“Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of their

race, gender, nationality, religion or any other status. We are all entitled
to Human Rights without discrimination.”                                               
– United Nations 

India was elected in the United Nation Human Rights Council with majority
votes, which shows its standing in the International community. Human
Rights is a set of standards which gives humans the rights to live in
peace, harmony, with dignity, liberty, equality etc. regardless of their
labels (sex, creed, caste, gender, nation etc.) in the society. This ensures
the development of the individuals and the communities since there is a
basic standard which applies to every human on the planet. The Human
Rights are a major part of international law e.g. declarations, treaties,
Acts, regulations, rules which are incorporated by different nations as
their municipal laws. We can say that Human Rights are Universal,
absolute, interrelated and unbiased. This article talks about the modern
aspects of Human Rights.

History of human rights

The example of World War II was the eye-opener for the world leaders to
consider human rights globally. A dire need was felt to maintain
international peace and security and to eradicate any future conflicts
among nations.

Documents like “Magna Carta, 1215”, English Bill of Rights, 1689, and The

French Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizens, 1789 were not adequate
to be converted into policies because they did not include women and
various oppressed groups. As a result, the United Nations Charter was
implemented in 1945 to create accountability and give rights to the
countries which were a part of it. 
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
Later, in 1948 the first global document Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN with more than 50 states as its
member. It claimed that Human Rights is an international concern and it
can be interrelated as well as absolute. The document is not legally
binding on the nations rather it can be treated as customary international
law.

The European Convention on Human

Rights
The UDHR acted as a structure for the development of the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which was adopted in 1950, with the
motive to protect Human Rights of individuals of the nations who are the
members of the Council of Europe. More than 40 countries (including the
United Kingdom) were signatory to the “Convention of Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms”. Later it was adopted as
municipal law by the United Kingdom via the Human Rights Act, 1998.

Human Rights Act, 1998  

Before this Act, the Human rights violation cases were dealt with in the
European Court of Human Rights. The Human Rights Act was enforced in
the year 2000, it gave fundamental rights and freedom to the individuals
of the United Kingdom, which was incorporated through European
Convention on Human Rights into the municipal laws of the nation.

This Act covers:

1. Human Rights cases to be taken directly to the British Court.

2. Public authorities to perform public functions.
 3. The new laws which will be introduced must comply with the
rights.

How have human rights evolved

through judicial pronouncements
India became a part of the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), these were the rights mentioned as the
Fundamental Rights in the constitution and on the other hand, the rights
of Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) were mentioned in the directive
principles of state policy (DPSPs) of the constitution. While the
constitution was being drafted, the Human Rights provisions of UDHR
were also considered in the draft and it was also acknowledged by the
Supreme Court of India so that the citizens could directly seek remedy
from the Supreme Court or the High Court under Article 32 or Article
226 of the constitution in case their Fundamental Rights are violated.

The Judicial Role is very important when it comes to safeguarding an

individual’s dignity and liberty. It not only protects but also interprets the
scope of fundamental rights and therefore, it is the guardian of Human
Rights of the individuals. Over the years the Judicial pronouncements or
interpretations have evolved and widened the scope of Human Rights in
India in some of the landmark cases, where the court has taken into
consideration the application of UDHR in their interpretations. The
landmark cases are as follows:

 Satwant Singh v. Passport office (Govt. of India) (1967)

In this case, the Right to Movement was elaborated and interpreted. After

considering that the freedom of movement is a global right and
considering the provisions of UDHR, the Supreme Court said that every
individual has the liberty and freedom to travel abroad, including his own
country, this right is applicable on every citizen except those who are
criminals, trying to avoid penalty and also to avoid any International
pressure, limitations can be applied on their freedom of movement.

 Golak Nath v. State of Punjab (1967)

In this case, the Supreme Court discussed the constitutional validity of

Part III and Part IV of the constitution in comparison with UDHR and
observed that both the documents were adopted with the intention fuel
the social growth of the society by giving individuals the right to work, to
educate etc. However, both are very similar to each other in terms of their
objectives and goals and their main purpose is to enforce and safeguard
Human Rights.

 The glorious case of Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala

(1974)

This case had a major contribution in outlining the basic structure of the

Indian Constitution. There was a very serious conflict between the
Judiciary and Mrs Indira Gandhi regarding the case of Golaknath because
the parliament wasn’t being allowed to alter the Fundamental Rights. This
case is important in the view of Human Rights because it involves the
fundamental rights which are the basis of basic human rights for the
individuals to seek remedy against the violation of their basic human
rights.

The court compared the UDHR with the Fundamental Rights and
interpreted that other than Article 13(2) of the Indian constitution, upon
which UDHR is based on, the Fundamental Rights can not be altered and
on this observation, the court gave the “BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE”
which stated that the basic feature or characteristics of fundamental rights
can not be abrogated or altered via amended, neither by the parliament
nor through a constitutional amendment.

 ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (1976)

In the above case, the question was whether the court should
contemplate the Universal Declaration in the constitution or not, since
India is one of its signatories but when one looks at the nation’s legal
structure, it can give validity and enforceability to the rights through
court’s interpretations. Here, the court was being rigid about the
enforceability of UDHR’s provisions in this case by stating that anything
that conflicts with the constitution is unenforceable as it is stated in Article
51 of the constitution that the courts are allowed to aid treaty principles
only if they are consistent with Indian law. 

 The case of D.K Basu (custodial death) (1997)

This case was the court’s evaluation of UDHR’s Article 5 which states

that “No one shall be subjected to cruelty, torture or inhumane
treatment”. Since this was a case of death under the custody of police
authority, which violated a basic human right of the individual who was
arrested, the Supreme Court gave the guidelines for proper conduct of
any arrest or detention and these guidelines would act as preventive
measures.

 People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. UOI AIR 1997

In this case, the scope of freedom of expression was interpreted. The

freedom of expression which is a fundamental right was violated by
tapping the telephone which was carried out by the Central Bureau of
Investigation. The authority and validity of such action were questioned.
The Court said that when an individual is exercising his freedom of
expression on the telephone, no one can invade his privacy unless on
reasonable grounds or reasonable restrictions which are mentioned
under Article 19(2) of the constitution. The Supreme Court took into
consideration Article 12 of UDHR and implemented “Right to Privacy” in
affairs of freedom of speech and expression.

 In case of Chairman of Railway Board v. Chandrima Das AIR

2000
In this case, a foreign woman was raped by an employee of the Indian
railways in the workplace. Under the provision of Public law, on the
grounds of infringement of the victim’s Fundamental Rights as well as
Human Rights Jurisprudence (based on UDHR’S Moral Code of Conduct),
the court awarded compensation to the victim. 

Here, the court implemented an important and current branch of law i.e.
Human Rights Jurisprudence, guarded Human rights on the levy of state
and allowed the importance of Universal Declarations of Human Rights in
its interpretations.

How is the implementation of

human rights being ensured in the
modern era
The implementation of human rights is being ensured by international
treaties and conventions which are further adapted by various nations as
their domestic laws. There are specific legislations which are being
introduced to protect human rights and specific authorities which are
focused on protecting human rights and making sure that the laws
enacted are being implemented properly. Organisations are being set up
at every level to ensure that the help is reaching at every level and no
human is deprived of their rights.

Implementation of International Human

Rights as domestic laws in India
 Article 51 – This article binds India to imply international law in
domestic law.
 Article 253– This article gives parliament the executive authority
to enact laws to implement International obligations which do
not violate existing constitutional laws.
  The present standing of India is that the parliament’s approval is
needed for treaties that may influence the citizen’s rights and
requires a change in the nation’s domestic laws. India practices
dualist approach i.e. it considers domestic law and international
law as separate legal systems, hence international sources can
not be implemented directly.
 The growth and development in the International Human Rights
influences various specific legislation related to Human Rights in
India e.g. Human Rights Act, 1993, Right to Education Act,
2009, Mental Health Act, 1987, Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act,1986 etc.

Legislative frameworks for implementation of

Human Rights in India

The Protection of the Human Rights Act

(PHRA), 1993

 Background

In the 1990s, India was heavily criticized by the foreign countries

regarding its conduct in Jammu and Kashmir violating human rights via
military forces to fight terrorism, which also gave fuel to the unrest
politically. So, the tension from the foreign nations led to the
establishment of this Act. This Act was introduced in 1993 when a need
was felt to safeguard the human rights issues at national as well as state
level. 

 Human Rights definition

According to section 2(d) of this Act, “Human Rights mean the rights
relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of an individual guaranteed by
the constitution and enforceable by courts in India.”
  Objectives

 This Act provides a framework or a structure to guard human

rights.
 To protect rights violated by the state’s abuse of power.
 By providing remedies to the victims of the Human Rights
violation.
 Provide the organizational framework to establish a Human
Rights Commission not only at the national but also at the state
level as well and set up Human Rights Courts for the speedy
redressal of grievances. 

National Human Rights Commission

The commission was established in 1993, under the statute of

PHRA,1993. The Paris Principles was adopted for the encouragement and
safeguarding of Human Rights which influenced the national institutions,
led to the embodiment of NHRC in India.

 Powers

 NHRC has the power of a civil court while dealing with a case
under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
 Power to furnish information about any claimed privilege of the
person under the law.
 Power to investigate and inquire or seize any relevant documents
with reason.
 Power to take suo moto cognizance in matters related to
violation of human rights.

Case of Communal Riot in Gujarat, 2002

In this case, the National Human Rights Commission took cognizance of
the matter after receiving numerous requests to look into the violence
which was violating human rights aggressively. The NHRC conducted a
report based on facts and the current handling of the situation by the
government of Gujarat. The commission then made recommendations to
the state to involve CBI for proper investigation of the matter and that
special courts should be made to handle the progress of the investigation,
it also extended legal aid to the rape victim so she could pursue her case
in the Supreme court.

  Complaints which are admitted

The kinds of complaints that NHRC entertains are custodial deaths, failed
investigation by police, police brutality, legal aid, illegal detention, fake
encounters by police, bonded labour, environment pollution etc. 

 Complaint and Enquiry Procedure

1. Any individual or group of individuals or organizations can report

a complaint against any violation of human rights.
2. The complaints are then registered without any fee.
3. The complaint is reviewed by the members, the commission
requires further information and affidavits to proceed, in case
there is no information found the complaint gets dismissed.
4. If any information or lead is found, the complaint is admitted and
the matter is properly investigated and inquired.
5. State government’s take on the matter is considered then the
proceedings are taken forwards for further inquiry and
investigation or taken over by the government to take action.   
6. When NHRC proceeds with the complaint, the inquiry is
conducted by its members 
7. In the process of inquiring about the matter, the commission
can-

 Summon any witness and examine them;

 Discover any document;
  Ask for affidavits as evidence;
 Question the public record for verification;
 Issue direction for the witness examination or examination of the
document.

1. After the inquiry, the Commission can make recommendations to

the government-

 To provide Victim compensation.

 To initiate proceedings against the person guilty for violation of
Human Rights.
 To take disciplinary actions against the accused.
 To take preventive measures for safeguarding human rights.

 Guidelines by NHRC

1. It should be the commission’s primary focus to inquire into cases

of custodial death.
2. Reporting of crimes like custodial death, rape, prison death is
compulsory by District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police
within 24 hours.
3. Guidelines from the case of D.K Basu must be followed for
arrest.

 State Human Rights Commission (SHRC)

Section 21(1) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1933 provides that
the Human Rights Commission can be constituted at the state level by the
state government, to practice the powers and functions which the state
allocates. SHRC has the same functions as NHRC except for examining the
international instruments of human rights, other than that it has limited
powers and it can’t punish the individuals who violate human rights and
has no access to give the victim compensation.

 Human Rights Courts

Section 30 of the Protection of Human Rights Act provides that the state
government with the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the High
Court has the power to arrange or set up Human Rights Courts at the
district level by a notification which specifies to each district’s court of
session. A Special Public Prosecutor is selected for the Human Rights
Courts by the state government under section 31 of the Protection of
Human Rights Act, 1993. These courts have been arranged in several
states like Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu etc. The commission also
stays connected with that concerned High Court to clarify the nature of
the crime that is to be tried in the High Court and some other details as
well.

Objective-

 To safeguard human rights at the grassroots level.

 To provide speedy trials of the wrong arising out of violation of
human rights.
 Role of Non-Governmental organizations to safeguard Human
Rights-

The non-governmental organizations work well when they’re dealing with

human rights issues, they play a very vital part especially in a developing
country like India in protecting and encouraging human rights. These
organizations are private, independent and non-profit i.e. the main
purpose of their existence is not financial profit. Many people offer to
support such organizations voluntarily. The NGOs identify the issues which
the government fails to recognise and they work to fulfil those gaps by
planning, monitoring and evaluating human rights protection. 

Section 12(1) of the Protection of Human Rights Act provides that the
commission is supposed to promote such organisations and encourage
their work towards the community in the field of human rights to obtain
physical help. The role of NGOs is also recognised internationally in
the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. There have been times
when local NGOs which work on a grass-root level were the first to file a
complaint against violation of human rights and the National Human
Rights Commission admitted those complaints, also their role in helping
with enforcement of government policies related to human rights with
their recommendations has been very effective.

Strengthening human rights

through NHRC
 Deals against violation of human rights and take preventive
measures-

The NHRC prioritises securing the rights of the oppressed and the
excluded. So, it takes all the possible measures to prevent any violation of
human rights of individuals.

 Policies and actions-

1. NHRC reviews laws, procedures, treaties and makes

recommendations to the concerned government bodies to
implement Human rights more effectively.
2. Certain policies and programmes are recommended and
regulated by the commission with special emphasis on the
weaker section of the society.
3. It makes sure that the individuals and various communities exist
in a civilized manner.
4. It gives attention to health care as well as proper nutrition to the
poor and oppressed, it makes efforts in making sure that the
government authorities are implementing the policies which will
help the weaker section.

 Works for women’s human rights-

1. NHRC supports various NGOs and self-help groups which are
focused to empower women economically as well as encourages
large campaigns to spread awareness.
2. It launches various programmes and supports movements which
are led to inform women about their human rights.
3. NHRC is very much involved with the decision-making authorities
on the ground level e.g. Panchayats, to help women exercise
their human rights.
4. It also adopts suggestions from NGOs, civil society and other
credible sources to understand the situations and Act accordingly
to enhance women’s human rights and maintain their dignity.
5. Special emphasis on sexual harassment of women at the
workplace, to deal with such an issue they established a system
for the redressal of complaints where women could address their
grievances with fewer obstacles.

 Works for human rights of the Minorities-

1. The commission has been very actively working with the ambush
on human rights of the oppressed i.e. the minorities, such
penetration on the minorities is awakening and in this kind of
issues, the commission can take cognizance itself.
2. The commission takes the necessary course of action to prevent
such problems, especially when religious aspects are involved.

 Safeguards the Right to health care and a clean environment-

1. Through Judicial interpretations, the scope of human rights has

been widened under the term ‘Right to Life’ as it includes the
right to health care, clean air, education etc.
2. It adopts new and advanced ways to address issues related to
the environment.
3. It has the authority to question the concerned government
authorities about any environment-related issue e.g. it issued a
notice to the government to inquire about the information of an
ecological disaster.
 4. The commission can interfere in any issue which involves the
violation of human rights, make suggestions to the government
authorities to prevent any violations against the right to health
care and a clean environment.

 Take action to safeguard the human rights of the victims of any

Natural Disaster-

 NHRC took initiative in cases of Natural Disasters like: 

(i) Gujarat Earthquake 

(ii) Orissa cyclone

 The commission takes suo moto cognizance in such situations:

(i) It helps in providing victim compensation.

(ii) Gives proper assistance in educating victims about their rights.

(iii) Takes relief and rehabilitation measures as quickly as possible.

 Helps in spreading out of human rights education-

1. NHRC stated their interest in educating and spreading awareness

about human rights to some authorities through various sources
or channels.
2. It worked on sensitization of the public about human values and
practices of human rights intending to build a conscience among
the individuals.
3. It submits its annual report, stating its approaches, efforts,
actions, needs, achievements and failures towards protecting
human status, dignity and rights.

 It looks the living situation of those who are incapable of

guarding their basic human rights-
 1. The commission checks the living conditions and standards of
jails, Youth detention centres, mental hospitals etc.

 It encourages various researches and studies on human rights.

Cybercrime and privacy framework

through the lens of human rights

Cyberlaw
The cyberlaw is the rules and regulations that protect against cybercrime,
it covers networks, software, data, data storage devices, the internet,
websites, emails, ATM etc. 

It mainly deals with:

1. Intellectual property
2. Data protection and privacy
3. Electronic or digital signatures

What are the Acts that are considered as cybercrime?

The illegal Acts where a computer is used as a tool to violate any

component which comes under the aspect of cyberlaw, as mentioned
above and such Acts are considered as cybercrime. Computer-oriented
crimes may threaten an individual or a country’s economic structure or
security. Globally, the states and the non-state entities captivate in such
crimes which cross international borders. Offences like financial fraud,
cyber-terrorism, cyber-extortion, cyber-sex trafficking, cyber-warfare etc.
are committed worldwide. 

International laws against Cybercrime

Budapest Convention
The council of Europe gave effect to the convention i.e. Budapest
Convention on the subject of cybercrimes to provide a solution to the
issues faced because of the growth of the digital platform. This convention
is the most relevant international agreement.

International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

The Council of Europe had another convention, the Convention for

Protection of Human Rights Fundamental Freedom as the need was felt to
add a fundamental human right aspect to the existing agreements. Later,
the United Nation International Covenant on Civil Political Right and other
applicable Human rights treaties were introduced. The convention made
an obligation to establish human rights and implement the procedures
accordingly, also added the law for seizing stored data. It talks about the
freedom of having an opinion and expressing it. This right should also
include seeking and receiving or imparting information and ideas in any
form.

Structure of Cyberlaw with the Human Rights

perspective

The Information Technology Act, 2000 was enacted and amended in 2008,

this was based on the model of the United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The IT Act defines offences and
penalties for various classification of offences, hence cyber laws Act as a
guard against cybercrime. In addition to the Act, the government also
provided the “National Cyber Security Policy”.

 Human rights and cyberspace

In the new era of the digitalised world, human rights are violated openly
and widely. Article 19 of the Universal Declarations of Human Rights
(UDHR) is the medium to the information community that contemplates
that every individual shall have access to the advantages of the
information society.
The United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) has stated a
general comment that the freedom of expression and information in the
International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights should also include
freedom to send and receive and communicate information, ideas and
opinions through the internet (cyberspace) as well.

 Freedom of Expression and cyberspace

The new opportunities are introduced to the individuals on the internet

where they can exercise their right to freedom of expression worldwide
most speedily and conveniently when compared to other platforms. It
expanded the capacity of individuals to exercise their human rights and be
a part of the economic, social and political development.

Limitations to freedom of expression, in case of:

1. Any legal requirement or provided by law; 

2. The necessary limit for national security and moral purposes;
3. Public morals;
4. Reputations are affected etc.

 Internet Censorship

The Indian media has reported many issues related to the misuse of the
internet in numerous ways and how it exploits human rights. Internet
censorship includes a ban on child pornography, removal of offensive or
hateful content on social media platforms by court’s order and regulation
of any bullying, discrimination, offensive behaviour in the cyberspace, e.g.
cyberbullying, cyber racism, cyber sexism or sexual harassment, cyber
homophobia etc. These days the big social media platforms are coming up
with their strict policies opposing all these issues, the content can be
reported by the public itself.

India’s stand on Privacy laws

 Right to Privacy
The main objective of privacy laws is to maintain a balance between an
individual’s privacy rights and the data collector’s interest. Privacy is every
individual’s fundamental right which has been mentioned in many of the
International Human Rights documents. The main idea is to guard human
dignity which includes freedom of expression and information.

 National laws related to privacy

There is no specific mention of the right to privacy in the Indian

constitution; the Supreme Court has made interpretations of the right to
privacy via Article 21, i.e. the right to life and liberty by widening its
scope.

Case- K.S Puttaswamy v. Union of India 2015

In this case, the interpretation of privacy rights was questioned, in 2017 it

was declared that privacy of an individual is a core element of human
dignity in the constitution and no institution or authority can enforce their
power unless it’s provided by the law.

Case- Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India 1975

In this case, “reasonable restrictions” are discussed, the law can restrict

the right to privacy, but it’ll have to be reasonable and just as mentioned
under Article 19(2) of the constitution.

 Data Protection (scope in India)

In this digital age, data privacy applies to all personal information which
also includes PAN or Aadhar, medical record etc. There is no particular law
in India that deals with data protection or privacy rights. Section 43A of
the IT Act, 2000 deals with certain “Data protection rules”.

There are relevant laws i.e. Information Technology Act, 2000 and Indian
Contract Act, 1872. India is currently working on the framework of data
privacy laws, an expert group is already working on it and several privacy
laws are influenced by General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Which
was created in Europe to protect digital identities.

The US solution: Microsoft

Litigation and CLOUDS Act 

Microsoft Litigation or “The Warrant Case”

The United States District Court issued a warrant to Microsoft under the
Electronic Communication Act,1986 also known as the Stored
Communication Act (SCA), 1986, to give the information (emails) for the
ongoing investigation of a drug trafficking case in 2013 but the
information was stored in their Ireland server. Microsoft refused to give
the information and filed an appeal against the warrant.

 Southern District (New York)

In the case of United States v. Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft challenged

the Federal government and argued that the SCA can not ask companies
to reveal data if that data is stored in any foreign server. To which the
Judge stated that SCA is not bound by the territorial limits, hence
Microsoft should comply with the warrant.

 Appeal to the Second Circuit

In 2016, Microsoft appealed against the judgement passed by the

Southern District of New York. In the meantime, Ireland government was
not satisfied with the violation of their treaty with the United States and
the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) was signed by the nations to
keep the trust between the two nations. The Second Circuit in their
judgement ruled in favour of Microsoft, quashing the validity of the
warrant.

 Appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States

According to Microsoft, the whole matter was about data privacy across
borders and to keep up with the new developments, an upgrade in data
privacy laws was needed, so the Congress should focus on updating the
outdated SCA, 1986 law.

In this case, the United States Department of Justice filed an appeal

against the order passed in favour of Microsoft. While the case was
unsettled in court, Congress passed the “Clarified Lawful Overseas Use of
Data Act” i.e. CLOUD Act in 2018. This Act led to the dismissal of the
litigation.

The Clarified Lawful Overseas Use of Data

(CLOUD) Act, 2018
This Act is a law for the modern era which safeguards the public’s privacy
worldwide. It is a new beginning of International agreements based on
laws of data privacy and also protects the rights of Cloud service providers
like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google etc. Back in the old days’ people
used to store data in storage devices and to investigate such documents
the government had to issue a warrant against that individual or company
holding the information but nowadays, the electronic data storage is the
future where the individuals or the companies store their data in the
cloud. The government issues warrant directly to the cloud service
providers to get the information without the person knowing that their
data has been accessed by the authorities, this is a clear violation of their
right to privacy which is their fundamental right and it becomes hard for
them to protect their rights if they’re not informed about the interference.
Therefore, this Act was needed to keep the balance between law
enforcement and the privacy right protection needs of humans.

 Overview of the aspects of the Act

1. The CLOUD Act has developed a structure to establish

International Agreements of the United States which enables law
agencies to access data in extraterritorial limits of the country
 i.e. allows foreign nations to enter into a bilateral agreement
with the US.
2. The Act combines the reach of the United States warrants across
borders and holds the comity (cooperation) rights of the
individuals together, without making any changes in the common
law right of the citizens as it remains independent of the new
International Agreements.
3. It safeguards privacy and human rights by following the rule of
law, fair and just trial, freedom of expression and opinion and
forbids arbitrary detention or any inhumane behaviour.
4. The Act also provides legal rights directly to the cloud service
providers to guard data privacy under the International
Agreements i.e. provides tech companies to challenge law
enforcement requests.
5. The Act puts certain limits on requests of the law agencies to
protect the privacy of an individual or a company.

Development of human rights

across the globe
Human rights have developed and have been recognised over the years
globally by various international instruments and these instruments were
introduced to lay down obligations which the nations would have to
respect to protect against violation of human rights on the national and
international level. At present, it is very important to have development
goals in every approach towards human rights, which is the main
objective of the Global Human Rights Development (GHRAD). In 2000, the
global leaders decided to make commitments in the Millennium
Declaration in the United Nations Resolution which included matters of
peace, human rights, security, environment development goals. As a
result of that, the Millennium Development Goals (i.e. the MDGs) was
introduced.
  Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

The role of Human Rights was limited in the MDGs plans but they had
numerous similarities because MDGs included the economic and social
rights. In the Millennium Declaration, all the leaders committed
themselves in respect of recognising human rights, fundamental
freedoms, right to development etc. and all its strategies were for the
advancement of the legitimacy, equity and sustainability of its policies.

 Poverty- Issue like extreme poverty and exclusion of minorities

from society is a direct violation of human dignity and it is
necessary to take steps which eradicate such problems, to
safeguard human dignity there have been many initiatives from
the World Conference on Human Rights (The Vienna Declaration)
and Merida Declaration, these instruments work for the
upliftment of humans regardless of their gender, nationality,
race, caste and other labels. Other programmes like the World
Food Programme (WFP) which is handling issues like hunger in
Yemen.
 Education- Right to education is a basic human right, many
countries have worked for education e.g. Afghanistan and
Bangladesh with their “Let Us Learn” initiative to overcome the
hurdles of education, the Secretary-General of UN took initiative
i.e. Global Education First (GEFI) etc. has committed with many
institutions to cover primary schooling of children. 
 Gender Equality- The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women, an initiative by MDG to
encourage gender quality and empowerment of women and
many other international human rights instruments have been
subsequently introduced to eliminate gender disparity.
 Environment- Many International Human Rights instruments
have come into existence for environmental sustainability, some
of them are International Fund Agricultural Development
(IFAD) was created to encourage agro-ecology, The Montreal
Protocol to reduce ozone depletion, Rio Conference was held to
 discuss the issues like development of climate, land, energy, air,
water etc.
 Global Partnership is very important for the development of new
technologies worldwide, the UN Secretary-General added the
MDG task force to improve regular surveillance of the global
commitments i.e. monitoring of trade, debt, access to medicines,
new technologies etc.

Conclusion
Human Rights has three aspects i.e. Civil-political, Socio-economic, and
developmental. Many international human rights instruments
i.e. UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR, CERD etc. all these human rights treaties and
conventions have helped in the development of human rights across the
world, their principles are being applied on both national and international
level, they all were introduced to protect Human rights globally. These
conventions and treaties have been implemented in India and that’s how
National Human Rights Commission was implemented to protect
individuals against violation of their human rights, the whole machinery
works for proper implementation of human rights but still, the powers and
authority of NHRC are very limited and it is dependent on the government
for its funding. There is a need to empower institutions like NHRC, State
human rights commission, National Women’s commission etc. to get the
desired results.

Nowadays, there are numerous new ways in which Humans are being
exploited and their rights are being violated with every new development
in the society. New human rights interpretations are introduced by
upcoming new generations out of society’s needs and necessities. The
virtual world i.e. the internet has no limits and it is used internationally.

“Modern problems need a modern solution”- in this new trend of the

internet everything is digital and with increasing developments, India
needs to implement new rules and regulations to safeguard the interest of
the public and their human rights. Just like in Microsoft’s case the data
privacy laws were updated and amendments were made. Similarly, India
needs to implement data privacy laws specifically because there is always
a new attack on human rights in cyberspace.