and application, keeping the peace, in the sense of preventing breaches of the peace, lies at the heart of the powers of the police to intervene in acts of public protest. Whenever the police have reasonable grounds for5 believing that a breach of the peace is occurring or threatened, they have the power and probably the duty to take preventive steps. Failure by a person to comply with any order directed to that end constitutes obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty, for which that person may be arrested and prosecuted for a criminal offence, or bound over to keep and peace. This view of the law, which has been established in a chain of judicial decisions, means, first, that the police have extremely wide powers to intervene in acts of public protest and, secondly, that the decision to do so turns to a large degree on the exercise of judgment and discretion both whether there should be intervention. The power has been used in a wide variety of situations, including preventing a person addressing a public meeting which might have led others to create a disturbance; controlling the manner of picketing, and limiting the number of pickets; entering and

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remaining of private premises where a public meeting was being held; and preventing miners from traveling to the pitheads in order to picket. The common element running through these powers of restraint and intervention is the prevention of violence. However, where the life of the community is disrupted in some other way, the powers of regulation are sparse and fragmented. There may be some scope to prevent non-violent forms of disruption where the permission of an official body, such as local authority, is needed for the use of a park or other public place. One example is public protest around the Houses of Parliament, where specially restrictive conditions apply. Also it appears that any form of static demonstration on a public road or footpath, may be dispersed as an unlawful user quite apart from any threat of violence or other serious disruption. Similarly, a march or procession initially lawful, may be subject to intervention if it becomes an unreasonable obstruction to other users. These are clear exceptions to the general requirement that intervention is based on violence or the threat of violence, but they don not appear to be sued widely, and the legal foundation for the mostly important the unlawfulness of static demonstrations on roads and footpaths shaky. There are however, two major objections. First, while the new powers may be welcome in extreme cases, they might also be invoked in a wide range of cases which are much more borderlines. Any assembly for purposes of protest disrupts the life of the community, often substantially, so that the question is where the line is to be drawn.

Public Protest and Hostile Opposition

The relatively simple principle that public protests is lawful provided that it proceeds without a breach of te peace needs to e re-examined to take account of the problems that are created by hostile opposition. The spectacle of an otherwise peaceful

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and orderly protest being opposed and disrupted by hostile people or groups is not uncommon. If the general principle of allowing protest provided that the peace is kept were absolute, then it would not matter where the source of disorder lay, nor how responsibility for it should be allocated. Where public protest resulted or was likely to result in a breach of the peace, the usual powers of restraint ajnd prevention would appl in order for the peace to e restored. The court did not directly address the issue of the scope of preventive powers since, according to the obtuse views of its members, the case did not raise matters of civil liberties; however, the courts affirmation of wide powers of intervention to prevent a breach of the peace has become a mainstay of the law. Moreover, resort to the more drastic powers allowing conditions to be put on processions, or even providing for them to be banned is based on preventing serious disorder regardless of its origins or the rights and wrongs of participants. Now while the problem of hostile opposition to otherwise peaceful protest has no easy solution, the law has been particularly inept in offering guidance. Two different and conflicting approaches are at work, one more protective of public protest than the other, but neither developed adequately. There are a number of matters to consider in devising a more satisfactory approach. First, in forming some view of the relative importance of freedom to protest, the traditional principle that protest is legitimate provided it is nonviolent is a reasonable starting-point. Secondly, acceptance of that principle carries a commitment to protect forms of protest which fall within it. This may mean adopting methods of policing which ensure that peaceful protests can proceed without disruption. The emphasis then would be to maintain order by preventing disruption rather than the often easier alternative of dispersing the protest. It is necessary to develop limitations on what constitutes peaceful protest. The difficulty with this is to know what constitutes unlawfulness. The actions of one group may be within the bounds legality and yet so highly provocative to others that serous disorder is likely to result. In many such cases, it is difficult to see why the public demonstration should be protected, and yet in this

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context it is particularly difficult to define the limits of legitimate protest, to draw the line between protecting the expression of unpopular views, on the one hand, and unacceptable provocation, on the other. There are two other points to note. One is that the clash between opposing groups is not necessarily the result of one being innocent, the other wrong doing. It may be that each is trying to express a view in such a way that conflict is almost inevitable. The final point is that there may be occasions on which, because of the nature and history of the issue, protective policing is impossible. In such extreme cases, the power to ban processions or to impose stringent conditions on static demonstrations may be justifiable last resort.

Public Protest in Conflict with other Rights and Liberties

The use of public places for the purposes of protest is likely by its nature to cause conflict with the enjoyment of the rights and liberties of others. Meetings, processions, and demonstrations are bound to lead to inconvenience, delay, and obstruction to others whether they by users of the road or other public place, or people going to or coming from work or carrying out business or other commercial activities. In considering the legal approach to such conflicts, a number of different situations can be identified. The first general point is that the law recognizes the inevitable degree of give-and-take in the enjoyment of any rights and liberties, and that many occasions of public protest can be accommodated without special legal provision or intervention. The user of a road knows that there is a range of activities which may occur on thoroughfares and which can cause inconvenience and delay; he or she can have no just complaint when forms of protest are included within that range. Secondly, where the conflicts between competing liberties are not accommodated within the normal give-and-take, but are likely to create disorder, ranging from a breach of the peace to more serious disturbances, the law may intervene according to the conditions considered earlier. To take an example, it is common enough

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to have serious conflicts between pickets acting in the course of a trade dispute and workers trying to enter and leave their place of work. The police may intervene in such conflicts of the peace or more serious disorders, and to take whatever measures are necessary to that end. This might mean imposing conditions aimed at securing a peaceful compromise or, where that fails, it may mean dispersal, arrest, and persecution. Not all conflicts between public protest and other rights and liberties pose a threat of serious disorder. Accordingly a third situation where legal intervention may be sought is where there are such conflicts but an absence of disorder. Many of these situations are regulated simply on the basis that public protest violates anothers legal rights; for example, the liberty to protest through trespass, nuisance, or other wise. In such cases, private legal rights prevail, and any abstract right is more complex and contentious when the conflict is with activities which are themselves in the nature of liberties or at best abstract rights.

Public Protest Aimed at Vulnerable Groups

An issue which inevitably creates difficulties in a multicultural society occurs when the object of a public demonstration is to criticize a group or individuals within a group on the basis of race, religion, caste, ethnic factors, or other distinguishing characteristics. Where denigration of a minority group in the course of a public demonstration leads or is thought likely to lead to serous disorder, then the usual powers of prior restraint and intervention may be invoked. A very unfortunate example of such a demonstration which went on rampage is the demolition of Babri Temple at Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, on 6th December 1992.

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A political rally of more than 150,000 people demonstrating for the building of Ram Temple at the site of Babri Mosque turned violent and the Mosque was demolished. This day is remembered as a black day in the history of sovereignty and the Indian culture of co-existence.

CHAPTER 5

MEDIAS ROLE IN SOCIETY

If we talk about media we will have to get our thinking broadened. Its not just about the newspaper we read everyday or TV we watch, its much more than [Link] lays a significant role in our society today. It is all around us, from the shows we watch

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on television, the music we listen to on the radio, to the books and magazines we read each day. . These goals range from entertaining to educating. Lets talk about their role in society one by one.

Newspaper:
Newspapers keep the people informed about the political activities of their government. They give in detail the statements of speeches made by the rulers at public meetings of on the radio or television. They also report the activities of political parties and leaders. Standard newspapers criticize the policies and statements of the government or of the political parties in a fair (just) way. Newspapers describe the economic policies of the government. For example they describe its import and export policies, its plans for future economic development, and the prices of different things fixed by it, and so on. Our newspapers have always reported in detail the economic policies of our different government in the fields of agriculture, industry and commerce. For example The Indian Express recently printed the performance of cabinet ministers in last 100 days. What they had promised and what they did. Newspapers also describe the problems of labors, farmers and other working people and suggest their solutions. Newspapers give a true and correct picture of society. They describe the activities of the people in different fields like education business industry, law, medicine, science, and so on. They tell us about the activities of students and teachers, businessmen, industrialists, lawyers, doctors, scientists and all categories of working people. They convey information regarding the different crimes taking place every day. Newspapers tell about the political, economic and social changes in different countries. They give descriptions of changes government and revolutions in different

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parts of the world. They give descriptions of changes taking place in other societies in education, science, and medicine industry agriculture and defense preparation. From the century's people using different ways to send messages and making public announcements and informing bulletins used different Medias. They use to write on skins, stones, white boards, and cloths to send messages. First newspaper was printed in the form of new sheet in china in the 18th century. Newspapers are use to published research work. In the old days, they were sold as a source of book of different scientist, doctors, and researchers. Newspapers still plays a vital role even the changing in technologies creating challenges and opportunities for this media. Newspaper is main source of handy information provide up-to-date information. Every one can afford to buy. It gives the sophisticated approach towards life in social, political, economical and entertainment framework. Provide knowledgeable information available to all ages and societal status. Because it is not necessary that every one have TV, or internet resources, radio, as these are the technological resources. It is global need of every culture. It is also beneficial to the different organization to sell their products through advertisements. it creates reading and research skills for children specially. It promotes freedom to journalism to project the truth in the society and aware with the global happenings.

Radio
The scope of Radio as a medium to cater to both advertisers as well as consumers is immense. On Radio you may be reaching out to a mass audience, but you are actually speaking to one personit is a very personal medium and especially so with the proliferation of personal devices like the mobile, portable music players etc. Radio is also a passive medium; hence you can consume it while doing your regular chores. The RJ plays an important role since he/she develops a personalized relationship with the listener.

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One of the biggest differences is that Radio is a completely local medium and hence the ability to tailor, makes content meet local tastes, which is not feasible with television. The turnaround time is less and hence the need to limit yourself is also less. While TV is a visual medium, Radio is an aural medium. This allows for the power of imagination on Radio. Radio, as any other mass medium that influences public opinion has a socially responsible role to play. Being a live and interactive medium, every radio station has to keep in mind sensitivities of the public at large. Whether traffic updates, health updates, weather updates, humor quotient required in a stress-filled life they package in as much as possible. Similarly, on ground, whether it is AIDS Awareness programs, Traffic Awareness Months or any other activity they look at activities that really affect the people in a big way. For example when whole of the Mumbai was under water the RJ Anirudh of Mumbai's radio channel helped all the people to connect with the rescue teams and their relatives while all the other means of media and communication got freezed.., he was there for three days in the studio. this is just one example. there may be many more. Radio is live and real and works on the principal of the 'Theatre of Mind'. As a medium it therefore offers a seamless integration for brands as compared to other mediums.

News Media:
Until the 1980s media relied primarily upon print and art analog broadcast models, such as those of television and radio. The last twenty-five years have seen the rapid transformation into media which are predicated upon the use of digital computers, such as the internet and computer games. However, these examples are only a small representation of new media. The use of digital computers has transformed the remaining 'old' media, as suggested by the advent of digital television and online publications. Even traditional media forms such as the printing press have been transformed through the

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application of technologies such as image manipulation software like Adobe Photoshop and desktop publishing tools. News Media will alter the meaning of geographic distance. Allow for a huge increase in the volume of communication. Provide the possibility of increasing the speed of communication. Provide opportunities for interactive communication. Allow forms of communication that were previously separate to overlap and interconnect. Security concerns over new media have increased due to the growing number of cyber crimes. . National security experts reach out to computer hackers and train internal operatives in the field of computer security with the need to intercept and interpret digital communications. Some of these methods go against the intent of new media and contribute to the debate about net neutrality. New Media has been used extensively by social movements to educate, organize, share cultural products of movements, communicate, coalition build, and more. As a result of the evolution of new media technologies, globalization occurs. Globalization is generally stated as "more than expansion of activities beyond the boundaries of particular nation states". Globalization shortens the distance between people all over the world by the electronic communication.

Television
For decades we have seen many parts of our world rapidly going through changes in technology. Todays society has been transformed by means of communication and the available information through mass media. Most people rely on television for news, sports, and entertainment. Television is just one of the many examples of how technology has changed our lives. Since the invention of the television in the early 1900s, it has played a very important role in our lives. Having a television set in the home has become very essential in todays society. We depend on it to entertain us with its sitcoms and to inform us about current world issues. The problem is that sometimes what we hear or see on television is not always accurate or correct. Sometimes news stories give us the wrong

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information and we believe that it is true because it is being said on television. They may give you a story, but they may leave out some details to prove their point or to make the story more interesting. Talking about its positive aspects Television is now playing a very important role in our lives.

Television is not only a convenient source of entertainment, but also a comparative cheap one. Television keeps you informed about current events. It allows you to follow the latest developments in science and politics. It offers an endless series of programs that are both instructive and entertaining. Many television programs introduce people to things they never thought of before and have never heard of before. Television series have done a great job in popularizing many literary masterpieces. Television has been good company to those who do not work, like housewives, lonely old people, etc. With television people are still free to enjoy other "civilized pleasures", or even more. There are a considerable variety of programs on television. The viewer is always free to choose whatever he wants to see. Television provides enormous possibilities for education, like school programs via closed-circuit television. Television provides special broadcasts for those in a TV University, or Open University. It also offers specialized subjects like language teaching, sewing, cooking, painting, cosmetics, etc. Television does the job of education in the broadest sense. Instructive programs achieve their goal

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through entertaining the viewers. Television provides an outlet for creative talents. People all around the world are no longer distant and isolated from each other. It brings most distant countries and the strangest customs right into your living room. Compared with radio, everything on television is more lifelike, vivid, and real. Television may be a vital factor in holding a family together. Especially where there are economic problems that cause the husband and wife to be at a breaking point. Television keeps people informed about the government and its programs. Television keeps people informed of the news and weather. Television keeps people informed of disasters like floods, winds, etc. In the case of serious problems television tells people what to do. People can be taught about safety through television. like films even television viewing has its pros and cons. its a tool in our hands, its upto us how we use it. Television has helped in a big way with respect to connecting with the audience. One learns discipline in the television medium and this helps in dealing with topicalities and strategic planning.

Films
Actor-social activist Rahul Bose feels that movies can't change society but can help make sensible people 'more sensible'. Even I do believe that movies play a vital role in shaping the society. All the things have their merits and demerits. Hindi films have played a significant role in the growth of Hindi language, Hindi culture, traditions and values. People from different countries and different localities have learnt Hindi only through movies. films presents all the aspect of society. Its the mirror image of society. whatever they show in films is the reflection of society. yes its true that in reality everything is not visible. Everything happens behind the curtains. Films play a vital role in shaping the society and influencing its people. A film is an art, formed by recording pictures from across the world or by creating images, animation, and presenting in the form of a motion picture. It is a popular source of entertainment and education.

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Since the time of its inception, the film industry has gone through various stages of development. Starting from pure visual art, silent movie, to becoming a narrative structure by stringing scenes together, the film industry has improved manifold. They have evolved with the psyche of the society and evolved the psyche of the society. If we look into the Bollywood Industry, we would see that during 1930s and 1940s, when the country was fighting for independence, many film makers tried to reproduce the same feeling in the films. Films like Mother India, Poorab aur Pashchim, Shatranj ke Khiladi, Rani Lakshmibai, Jhansi Ki Rani, all depict the revolutionary mind set of the society. They influenced the people to fight against the oppression rule of the Britishers and gain independence. Such films depicted the mindset of the people and also motivated them towards the desired end, Independence. Now the Industry, as always, is deriving/ making people aware of the social hurdles a common man faces. Films like A Wednesday, Khuda Ke Liye and Amir, strike a cord in our hearts. Films like Rang De Basanti and Chak de, motivated the youth to bring about a change in the governance and the depriving condition of our country and sport. It is true that all films do not carry a message. Many

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are made for entertainment purpose, but every story has a moral, and we should try to grab that.

India is known across the world for its Bollywood Industry. We, through joint ventures with Hollywood artists, are making exceptionally good films like Slumdog Millionaires, which have the capability of leaving a mark on the minds of the viewers world over. Such films leave a positive impact, which makes us hopeful and incited for a bright future. Though I even agree to the point that exceptions are always there.

Mastering the Cause It is important for us to remember not just the pros and cons of media but also to be able to assure ourselves about the ways in which it impacts various shortcomings and crisis throughout the world over various issues across domains of life. Our question should be does it help, beyond just bringing things into our notice. As just getting to know is not enough! Does it makes a difference to vulnerabilities of life? It takes up a life span approach focusing a child, a girl, an elderly, an adult placed in various contexts and

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situations. Thus it provides us a situational analysis of people and places. We are exposed to the dim and the hard realities of life. It widens our lens to acknowledge a justice as well an injustice bridging the gap between people and policies and political processes. We should really be proud of its reach. But not to forget it is a two edged weapon!!

Today in the age the various extremist a communal forces trying to destabilize the peace and tranquility of the state it is important to use the media in a meticulous way as it has already been said that media is a two edged weapon. Misuse of it can result in the imposition of extremist or anti state propaganda examples of misuse of media are Naxalite groups trying to win the propaganda war against the government, the reckless coverage of 9/11 Mumbai terror attack which no doubt helped the terrorists. Media and the men involved with it should understand the humanitarian values of any information according to UDHR, Article 12 the privacy and sapracy of an individual shall not be breached without his/her permission. Today the dynamic media should understand the dynamic role it has to play in the framing a fully aware society, aware with the constitutions rights, human rights and also consequent responsibilities.

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CHAPTER 6

WAR ON TERROR: ROLE OF THE NEWS MEDIA REPORTING ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS

The twenty first century allows media to play a major role in shaping the viewers understanding. A main example of this is the crucial role the media plays in the war on terrorism. The way in which media represent this conflict is part of the conflict itself. Media coverage has effects not simply on the audience, understood to be passive bystanders, but on those actually and potentially involved in the war on terrorism. This is responsible for shaping the perceptions of opponents, supporters and neutral groups

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influences whether they will become involved and how they will participate. Mobilizing information and persuasion are two integral factors that help shape, or conduct, the war against terrorism .The result explains and attempt to shape is that attempting to shape the representation of terrorism conflict becomes more important for the belligerents even as it become harder to do (Brown, R., 2003, P 85). Conversely, after the start of war against terrorism, international anti-terrorism efforts reviewing the complex issue of media and terrorism. Nations engage in conventional and new types of warfare to combat terrorism and resolve conflicts, accurate information and analysis are needed. For antagonists and protagonists alike, media are important because they generate information, symbols, impressions and ideas that are critical in the battle for the hearts and minds of nations and people. Since 11 September 2001, the international press freedom landscape has become very complex. Journalism itself has become a battleground as governments on all sides seek to influence media coverage to suit their own political and strategic interests. At the same time, journalists and media workers have taken tragic risks to report and to disseminate news and information about terrorism and the various efforts to deal with it (Waheed A. Khan, 2003, P IX). However, under the importance of media and war against terrorism, this essay will carry its intentions in two-fold: first to understand theoretical dimensions of media coverage on war against terrorism; and second, it will mainly analysis the relationship between media and counter terrorism war in the concretive framework of human rights abuses ,which were reported during this anti-terrorism war. Though, presently terrorism has quite precarious relationship with media. The interplay between media reporting and the use of violence by extremists and terrorists movements has always been an interesting field of study. It has been observed that violent extremists and terrorists understand the capacity of the present day media network to disseminate information through satellite and digital technology and to present the

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events live and / or graphically and to cater to the global audience. This instantaneous media exposure brings forward their grievances and facilitates them in garnering larger audience. Keeping in view the media point, they have their own incentives to reportmajor terrorist incidents (Martin, G., 2003, P 279). While, the worlds most published and media debatable terrorist attack was plotted by Al-Qaeda in USA on September 11,2001. That resulted in catastrophic losses of more than 3000 lives and many more injured. The attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and on the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. were shocking global media events that dominated public attention and provoked reams of discourse, reflection, and writing (Kellner, D., April 2004, P 42), for example Seventy-nine(79) million Americans were watching news on broadcast and cable television during prime time on Sept. 11, [Link] days later, 39.4 million viewers tuned in to television news coverage. According to a study by Jupiter Media Metrix, an authoritative source of online demographics, an average of 11.7 million Americans visited online news sites on each day in the week after the Sept. 11 attacks -nearly double the 6 million who had visited news sites in the week before the [Link] the same time, major news web sites, which normally take between 2.5 and 3.5 seconds to access a Web page, the access time proved to be between 20 and 40 seconds. Even, some of the Internet's foremost news sites -- including MSNBC, CNN and ABC -- were unavailable nearly three hours after the 9/11 attack because their primary servers had been destroyed in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. After 11th September, USA President George W. Bush compared the attack to one on freedom itself and vowed that the nations freedom will be defended. The United States has responded to these attacks in different ways. Since then, the whole gamut of the debate on terrorism has undergone tremendous change. The declaration of a war on terrorism by the US in response to 9/11 attacks have provided increased attention to the problem of terrorism worldwide and it has since then become a matter of grave global concern specially in US and UK, where propaganda machines have been cranked up to levels not seen outside the 1939-45 war. From the days and week after following 9/11 ,till

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the United States attacked on Afghanistan in October 2001 and Iraq in March 2003,US broad cast media have managed to maintain a sustained level of patriotism fanning the public mood to keep the United States safe by whatever means possible. Television channel logos since 9/11 carry blurbs ranging from America under attack to America strikes back America at war Americas new war (Peter van der veer and Munshi, S., 2005, P 50 and 51). News coverage of the Sept. 11 events was dramatic enough, especially with the added dimension that the events were real. After the attacks, the media constantly depicted further terrorist acts as possible, if not likely. Given those circumstances, it is reasonable to assume that (US) people would feel unsafe and fearful: "television's mean and dangerous world tends to cultivate a sense of relative danger, mistrust, insecurity, vulnerability, alienation and gloom. While, on September 11,2001 the first time in history, the vast vertical integration of Americas mass media came out of hiding ,as parent companies simulcast their news flagships sister cable networks, CBC news coverage was carried on Viacom owned MTV and [Link]-Time Warner broadcast CNN news coverage on TNT,TNN and Courts TV. Even ESPN was taken over ABC News broadcasts, Americas new war to Operation Ending Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. But on the other hand, Arab, South and Southeast Asia televisions were showing a vastly different war than the one presented on Fox, CNN, NBC etc. US broadcast media labeled Iraq war Operation Iraqi Freedom while Canadian CBC and Arab networks labeled it War on Iraq and referred to the war in terms of occupation or invasion. Further more, the language used by Arab media to describe the violent acts in Iraq, they use the term suicidal attacks to describe any acts where suicide bombers kill either Iraqis or Americans. Arab media outlets also use loaded terms like Iraqi resistance when troops from the coalition forces are killed. However, when Iraqi civilians or Iraqi policemen are killed, the Arab media refer to the perpetrators as unidentified armed men. Moreover, the Arab media refer to the American troops as occupying forces or invaders rather than coalition forces.

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However, shortly after September 11, 2001, when USA launched an attack on Afghanistan dated October 7, 2001 in the reflection of 9/11 attacks with the significant support of media specially with its own media. Many estimate that more civilians were killed during USAs bombardment on Afghanistan than died in the September 11 strikes. Likewise, USA started Operation Iraqi Freedom on March 20, [Link] States, United Kingdom, Australian and Polish troops invaded on Iraq with this allegation that Iraq possess and had been actively developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).USA reasoned that these Nuclear and Biological Chemical (NBC) weapons provide a grave threat to them. But then, Mohamed El-Baradei the United Nation Chief inspector and Director General of the International Atomic Energy (IAEA) March 7, 2003 report clearly shows that they never found any WMDs in Iraq before US and its allies attacked . It is said in his report we have to date found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear programme in Iraq. Same as the Ex. UN Secretary General Kofia Annan, interviewed by BBC bluntly called the Iraq war [Link], during the heavy bombardment, number of Iraqi civilians died. The UN human rights report, issued in January 2007, said that 34,452 Iraqi civilians were killed and more than 36,000 wounded in year 2006(Human Rights Watch, April 2007). According to BBC, 15 October 2006 total number of reported civilian dead at 41,744 to 46,668 and the number of police dead at 2,578 (BBC News, 23 October 2006). However, during the war against terrorism, the media (print and electronic) was keeping an eye on the number of civilian, terrorist, coalition forces deaths. Alongside that, they were also working closely with International Non Governmental Organizations (INGOS) and reporting any human rights abuses ,like ,according to Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) article 12No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. But in Iraq and Afghanistan, American army entered houses usually after

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dark, breaking doors, yelling orders, forcing family men into room under military guards while searching the rest of the house ,breaking doors, cabinets and other property. Sometimes they arrest all adult males present in a house including elderly, handicapped or sick people. Moreover, according to UDHR (Article 10) which says Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal. But during this war people being arrested by allied forces has become a daily routine. According to Kenton Keith the former US ambassador in Qatar The situation changes almost by the hour, but I believe the latest number of prisoners to be around 7,000 in total, in Afghanistan (BBC News, 21 December, 2001).In October 2001, for the deliverance of members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, US dropped leaflets announcing high rewards from $50 to $5000 while 35-40,000 people had been arrested, majority of those by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan (world Cant Wait) [Link] as, in January 2004, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), there were 10 enemy prisoner of war camps in Iraq detaining approximately 9,000 prisoners. The total number of detainees whose names appeared on the database on January 24, 2004 was 8,968 (Human Rights Watch , May 2004).Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan repeatedly called attention to the Coalition's policies of arbitrary imprisonment, referring in 2005 to the detention of thousands of persons without due process. In context of the war against terrorism, US has gradually built a network of secret and semisecret prison centers in Bagram, Kandahar (Afghanistan),Guantanamo (Cuba);Qatar and Diego Garcia, Abu Ghraib, Camp Cropper (Iraq). National and international media always tried to report human rights violations in these centers. But they were restricted in many ways by the U.S. Army. December 12, 2001, The New York Times reported that in Afghanistan, 43 prisoners had died in half a dozen containers on the way, either from injuries or asphyxiation. The deaths occurred as the prisoners, many of them foreign fighters for the Taliban, were brought from the town of Kunduz to the prison here, a journey that took two or three days for some (Gall, C. , The New York Times, December 11, 2001).The prisoners were crammed at gunpoint into large, oblong
1

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freight containers. When no more could be squeezed in, the metal doors were shut tight. Slowly they began to suffocate. By the time the containers were opened two days later at the end of the journey from Kunduz to Sheberghan - many were dead. There was no oxygen," said Maqsood Khan, a 26-year-old Pakistani from Rawalpindi. "We drank the sweat off our own bodies and off the dead men. Some drank their urine. Of 400, half were dead by the time we arrived (Telegraph, 18 Mar, 2002). Media have focus especially on Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib prison centers. USA leased Guantanamo bay for use as a coaly (fueling) station from Cuba. But since 2002 under the leadership of Joint Task Force (JTF) Guantanamo has become a military prison and interrogation camp. At the end of 2006, approximately 395 detainees of around 30 nationalities continued to be held without charge or trial at the US naval base in Guantnamo. Some had been held there for nearly five years (Amnesty International, Annual Report 2007, P 274).Many Guantanamo detainees conformed that they tortured in prison like Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan said with an Israeli flag draped around him, loud music being played and a strobe light flashing. Moazzam Begg, a British detainee He said he witnessed two detainees die after U.S. military personnel had beaten them. British detainee Martin Mubanga, one of Mickum's clients, wrote his sister that the American military police were treating him like a rent boy(Leonnig, D.C., Washingtonpost , December 26, 2004) . While, all of these prison centers and torture activities are open violation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) article 10,11and third Geneva convention article 4,5,27,31,32 and 33. Besides this, the US president George W. Bush clearly refused Geneva convention in a memorandum (paragraph,2,d) dated February 7,2002 based on the fact supplied by the Department of Defense and the recommendation of the Department of Justice, I determine that the Taliban detainees are unlawful combatants and therefore ,do not qualify as prisoners of war under the article 4 of Geneva .I note that, because Geneva dose not apply to our conflict with Al Qaeda , Al Qaeda detainees also do not qualify as prisoners.

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On April 28,2004, 60 Minutes II CBS news magazine television program broke the news first time with graphic picture showing American military personals in act of abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib (CBC News , February 18, 2005). However, many pictures and videotapes of the Abu Ghraib detainees released later, on different print and electronic media. Most published photographs taken during last three months of year 2003. In many of these photographs, detainees were naked, showing dogs snarling at cowering prisoners, Iraqi women forced to expose their breasts, and naked prisoners forced to have sex with each other, handcuffed, hooded prisoners tortured with electric shocked, abuse from dogs and being beaten. Like wise, in many of the pictures, US soldiers making the victory signs on dead and naked prisoners. Throughout this war on terror, media gets many reports on physical and sexual abuses on war detainees especially on Abu Ghraib prisoners. According to The Fay-Jones investigation report on Abu Ghraib The abuses spanned from direct physical assault, such as delivering head blows rendering detainees unconscious, to sexual posing and forced participation in group masturbation. At the extremes were the death of a detainee in Other Government Agencies (OGA) custody, an alleged rape committed by a US translator and observed by a female soldier, and the alleged sexual assault of a female detainee. These abuses are, without question, are criminal act. They were perpetrated or witnessed by individuals or small groups. Such abuse can not be directly tied to a systemic US approach to torture or approved treatment of detainees. While, according to international law, under the General Assembly resolution 39/46 of (10 December 1984) is "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the investigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity is torture(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ).Media reports on Abu Ghraib and Abu Ghraib

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detainees pictures clearly described that It was torture and violation of laws of Geneva Convention and UDHR. Since the beginning of the U.S. Occupation in Iraq, there has been a dramatic increase in sexual abuse, harassment and rape against Iraqi women by US forces. Many women have been taken hostage, tortured and sexually abused by them. According to Human Rights Watch Survey,2003, at least 400 women and girls as young as eight were reported to have been raped in Baghdad during or after the war, since April [Link] May 2, 2004 - The release, by CBS News, of the photographs showing the heinous sexual abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners of war at the notorious Abu Ghraib, later new photographs were sent by La Voz de Aztlan from confidential sources depicting the shocking rapes of two Iraqi women by US Military men. Like wise, on March 12, 2006, Four US armed soldiers with AK-47s rifles took Abeer Qassim Hamza family her mother, Fikhriya Taha; her father, Qassim Hamza; and her 5-year-old sister, Hadeel Qassim Hamza into a bedroom and killed them. He came out .trying saying, according to sources the victim was seen to have blood on him clothes, bragging about what he'd just done. Then he and another soldier took turns raping Abeer 14 years old girl. When they were done, they shot and killed her. Then they set fire to her body (Revolutionary Communist Party, July 2006 and Ghaith Abdul-Ahad , The Guardian ,October 20 2006). In short, in all above mentioned human rights abuses, Western mainstream media, led by the Washington Post, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, CNN in the U.S. and The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mirror, Sky TV and BBC in Britain, have abortive reporting on these horrific and sexual crimes than local and International Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs). But timely, awareness of human rights abuses around the world increased. The spread of news reportage and television documentaries are crucial, but so too is massive extension of international organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Red Cross have more human rights abuses reports on their record than which international media presented.

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However, on the other hand, freedom of expression, and of the media, has suffered in a number of ways since the war against terrorism began. Official actors have taken steps which both directly limit freedom of expression and information and which indirectly have a chilling effect on freedom of expression. Equally important is the serious climate of media self censorship and bias in many countries, which leads to a denial of the publics right to know. Restricting human rights in the aftermath of a terrorist attack somehow represents a victory for the terrorists who seek to undermine our way of life, including democracy and human rights. Furthermore, restricting freedom of expression is likely to undermine, rather than enhance, long-term strategies to address the problem of terrorism for example in Arab media, Al- Jazeera television network popularity is increasing very fast since [Link] this is only one in world ,who broadcast the Al Qaeda leaders including Osama Bin Ladin audio and video massages several time during the USA war against terrorism. Its reporters make different documentaries and reports on Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters. Al Jazeera is the sole source to know the terrorist point of view, What they want? Why they attack on someone and become suicide bombers, apart from western point of view. However, US and UK government always try to control or ban Al Jazeera satellite transmissions. On November 29, 2005, David Keogh and Leo OConnor, appeared in the Bow Street Magistrates Court in London. The charges against the pair relate to the alleged leak of a document containing what purports to be a discussion between Tony Blair and George W. Bush at one point. It is alleged this document shows that Blair had to dissuade Bush from bombing Al-Jazeera in Qatar (Norton-Taylor, R., The Guardian, November 29, 2005). Following that, in November 2001 US military seemed to have deliberately bombed Al Jazeera Kabul office and in the same month the channels correspondent in Washington Muhammad Al-Alami was detained as he was on his way to cover the Russian- American summit in Texas (US). Likely, Tuesday, 8 April, 2003,. US hit a

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missile on Al Jazeera office in Baghdad. One member of staff (Tarek Ayoub) died and wounded other ( BBC News, 8 April, 2003). The wife of Tarek Ayoub comments published in the Guardian on October 4,2003, she wrote the US bombed al-Jazeera because it was angered by reports that did not confirm its one-sided picture of the war. For the past five years, Al-Jazeera and other Arab stations have been gaining credibility and fame not only in the Arab countries but also in the west, competing with international networks such as the BBC and CNN. Al-Jazeera in particular became very popular during the American war in Afghanistan. The channel aired voice recordings of al-Qaida and Taliban leaders as well as the speeches of President Bush and allied leaders. This decision to broadcast both sides was in keeping with its motto - "The opinion and the counter-opinion" - but the Americans could not allow such freedom of expression to prevail, The Guardian , October 4, 2003).Above mentioned facts shows that US and its allies never been followed the UDHR article 19 and European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Article 10 during war against terrorism which gives the freedom of expression. To sum up, after analysis the relevant sources, pre going discussion summarizes that the countries like United States, United Kingdom and their allies using the exaggeration power during the war against terrorism. They dont care the international war and human rights laws during this anti-terrorism war. There are lowest estimates that at least 687,079 people have been killed, and 1,318,163 seriously injured in this terror war (Unknown News, September 5, 2008). Unfortunately deaths counting and injures still in row. Although, media already reported, number of illegal arresting, detainees torture, sexual abused, civilians harassment and rape cases during this war. Afghanistan and Iraqi economic and social structure completely destroyed by US and its allies forces. In media, Press freedom ranking 2006 shows the statistics that US and UK media have 56 and 28 position in the world with 13,00 and 6,50 points respectively(Reporters With Out Borders, 2006) .Same as the governments of these countries always trying to control anti state media like Al Jazeera.

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Conversely, on the summarization of the role of news media in the war against terrorism, I should say that, international media playing a very important role during this war against terrorism, especially in developed countries (USA, UK) electronic media like CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, BBC, SKY and ITV which produced hundreds of pro and anti pro reports and debates on war against terrorism. Likewise, in leading print media e.g. Washington post, The New York Time, News Week, USA Today, The Post, Christian Science Monitor, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror creating a large number of reports and articles on war against terrorism since [Link] on the other hand, affected countries with war on terrorism like Afghanistan and Iraq independent print or electronic media have no sound in the world. So argue is that, most of people in the world have so far been influenced with Western mainstream media rather than local country media inflicted with terror war. Now, it is responsibility of international political and Human Rights organizations to promote the local media in these countries because in my point of view this war against terrorism is also a test for journalism; a test of its claim to guarantee free, accurate and plural information-gathering which allows citizens to choose and helps those who govern to avoid mistakes; and a test, also, of its capacity to demonstrate that human rights in general and freedom of the press in particular are the most effective weapons in the fight against terrorism and for the protection of our societies.

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CHAPTER 7

IMPLEMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE MEDIA

Until a decade ago, the word media was synonymous with the word the press, which in turn was synonymous with newspapers. However, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991, which led to the first Gulf War between America and Iraq, gave birth to the cable television network, and became a springboard for the Cable News Network (CNN) founded by Ted Turner of the Media Corporation. This was followed with the advent of the Internet, which has virtually revolutionized the scope and the reach of the media across the globe. In India, the Press played a crucial role during the freedom struggle. The role played by great statesmen like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatama Gandhi and Pandit

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Jawaharlal Nehru is unparalleled, thanks to the zeal with which they devoted to their respective newspapers - Kesari, Harijan and National Herald. They succeeded despite the repeated efforts made by the British regime to curb their writings by charging and then sentencing them in one sedition case after another

Journalism Redefined
The imposition of an eighteen-month emergency in the mid-eighties curtailed freedom of expression with censorship measures adopted by the then Union government. However, it was this emergency which led to the birth of various news magazines like India Today, Sunday, Onlooker, etc. and which in turn gave a stiff competition to the daily newspapers. They profited by printing analytical reports, based on first hand information gathered by their correspondents in the field. Previously, many of the newspapers used to depend on the wire services like PTI, UNI, Samachar, etc. for culling the news due to the financial constraints and had limited access to the information. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the emergency turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the printed media in the country, as it definitely helped them to reshape the definition of investigative journalism in the post emergency era.

The Press Council an exercise in futility

In 1978, the then Government introduced The Press Council Act - 1978 to preserve the freedom of the press and also for maintaining and improving the standards of newspapers and news agencies in India. This Act has to some extent helped the Press to be more transparent and also simultaneously be accountable. What is a little astonishing is the fact that even after the infusion of electronic media, i.e. cable channels and internet, the government has not made any effort to enlarge the scope of the Act, so as to include these two new modes of communications within its ambit.

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It would not be out of place to mention here that the Press Council has no punitive powers and therefore sometimes it is not taken seriously, as the strictures passed by it have little bearing on the editor, reporter, printer and publisher of the newspaper. One feels it is an exercise in futility.

Minimal Instances of Violations Reported

In early eighties, a revelation made by Sunday magazine published by Anand Bazar Patrika from Kolkata with a front page story of the blinding of prisoners in Bhagalpur Jail had virtually rocked the entire nation when copies were waved in parliament. This was the first major case of human rights violations ever to have been reported in the media, and which threw light on the alarming state of affairs in the jail.

Thereafter in mid eighties, Sheela Barses investigative story on the condition of exploitation and abuse of female inmates of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, also in Sunday, resulted in an enquiry into the condition of prisons all over Maharashtra. The printed media has played a significant role during the last twenty-five years or so in reporting the violation of human rights. However, of late the printed media has been receiving stiff competition from television with the advent of news channels such as

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Star News, Zee TV and Aaj Tak were thrown to air. This healthy competition between print and electronic media has compelled them to carve out a new kind of readership and/or viewership in other areas such as fashion, cuisine, health care, real estate, environment, sports etc. While defending the latest trends, the media say, we cater for the demands of our readers and viewers.

Concerns with Modernizing Media

But one fears that in the entire modernization and revolution process of the Indian media, human rights might take a back seat. This fear is further compounded due to the constant changes in the global economic pattern, which began with the introduction of the WTO six years ago. The recently concluded US-led war on Iraq is also going to change the financial and economic equations around the globe, in which human survival might assume more importance than respect for the human rights Although the concept of human rights came into existence way back in 1948 with the UNs Universal Declaration to that effect, in India the National Human Rights Commission Came into existence forty-five years later, in 1993, with The Protection of Human Rights Act 1993. The State Human Rights Commission has came into existence barely two years ago and is still in the embryonic stage.

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One might wonder why the enactment of a nationwide law was delayed for 45 years? Well, no such necessity was felt as many of the Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have already found place in the Fundamental Rights enshrined in our Constitution. The Indian Constitution is one of the classical documents of its kind and has been drafted in such a systematic and simplified manner that is easy to understand, even for a layman. This speaks the volumes for the vision and energy of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar whose efforts in the making of the Indian Constitution were quite gigantic. However, when it comes to the reporting of the human rights-related incidents, the newspapers devote very little space to them, unless the incidents it self is a very newsworthy and has national importance. Newspapers seldom make a serious effort to follow up such stories, which they report with a greater zeal in the beginning.

Need of Basic Knowledge

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It is regrettable to note that in none of the educational institutes, colleges or universities in which journalism courses are conducted do topics like the Indian Constitution or human rights find any place. The apathy of these institutes towards these issues is to be deplored. A journalism student, aiming to become a reporter or a correspondent with a newspaper or a cable TV news network must know precisely that it is Freedom of Expression under Article 19 of the Constitution of India which empowers him to express his views without any fear or favour according to his conscience. Although the concept of fundamental rights under our constitution and human rights are quite synonymous, the reporting on the violation of human rights is a little difficult. A bare minimum knowledge of criminal justice system is essential to a reporter, if he or she wishes to report on human rights. At present, very few newspapers have reporters who are exclusively covering the legal beat. Frequently, the crime reporter who interacts with the police department is asked to cover the court reporting as well. Here again, there is a catch. Very few, indeed no, crime reporters are law graduates. Law graduates can earn more money by entering the legal profession. It is a common belief that the violation of human rights takes place only at police stations or in prison. This is true to some extent. But there are other areas too, like railways, environment, health care, education, development, employment, etc., where the violation of human rights do take place but it is seldom reported.

Media as Opinion Builder

The violation of human rights, no matter in which sphere of life they occur, essentially takes place because human values are not recognized in the first place. The importance of the human rights needs to be taught from the primary level in schools, when children are the right age to absorb them. Police are often accused of violating human rights, but sadly, no effort is made by the home department to include the subject

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in the curriculum of police training academies. Here lies an opportunity to train policemen about the importance of respecting and observing human rights and the consequences of the breaching them. The media can play a pivotal role by way of building up public opinion, and also by impressing on the government the need to incorporate the subject of human rights, both in schools and also in police training academies, and also in the training institutes for municipal councils, corporations and other revenue departments. It is the duty of the government to provide its citizens with unpolluted air. But, if the local authority is going to give building construction permission in a green zone or for the construction of a chemical plant in the area nearby to residential locality, then it would definitely be a violation of human rights. The de-reservation of plots for housing projects in metropolis is a huge scam, taking place with utter disregard to the human rights, but it is seldom reported in the media.

Revenue Based Priorities of the Press

It is a common experience, at least in the big cities like Mumbai and Pune, that matters relating to de-reservation of plots by the builders, or the violation of environmental norms by the companies are rarely reported, as the reporting about their misdemeanors might deprive the newspapers of potential advertisements. The print media these days is undergoing lots of changes, thanks to the challenges thrown up by the electronic media. Time was when the editor was The Boss of the newspaper and it was he who used to call the shots with the management. Now a newspaper is treated like any other manufacturing product, with the marketing (also known as Response) department at the helm of affairs. The editor is being reduced to a hired labourer, working purely on a contract basis.

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Such a sea change in the attitude of the management of some of the newspapers means that they are unlikely to antagonize the government by reporting stories relating to the violation of human rights, lest these stories rob them of the advertisements issued by the Directorate of Audio and Visual Publicity (DAVP). This is a dangerous trend from the human rights activists point of view.

CHAPTER 8

MEDIAS ROLE IN POLICY MAKING

'Information explosion' as the transformation on the media landscape has come to be known worldwide has caught the world unawares. It is now globally recognized as a fourth pillar of state along with parliament, judiciary and executive. Policy formation at every stage whether it is at the stage of Municipality or State or Centre is essential for the development of each and every class, and every citizen has

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right to know about. This is also one of the human rights accepted in the UDHR. Media is endowed with the power to spread the information, so that people could make a consensus. This process enhances the strength of the democracy as it strengthens the trust the common man in the democratic process. Gone are the days when governments could hide information from its consumers i.e. common people and (mis)lead people up the garden path. Now policy formulation processes are bound to be transparent as media keeps a continuous vigil. The rise of investigative journalism has added to the strength of media as a fourth pillar of state. Following points could be instructive in this regard. Policies were manipulated in the past to the benefit of the elites because no information reached people because channels of dissemination of information did not exist. Whatever sources of information were there were under the direct or indirect control of these ruling elites. With mushroom growth of media both print and electronic, information has become easily available for the people. It is not easier any more for the vested interests to hide information. Thus this has resulted in transparency in the policy formulation. The role of media is not just confined to make information available. It is also to educate people on the key national issues, which are concerned with lives of common people. Media conducts in-depth critiques, analyses and appraisals by discussing pros and cons of a given policy of government or any issue in an impartial and fair manner. In the process, it brings out what is good or harmful for people. Thus it informs people to oppose or support a given policy. That is how media performs the role of an opinionmaker. The aggregate result of such approach is that the governments have to be very meticulous in the formulation of policies. Since media undertakes critical appraisals of policies in a threadbare manner, therefore, it performs the role of a national watchdog. If a government adopts a policy, which is collectively not beneficial, the media can criticize this policy so severely as to

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arouse people's opposition towards this policy. So powerful is this role of media as a watchdog that the governments have to sometimes withdraw themselves from their stated positions. Therefore this role of media as a protector of public rights is very important for fair and beneficial policy formulation. This role of media as a representative of masses emerges from the abovementioned role as a national watchdog. Through a number of methods and techniques like the columns, interviews, seminars and public forums etc, the media serves to convey the aspirations of people to the top policy makers who may otherwise not know them by other available channels. Media is also a unifier of diverse viewpoints. At a time when a national policy may not be in accordance with popular appeal but it is in the larger interest of the country, it does educate the populace about the benefits accruing from adoption of such and such policy for the country. Such situations often arise on issues of diplomacy and foreign policy where policy has to be worked out keeping in view country's strengths and weaknesses not emotionally. It is also worth mentioning that at times the media has tended to overstep its limits. The nature and content of political talk shows is a proof that instead of spearheading informed and constructive debate on issues of national importance, the TV anchors and hosts with the full connivance of their employers try to direct the debate in a particular direction. This attitude runs counter to the principles of neutrality, objectivity and fair play. Political talk shows give birth to more confusion instead of resolving them. The unrestrained rush to telecast breaking news coupled with competition factor which is premised on grabbing maximum viewership is also responsible for this careless behaviour on the part of electronic media. There is a need to formulate code of conduct and settle rules of the game, which should characterize the functioning of electronic media in Pakistan. Such an arrangement should serve as watch-dog and oversee the working of media.

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Times have changed. We need to change our policies accordingly. Change is always the most difficult to accept. It demands courage, conviction and willingness. We need to get common peoplethe real stakeholders of any state into mainstream of national decision-making. The focus of governance is to shift from 'a few' onto 'all'. For that, our policy formulation should undergo a paradigm shift. We need to evolve 'allinclusive' rather than 'exclusive' model of governance. We had better spearhead evolutionary change rather than the one dictated by violence. The challenge is huge, so should be our resolve to overcome it. We should realize that we owe it to future generations. Let it not be said by them that we did not prove equal to the task. Given the sorry literacy rates and poverty of mind and intellect, it is generally not possible for the people to understand intricate issues of governance. Neither do they have the leisure of apprehending these things as they are already faced with graver concerns of survival. In these circumstances, it is the responsibility of the aware and educated sections of society to form groups and associations to impact upon decision-making and policy formulation at the national level in the interest of the down-trodden sections of society. Such groups so established by the responsible citizens can go a long way in lessening the burdens of common people. At a time when political parties have abandoned their responsibility of looking after interests of poor people, such groups are need of the hour. For that we need to agree on the minimum rules of the game. NGOs, opinion leaders, social and political groups and lawyers have heavy responsibility on their shoulders in this regard.

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CHAPTER 9

OLD AND NEW CHALLENGES

The freedom of information, expression and the media proved to be of particular importance during the Cold War when people in the socialist countries of Eastern Europe did not have access to foreign or independent newspapers and magazines. Later on, the Government of China tried to limit the use of satellite dishes in order to prevent its people from following Western channels and today, certain countries limit the access to the internet in order to prevent their citizens from reaching websites they consider undesirable for political or religious grounds.

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Dual Role of Media

The media can have a dual role as beneficiaries and violators of the freedom of expression. Their role can be one of informing about global problems, strengthening global solidarity, but it can also be one of an instrument of propaganda of the state or of particular economic and other interests. According to the UNESCO Commission on Culture and Development, modern communication technologies have made control of information flows more difficult, thereby creating new opportunities but also new threats, especially if the media become a target either of attack or of political control. The diversity and quality of programmes may be reduced as a result of commercialization, eager to gain always wider audiences or to compete for a higher share of readers and viewers by concentrating on sex and crime-stories. A major threat to the freedom of the media has been the concentration of the media, which exists both on the local and the global level. Therefore, in many countries and the European Union there are laws against media concentration in order to preserve media pluralism. Further and more elaborated new challenges of the freedom of information and of the media are brought about by technological developments like the spreading of satellite communication and the increasing access to the internet. Quite often, states try to restrict access to the new media because of opposition views or contents they fear to be critical of national policies, namely on religious or moral grounds. Since there are plenty of websites offering racist and xenophobic propaganda or child pornography, such concerns are indeed not always unjustified. The question arises, however, how the fragile balance between freedom of expression and legitimate protection of the interests of a democratic society can be kept. Due to the borderless nature of the internet, answers are to be found mainly at the international level. In its Convention on Cybercrime of 2001, the Council of Europe already condemned child pornography and tried to enhance domestic criminal

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liability as well as international cooperation for prosecution although with limited human rights guarantees. An additional protocol dealing with acts of racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems has been adopted in 2003. The Convention has entered into force in 2004.

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in 2003 and in Tunis in 2005 dealt with yet another issue of substantial importance: inclusion and exclusion in an age of communication, also called the digital age. The freedom of expression is essentially affected by the problem of access to the information infrastructure. One major aim was to develop an action plan on how to close the digital and the knowledge gap between the haves and have-nots of access to information and communication technologies, the so-called digital divide. The WSIS showed that an underlying conflict exists between a technological and a value and human rightsoriented approach. The final documents contain only few references to human rights. NGOs contributed a Statement on Human Rights, Human Dignity and the Information Society. (Source: World Summit on the Information Society)

Contents and Threats

The freedom of expression is a framework right containing several elements, including the freedom of information and the freedom of the press and the media in general. It is based on the freedom of opinion and intrinsically linked to it. Its manifestations range from the individual expression of opinions to the institutional freedom of the media. Freedom of opinion is an absolute civil right whereas freedom of expression is a political right which can be subjected to certain restrictions.

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Freedom of expression is a dual right in the sense of the freedom to impart, i.e. express opinions and ideas of all kinds, and the freedom to seek and receive information and ideas, both in any form orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media, including new technologies. Frontiers must not be used to interfere with the right. Consequently, the freedom of expression would also be an integral part of a proposed right to communicate. However, a draft declaration on this right, completed on a private basis, has not found support from states so far. Main Elements of the Freedom of Expression: freedom to hold opinions without interference (freedom of opinion) freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas (freedom of speech, freedom of information) orally, in writing, or in print, in the form of art; through any media (freedom of the media); regardless of frontiers (freedom of international communication)
(Sources: Art 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)

Certain elements of the right to expression are also connected with other human rights, such as: the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Art. 18 of the ICCPR)

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the right of authors to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production, i.e. the copyright (Art. 15(1) (c) of the ICESCR).

in relation to the human right to education (Art. 13 of the ICESCR), the freedom of expression results in the academic freedoms and the autonomy of institutions of higher learning to protect those freedoms. A major qualification of the freedom of expression is contained in Art. 20 of the

ICCPR which prohibits war propaganda and any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. The state is under an obligation to enforce those prohibitions by national legislation.

Violation of Rights, Threats and Risks

In practice, we witness wide-spread violations of this basic human right through restrictions of the freedom of expression and of the media in many countries of the world, as can be seen from the yearly reports of Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch. According to Reporters Without Borders, 63 journalists and media workers were killed and more than 1.000 media censured or banned were recorded in 2005. This amounts to a growth of 60 % compared to the previous year. The organisation, therefore, proposed special legal instruments, such as the Charter for the Safety of Journalists Working in War Zones or Dangerous Areas. The war against terrorism that followed the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 has brought new threats to the freedom of information by various governments. For example, the association of writers, PEN, urged a review of the US PATRIOT Act in this respect. The freedom of expression and of the media may also be misused to instigate hate and conflict as has been documented by the International Helsinki Federation in its publication on Hate speech in the Balkans.

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There is the threat of censorship, which may occur in the form of state censorship or censorship through economic or other means. This can mean that articles can be published only after approval by an authority as has been the practice in most socialist countries of Eastern Europe before the end of the Cold War in 1989. This can also mean that economic interests prevent the publication of certain opinions, for example if the military industry prevents articles with a critical attitude towards war. Various forms of political control of public and private media are common world-wide today. Professional codes are supposed to protect the independence of journalists but also assure the professionalism of their work. Censorship may also occur through self-censorship, when political or other interests are already taken into account by the journalist or media director. Finally, the decision on what is newsworthy and fit to print may exclude information not considered opportune, seen as minority views or what does not sell well. Decisions on what to publish and how will often be disputable. Codes of good practice can give orientation. Otherwise, the purpose of media pluralism is to assure that different views can be read, heard and seen.

Legitimate Restrictions of the Right

Legitimate Restrictions of the Right There can be no freedom without responsibility, as unlimited freedoms may lead to violation of other human rights, like he right to privacy. But restrictions need to be justified by the government with legitimate reasons, which can be scrutinised by public opinion and, as a last resort, judicial institutions. According to Art. 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the exercise of rights and freedoms of everyone is subject to limitations as are determined by law, in particular for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others.... Art. 19(3) of the ICCPR reminds that the rights enumerated carry special duties and responsibilities. This shows that the freedom of expression and the media is a very sensitive right which has to be handled with proper care. The duties and

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responsibilities are not indicated in the Covenant but usually found in codes of professional ethics or state legislation, which, however, must not infringe upon the content of the human right. Typical duties and responsibilities relate to the duty of objective information, in particular, the obligation to report truthfully and, at a minimum, allow for different opinions, etc. Some responsibilities coincide with reasons for restrictions of the freedom of expression, whereas there are no legitimate restrictions for the freedom of opinion. According to the ICCPRs Art. 19(3), three types of restrictions are possible, provided they are imposed through legislation and considered necessary: for the respect of the rights and reputation of others; or for the protection of national security or of public order; or for the protection of public health or morals. According to legal interpretation rules, limitations of rights have to be interpreted restrictively. The main right should not be undermined and the restriction should not be larger as necessary to protect the rights of others and the basic public goods mentioned. In Art. 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the list of possible restrictions is even longer, though, more precise. It states that the exercise of the freedom of expression may be subject to conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society. Such restrictions may be justified by: interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or

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for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary. No other right has such a long list of reasons for exceptions. However, two major

preconditions have to be met in order to legitimise the restriction of the right. The exception has to be: prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society Prescribed by law means that the restriction has to be an act of parliament and not an executive order by the government. Of particular importance is the qualification: necessary in a democratic society. This links the freedom of expression and the media to the concept of an open and pluralist society which is governed by democratic means. The European Court of Human Rights has been very strict on these requirements as can be seen from the so-called Lingens case. In 1986, the European Court of Human Rights decided that a politician has to accept a higher degree of criticism than an ordinary person and cannot silence a journalist with reference to the need to protect his reputation. Accordingly, the laws on libel which allow the persecution of journalists who criticize persons in public positions have to be balanced with the freedom of the press. Thus, the principle of proportionality always needs to be taken into account. According to Article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1965, the dissemination of racist ideas, incitement to racial discrimination, or financing of racist activities should be made a punishable offence by state parties, which should also declare illegal and prohibit organizations and propaganda activities which promote and incite racial discrimination.

Guidelines in Addressing the Issue of Child Sexual Abuse

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Covering sexual abuse has always a sensitive matter as there are many complexities regarding the dignity and integrity of the victim. The media must be cautious while covering that in any case they are no victimizing the victim. When it comes to addressing the issues of child sexual abuse the media should follow some guideline provided by the Government of India: Media should bring the issue of child sexual abuse into the realm of public knowledge and public debate. It is important that the issue of sexual abuse is presented as a serious violation of rights, not only as an offence against children. Media should, through sensitive and meaningful projection and coverage of the issue, be instrumental in creating a sense of moral indignation and outrage over incidents of child sexual abuse. Media should also take care to ascertain the facts, context and circumstances. A report on such sensitive issues should not be filed based on superficial interviews with persons supposedly witnesses to the incident. Media should desist from the temptation to sensationalize or exaggerate a particular incident of child abuse. When media reports an incident of sexual abuse it should also report subsequently on actions taken by concerned authorities and continue to report till action is taken to punish the abusers. Media should not unwittingly glorify the act of sexual abuse by giving undue prominence to the perpetrator. The victim should not be further victimized or made to relive the trauma he/she has been through. Under no circumstances should the media disclose or reveal the identify of the victim. Masking techniques should be used wherever the victim is made to give a first person

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account of his/her experience. The victim, relatives and concerned persons must be assured of confidentiality. Media should not create a prurient interest in the sexuality of the child by image or innuendo The child should not come across as a passive entity. Besides drawing attention to the problem of child sexual abuse, the media also needs to enlighten the public as what can be done to prevent such incidents, and what needs and must be done if such an incident has taken place, including providing information on legal or other remedies. Media should provide its target audience with full knowledge about the rights of the child and the legal remedies available to a child in the unfortunate event of a case of child sexual abuse occurring. Media needs to develop a system wherein viewers/audience can comment/evaluate on the quality and impact of the programmes being aired and telecast. Media should document and widely disseminate Best Practices on Prevention of child sexual abuse, action taken against abusers, work of selected NGOs, etc. In all reporting, the media must be guarded by the principle of best interest of the child as required in the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Media and Minorities

Minorities often face problems in terms of access to the media and in having media in their own language. In Europe, specific binding standards based on Art. 19 of

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the ICCPR and Art. 10 of the ECHR exist. Among them is, notably, Art. 9 of the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe of 1995. Accordingly, persons belonging to national minorities also have the freedom of opinion and of expression. Their freedom to seek, receive or impart information or ideas in minority languages regardless of frontiers must be respected by public authorities. Governments have to ensure that persons belonging to national minorities are not discriminated against in terms of access to the media, which should indeed be facilitated. They must not be prevented from creating their own print media and, within the law, also their own electronic media. Further standards exist in the framework of OSCE. The situation, however, is often more problematic regarding the socalled new minorities stemming from migration. In contrast to the national or old minorities, they usually do not have any legally guaranteed rights ensuring their access to the media. This is especially worrying when taking into account the rather xenophobic way in which they are sometimes portrayed in conventional media, while their possibilities of expression are limited. Art. 11 of the 1992 Council of Europes European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages commits States Parties to make adequate provision that broadcasters offer programmes in the regional or minority languages or ensure, encourage and/or facilitate the creation of at least one radio station and one television channel in the regional or minority languages.

Implementation and Monitoring

A wide variety of instruments and procedures exists to implement the human right of freedom of expression and its component rights. First, it is the obligation of states to incorporate the freedoms in their domestic law and provide legal remedies in cases of alleged violation. Accordingly, the right can be found in most constitutions as part of the

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catalogue of fundamental rights and freedoms. The minimum standards derive from international obligations on the universal and, where existing, the regional level. The various media and communication laws and regulations are very important, too. They further specify the right and its restrictions in daily practice in conformity with international obligations and national constitutional law. They may set up national monitoring bodies to regulate or self-regulate the press and electronic media, such as press or media councils, which are often composed of experts and/or representatives of civil society. In order to regulate the media sector, to ensure quality standards and to stimulate competition, the state may issue licenses which have to be made available on a non-discriminatory basis. The task of several control or monitoring mechanisms is that of monitoring compliance by the state. For example, under the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), states have the obligation to submit state reports in regular intervals (every 5 years) on the implementation of their obligations, which are considered by the Human Rights Committee. It gave an interpretation of Art. 19 in its General Comment No. 10 of 1983. The Committee may also receive communications, i.e. complaints by individuals, if the respective state has ratified the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR of 1966 (105 out of 155 by January 2006). Regional monitoring mechanisms like the Inter-American and the African systems provide for individual communications to Commissions which can issue conclusions and recommendations. In the case of the European and the Inter-American system, the Court may give decisions binding on states and also grant compensation. In addition, there is a monitoring procedure of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe which, inter alia, also covers the freedom of expression and information in member states. Apart form the conventional procedures, there are also so-called charter-based procedures like the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Freedom

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of Opinion and Expression, who reports to the UN Human Rights Council on the situation of the freedom of expression worldwide and provides observations, recommendations and a commentary on elements of the human right. For the 55 members of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe OSCE), a Representative for the Freedom of the Media has been introduced in 1997. His mandate is to follow the developments in the media sector of the participating states in order to promote free, independent and pluralistic media, which are crucial to a free and open society and an accountable system of government, based on the international obligations and the OSCE standards adopted in a series of follow-up conferences and expert meetings since the Helsinki Final Act of 1975.

The Role of Professional Associations and NGOs

Professional associations like the International Federation of Journalists, the International Press Institute (IPI), International PEN, the International Publishers Associations (IPA) or the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) collect comprehensive information on the state of the freedom of the media in different countries or regions of the world and support their members against restrictions. They draw attention to situations where those freedoms are violated, denounce restrictions, launch campaigns or urgent action appeals and prepare reports on particular problems like media concentration, corruption, state secrets and transparency according to Freedom of Information regulations. In doing so, they are supported by NGOs specialised in the protection of the freedom of the press and the media such as the organizations Article 19 or Reporters without Borders ( Additional Resources) as well as general human rights NGOs like Amnesty International or the International Council on Human Rights Policy. Furthermore, they cooperate with inter-governmental organisations and their special institutions, like the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and the OSCE Representative for the Freedom of the Media.

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On the national level, institutional monitoring bodies such as independent media commissions or professional associations and NGOs aim at the prevention of violations of the human rights in question, excessive libel laws and practices which may silence critical journalists. They also watch over the respect for professional codes of ethics in this field.

The Role of Free Media for a Democratic Society

Media pluralism is an indispensable element of a pluralistic democracy. The importance of the role of the media as a so-called fourth power, besides the legislative, executive and judiciary powers, requires also particular care and responsibility from journalists and media owners not to violate human rights of others by exercising their freedoms. The freedom of a particular society can easily be determined by the freedom of the press and the media. The first step authoritarian governments or dictatorships usually take is to curtail or abolish the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media. For the reconstruction and rehabilitation of democratic societies after war and conflict, a pluralistic media system which works on the basis of respect and tolerance of other opinions and refrains from instigation to hatred and violence is of utmost importance. This requires an appropriate legal framework which assures the independence of the public media and pluralism among the private ones and monitors the activities of the media with regard to the standards of objectivity, fairness and decency.

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CHRONOLOGY
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1966 UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1978 UNESCO Declaration of Fundamental Principles concerning the contribution of the Media to Strengthening Peace and International Understanding, to the Promotion of Human Rights and to Countering Racism, Apartheid and Incitement to War 1983 General Comment by the UN Human Rights Committee on Art.19 of the ICCPR 1993 UN Special Rapporteur on Protection and Promotion of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression 1997 OSCE Representative for the Freedom of the Media 1999 Resolution of the Commission on Human Rights on Freedom of Opinion and Expression (1999/36)

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2001 CoE Convention on Cybercrime and Additional Protocol 2003 2003 World Information Summit, first part, in Geneva: Declaration on Principles and Plan of Action

2005 World Information Summit, second part, in Tunis: Tunis Commitment and Tunis Agenda for the Information Society

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