ARE SOME HUMAN RIGHTS MORE IMPORTANT THAN OT

PROJECT REPORT
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

Name : Haide
Roll Number : 01-177202-
064
ARE SOME HUMAN RIGHTS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE
OTHERS?
UDHR IN PAKISTAN

Human rights are generally a collection of fundamental freedoms that people from all over the
world have decided to be necessary. Human rights are fundamental rights to which every person
is entitled only by virtue of being human.
UDHR is the 1st international document which provides provisions for the protection of human
rights. Before this declaration, the rights of people were not universally protected even after
adopting many documents so the whole world witnessed WW-2. To avoid all these things in the
future, HR commission chairman Mr Roosevelt framed UDHR and then adopted it by the UN
general assembly on 10th December 1948 in Paris. It was drafted by representatives of different
legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world. It consists of 30 articles which
enlist the 30 rights like the right to life, right to health, fair trial etc to which everyone is
entitled.1
They are important for all of us, but especially for those who might experience abuse, neglect, or
isolation. They protect vulnerable minorities from tyranny. Most significantly, these rights
provide us power and allow us to speak out against unfair treatment from a public body.
There is no such hierarchy among human rights. All human rights are complementary to one
another. The 1948 UDHR article 1 states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights.” This makes it clear that human rights of all kinds economic, civil, political, cultural,
and social are of equal validity and importance. Economical, social and cultural rights must be
protected, respected and recognized on an equal footing with civil and political rights. These
must be considered minimum requirements for leading a dignified life. They are universal,
interdependent and indivisible. We cannot say that one human right is more significant than any
other; they all have equal standing. One human right cannot be guaranteed in isolation from all
others, and other rights are frequently violated when one is violated. All people are born free and
equal. Every person is entitled to the same rights and respect. They are completely interrelated.
For instance, in some situations, the realisation of the right to health may be contingent upon the
realisation of the right to development, education, or information. All human beings are entitled
to their rights without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, ethnicity, age etc. All
human rights have equal status, and cannot be positioned in a hierarchical order. Thus, the right
of everyone to an adequate standard of living cannot be compromised at the expense of other
rights, such as the right to health or the right to education. The public authorities shouldn't apply
1
UDHR. Amnesty international(2022)
or enforce laws, policies, or programmes in a way that is discriminatory or arbitrary.
Indivisibility and interdependence principles mean that efforts should be made to realize all
human rights together, allowing for prioritization as necessary by human rights principles. States
and other duty-bearers are required to abide by the laws and regulations outlined in human rights
documents.2

Human rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. This means that different human
rights are intrinsically connected and cannot be viewed in isolation from each other. The
enjoyment of one right depends on the enjoyment of many other rights and violation of one can
leads towards the violation of others although there are some rights which are fundamental to the
life of citizens granted by a country are known as fundamental rights can be of more importance
because they are subjective, it might be subjective to law , constitution or religion of a specific
state regardless of this the international community must treat human rights globally in a fair
and equal manner
Right to life:
The right to life is also subjective either to law, religion or culture some states have made the
right to life their priority. Islam already explained all these provisions fourteen hundred years
ago in its basic principles, right to life was the first right protected by Islam because in the era of
ignorance people used to kill their children in fear of poverty. In Quran (Surah: 17, Verse no 33)
Allah says

“Don’t kill any person whom Allah has forbidden to kill, except with right.’’

And even whenever Holy Prophet (PBUH) came across cases of Qisas he always prefers
forgiveness our beautiful religion always protects ones right to life as it is protect by the
constitution of Pakistan in article no 4 and 9 and in UDHR’s article no 3 every right took birth
with the right to life and end with the ending of life.
Right to health
As mentioned above that these right are indivisible and interrelated and interdependent right to
health falls perfectly in the example of this because what to do with that life if we cannot live it
healthily? It is an undeniable fact that healthcare in Pakistan is appalling. It has been more than
sixty years since Pakistan gained independence, and during that time, not a single piece of
legislation or policy has improved the country's healthcare indicators, even if only temporarily.
History is replete with examples of the healthcare (abdul basit case) situation deteriorating. This
is an issue that must be addressed as soon as possible because adequate healthcare facilities are
required for citizens to exercise their other fundamental rights. This is not to say that the right to
health is at the top of the human rights hierarchy, but it does mean that it is one of the most
important.

2
https://www.coe.int/en/web/compass/what-are-human-rights-
The question pertaining as to whether some rights are more important than others depends
entirely on the perspective of the society you live in, however there is no doubt that all of them
are critical for a human life to develop to its best ability. These rights can never be taken away,
except some laws such as right to freedom of movement, assembly etc. in very special occasions
(e.g. national emergencies) and according to due process of law. This does not take away their
significance; without granting these rights a society is bound to fail. Few of them are elaborated
below:
Right of Education:
Article 26 of UDHR grants human being a “right to education” 3, stating that everyone shall be
granted education free of cost. This is because education is crucial for a productive society, and it
shapes the citizens into being useful members of society with the right values thus it may
develop a nation of leaders. The State of Pakistan ensures such a provision by enabling free
education till intermediate and producing various public policies granting educational
development. As Jinnah states:
“There is no doubt that the future of our State will and must greatly depend upon the type of
education we give to our children and the way in which we bring them up as future citizens of
Pakistan”4.
Various reforms with regard to education have been brought forth, however, there needs to be
development in those educational frameworks by further integrating global policies into local
ones5.
Right to vote/political freedom:
Article 21 of UDHR grants political freedom to human beings, with an emphasis on their choice
of representative and how they are the ones that should be capable of choosing their government
and being active participants in it. When a society comprises of educated members, they prevent
tyranny from occurring by ensuring that they choose their representatives who are public
servants, not their masters. Pakistan recently had a government overthrown and protests were
carried out because of it, but despite the chaos not a life was taken for stating out their opinion 6.
That is what political freedom grants the people, their opinion and choice of a political
representative matters because of it.
Right to protection from torture:

3
Article 26; United Declaration of Human Rights
4
“Proceedings of the Pakistan Educational Conference”, Ministry of the Interior, Education Division (1947).
5
Critical Analysis of the Educational Policies of Pakistan; M. Hameed-ur-Rehman & Salima Moosa Sadruddin
Sewani∗∗
6
Al-Jazeera: Protests in Pakistan over Khan’s removal, Sharif set to be new PM
Although Article 5 grants freedom from torture, about 150 countries out of 195(those who are
part of UN) actively use torture as means for extraditing evidence from suspects. 7 These
countries include India, Pakistan, and South Africa etc. Strict measures must be taken to prevent
this gross violation by the government. Some cases of such measures include Azam Swati case 8
and Shabaz Gill case9

In Pakistan, human rights are being violated due to bad governance, un-implementation of laws,
inability of law enforcing agencies and delayed justice system. Women, religious minorities, and
transgender people continued to experience violence, discrimination, and persecution, and
authorities frequently failed to offer sufficient protection or hold offenders accountable.
Journalists in Pakistan are increasingly afraid to criticize government institutions or the judiciary.
A climate of fear impedes media coverage of abuses by both government security forces and
militant groups
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) started looking into at least 12 journalists and activists
in late September for Electronic Crimes Act violations. Charges were also brought against
journalists for comments made on social media. Government officials proceeded to attack critics
with the help of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). 24NewsHD was taken off the air
permanently in July after the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) accused
it of "illegally transmitting news and current affairs information." (NGOs) alleged surveillance,
harassment, and intimidation of different people by government officials. International human
rights and humanitarian organizations were prevented from registering and operating by the
government under the "Regulation of INGOs in Pakistan" policy. 10 The blasphemy law
provisions in Pakistan were not changed or repealed specifically Section 295 of Pakistan Penal
Code (PPC), leaving religious minorities open to arbitrary detention and prosecution and serving
as a justification for violence against them. Blasphemy carries the death penalty, and as of late
2020, there are still 40 prisoners waiting to be executed. A Lahore trial court executed Christian
Asif Pervaiz in September after finding him guilty of sending a blasphemous text. An assailant
who snuck a gun into a high-security courtroom in Peshawar in July fatally shot Tahir Naseem
Ahmad, an Ahmadi man who had been jailed in 2018 after being accused with

7
The Guardian: The case against human rights
8
DAWN: Tweet Case: Islamabad court extends Azam Swadi’s judicial remand for 14 days.
9
DAWN: Shebaz Gill claims “compelled” to testify against Imran Khan.
10
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-asia/pakistan/report-pakistan/
Blasphemy. Despite the fact that the attacker was detained, no government representatives
condemned the assault. Ahmadiyya religious community members continue to be frequently
targeted for legal actions under blasphemy laws and other anti-Ahmadi laws. 11 Domestic
violence, rape, murder, acid assaults, forced conversions and forced marriages are just a few of
the violent crimes against women and girls that continue to plague Pakistan. Approximately
1,000 women are killed in 'honour killings' annually, according to human rights activists.
Domestic abuse incidents soared by 200 per cent in Pakistan between January and March 2022,
according to data from domestic violence helpline across Pakistan. According to a report
released in August by the Human Rights Ministry, women who are imprisoned experience poor
living conditions and insufficient medical care. The research claims that Pakistan's jail
regulations fell short of international norms and that officials frequently ignored regulations
intended to protect female prisoners Child marriage remains a serious problem in Pakistan. With
21% of girls getting married before they become 18 and 3% getting married before they turn 15.
Forced marriage continues to be a particular risk for women in religious minority cultures. The
government has not taken many steps to prevent these forced marriages. According to the World
Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap 2021 index, Pakistan was ranked 153rd out of 156
countries.12

Every legal system must have some criterion for recognizing legal norms or laws. Even though
international law lacks institutional organizations designated for lawmaking, it must have
relatively obvious sources of law. There are established and recognized mechanisms for the
formation of legal rules, as well as many methods for determining the precise substance of legal
rules.
UDHR is not a binding document, it only provides general principles, however, it is the
obligation of every state to provide and protect the human rights of people within its territory as
human rights are natural and inalienable. Some rights also depend on the cultural norms of the
specific area and religion but still, some rights are very important and a person cannot be
deprived of those rights in any case. The Constitution of Pakistan ensures all the fundamental
rights13 of its citizens and put several obligations on the state to protect and provide those rights.
The Judiciary being the custodian of the constitution and protector of fundamental rights has
played a significant role in the implementation of human rights. In the case of Shehla Zia V.
Wapda14, the Lahore court ruled against a government body; Wapda, to stop the construction of
towers as it was detrimental to the health of the people living in that area, despite Wapda having

11
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/pakistan#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20the
%20Pakistan%20government,of%20the%20media%20also%20continued.

12
https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/pakistan/
13
Chapter 1, Part II, The Constitution of Pakistan 1973
14
PLD 1994 SC 693
statutory authority and immunity to construct and install such grids and towers. Similarly, in the
seminal judgment of Maulana Modoudi V. Govt. of west Pakistan 15, in Ayob Khan’s era, the
Supreme court declared that the government’s notification to ban student associations infringed
the right to association and the right to assembly, null and void.
Still and after all these many legislations, many people including the middle and lower class of
our society is being deprived of enjoying their fundamental rights. Several surveys and
interviews were conducted from 10 to 15 December 2022 by our team, and many responses
indicated that people aren’t even of aware of their basic fundamental rights and the constitution
of Pakistan. And which has some information stating that don’t have all the freedom and luxury
to enjoy all those fundamental rights mentioned in the constitution of Pakistan. When the people
were asked whether they live in a free and fair country or not, 70.5% of the people responded
“NO”. In response to another question stating that can they express their opinion without any
fear of being punished in Pakistan; 38.2% and 28.6% responded ‘may be’ and ‘no’ respectively.
After interviewing several people of low social class, specifically from Mira Abadi, Islamabad;
we came to know that those people don’t even know their basic fundamental rights and state
obligations to protect those rights. More surprising is that they didn’t even know about the
constitution of Pakistan which gives and ensures these fundamental rights of every people and
citizen in Pakistan.
These responses and interviews direct us to the conclusion that there must be a proper
mechanism to provide awareness to these people. The state must also provide adequate
awareness and look after the lower class. The judiciary and law enforcement institutions also
must take notice of these violations by government bodies and people. The media should also
play an unbiased role and highlight these issues in every forum.

15
PLD 1964 SC 673