Emerging

issues in
Human
Rights- I
Right to Privacy
 The right to privacy is a fundamental human right that is recognized in almost every country in the
world.
 It is a key component of a democratic society and is essential for exercising other human rights.
The right to privacy is enshrined in the following international documents:
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 12 states that no one should be subjected to
arbitrary interference with their privacy, family, home, or correspondence
• European Convention of Human Rights: Article 8 states that everyone has the right to respect for
their private and family life, home, and correspondence
• European Charter of Fundamental Rights: Article 7 enshrines the right to privacy
The right to privacy is important because it:
• Allows people to establish boundaries to protect their information and life from unwanted
interference
• Is a necessary condition for other human rights, such as freedom of expression, thought, religion,
assembly, and association
• Is linked to the right to self-determination, which allows people to make choices and act in ways of
their own choosing
Reasons for Adopting Comprehensive Laws
There are three major reasons for the movement towards comprehensive privacy and data protection laws. Many
countries are adopting these laws for one or more reasons.
• To remedy past injustices. Many countries, especially in Central Europe, South America and South Africa,
are adopting laws to remedy privacy violations that occurred under previous authoritarian regimes.
• To promote electronic commerce. Many countries, especially in Asia, but also Canada, have developed or are
currently developing laws in an effort to promote electronic commerce. These countries recognize consumers
are uneasy with their personal information being sent worldwide. Privacy laws are being introduced as part of
a package of laws intended to facilitate electronic commerce by setting up uniform rules.
• To ensure laws are consistent with Pan-European laws. Most countries in Central and Eastern Europe are
adopting new laws based on the Council of Europe Convention and the European Union Data Protection
Directive. Many of these countries hope to join the European Union in the near future. Countries in other
regions, such as Canada, are adopting new laws to ensure that trade will not be affected by the requirements of
the EU Directive.
Continuing Problems
• Even with the adoption of legal and other protections, violations of privacy remain a concern. In many countries, laws have not
kept up with the technology, leaving significant gaps in protections. In other countries, law enforcement and intelligence
agencies have been given significant exemptions. Finally, in the absence of adequate oversight and enforcement, the mere
presence of a law may not provide adequate protection.
• There are widespread violations of laws relating to surveillance of communications, even in the most democratic of countries.
The U.S. State Department's annual review of human rights violations finds that over 90 countries engage in illegally monitoring
the communications of political opponents, human rights workers, journalists and labour organizers. In France, a government
commission estimated in 1996 that there were over 100,000 wiretaps conducted by private parties, many on behalf of
government agencies. In Japan, police were recently fined 2.5 million yen for illegally wiretapping members of the Communist
party.
• Police services, even in countries with strong privacy laws, still maintain extensive files on citizens not accused or even
suspected of any crime. There are currently investigations in Sweden and Norway, two countries with the longest history of
privacy protection for police files.
• Companies regularly flaunt the laws, collecting and disseminating personal information. In the United States, even with the
long-standing existence of a law on consumer credit information, companies still make extensive use of such information for
marketing purposes.
Threats to Privacy
• The increasing sophistication of information technology with its capacity to collect, analyze and disseminate
information on individuals has introduced a sense of urgency to the demand for legislation. Furthermore, new
developments in medical research and care, telecommunications, advanced transportation systems and financial
transfers have dramatically increased the level of information generated by each individual.
• Computers linked together by high speed networks with advanced processing systems can create comprehensive
dossiers on any person without the need for a single central computer system. New technologies developed by the
defence industry are spreading into law enforcement, civilian agencies, and private companies.
• According to opinion polls, concern over privacy violations is now greater than at any time in recent history.
Uniformly, populations throughout the world express fears about encroachment on privacy, prompting an
unprecedented number of nations to pass laws which specifically protect the privacy of their citizens. Human rights
groups are concerned that much of this technology is being exported to developing countries which lack adequate
protections. Currently, there are few barriers to the trade in surveillance technologies.
• It is now common wisdom that the power, capacity and speed of information technology is accelerating rapidly. The
extent of privacy invasion -- or certainly the potential to invade privacy -- increases correspondingly.
Beyond these obvious aspects of capacity and cost, there are a number of important trends that contribute
to privacy invasion :
GLOBALISATION removes geographical limitations to the flow of data. The development of the
Internet is perhaps the best known example of a global technology.
CONVERGENCE is leading to the elimination of technological barriers between systems. Modern
information systems are increasingly interoperable with other systems, and can mutually exchange and
process different forms of data.
MULTI-MEDIA fuses many forms of transmission and expression of data and images so that information
gathered in a certain form can be easily translated into other forms.
Defining Privacy
Of all the human rights in the international catalogue, privacy is perhaps the most difficult to define and circumscribe. Privacy has roots
deep in history. The Bible has numerous references to privacy. There was also substantive protection of privacy in early Hebrew culture,
Classical Greece and ancient China. These protections mostly focused on the right to solitude. Definitions of privacy vary widely
according to context and environment. In many countries, the concept has been fused with Data Protection, which interprets privacy in
terms of management of personal information. Outside this rather strict context, privacy protection is frequently seen as a way of
drawing the line at how far society can intrude into a person's affairs. It can be divided into the following facets :
Information Privacy, which involves the establishment of rules governing the collection and handling of personal data such as credit
information and medical records;
Bodily privacy, which concerns the protection of people's physical selves against invasive procedures such as drug testing and cavity
searches;
Privacy of communications, which covers the security and privacy of mail, telephones, email and other forms of communication; and
Territorial privacy, which concerns the setting of limits on intrusion into the domestic and other environments such as the workplace or
public space.
The lack of a single definition should not imply that the issue lacks importance. As one writer observed, "in one sense, all human rights
are aspects of the right to privacy."
Right to Privacy in India
• The right to privacy was not directly envisaged by the constitution makers and as such does not find a
mention in part III of our constitution relating to fundamental rights.
• The Judiciary deliberated upon the matter and interpreted the constitution including right to privacy
from the very beginning.
• Although Article 21 does not speak specifically about the right to privacy, the Supreme Court of India
, in various instances, extended the meaning of Article 21. There are many such SC rulings, but two of
them are the most important.
Supreme Court Rulings Against the Right to Privacy
• A.K Gopalan v. The State (1950): In this case, the petitioner argued that the search and seizure
operation carried out in his property violated the provision of Right To Property, as mentioned in
Article 19(1). However, the court rejected the argument regarding the right to privacy, saying that the
act of police did not obstruct his right to utilise his property.
• Kharak Singh V. The State of UP: In this case, the petitioner argued that the nightly domiciliary
visit to his home by the police violated his right to move freely across India, as enshrined by Article
19 of the Indian Constitution. The petitioner also objected to the police shadowing him. While the
court agreed that the nightly domiciliary visits did violate the petitioner’s right to live a dignified and
free life, it also agreed that the right to privacy was not a fundamental right, and hence surveillance of
his movements did not violate the Constitution.
Supreme Court Ruling That Upheld the Right to Privacy
(Article 21 context)
Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd) vs Union of India (2017)
During the hearing of a petition that challenged the constitutional validity of the Aadhar based biometric
system, the Supreme Court of India unanimously agreed that the right to privacy is a fundamental right as
enshrined by the Constitution. The court expanded the purview of Article 21 and said that the Right to
Life and Liberty, as stated in Article 21, also included the right to privacy. Since Article 21 falls under
Part III of the Indian Constitution, which deals with fundamental rights, the right to privacy thus
automatically became a fundamental right after the judgement. Since then, the right to privacy has been a
fundamental right in India.
Personal Data Protection Bill (2019)
As we said in the beginning, privacy in the modern context is more about the privacy in electronic
communications and the ensuing personal data generated through such activities. The
Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 aims to localise the data processing activities of the internet
platforms, which is akin to the GDPR law in Europe. A concept of ‘data fiduciary’ has emerged from this
bill. The data fiduciary is the one who collects the data (like Google). It needs to establish why it is
necessary to collect someone’s personal data (for example – enabling the person to sign up for an online
service). The fiduciary needs to maintain transparency and the necessary encryption systems to protect
personal data.
Law and Medicine
• Human rights are universal rights of all human beings, regardless of race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
• The right to health and other health-related human rights are legally binding commitments enshrined in
international human rights instruments. WHO’s Constitution also recognizes the right to health.
• Every human being has the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Countries have a legal obligation to develop and implement legislation and policies that guarantee
universal access to quality health services and address the root causes of health disparities, including
poverty, stigma and discrimination.
• The right to health is indivisible from other human rights, including the rights to education,
participation, food, housing, work and information.
• Universal health coverage (UHC) grounded in primary health care helps countries realize the right to
health by ensuring all people have affordable, equitable access to health services.
WHO and its Response to Right to Health
WHO supports countries to deliver on their human rights commitment to ensure non-discriminatory access to effective, quality
health services and the underlying determinants of health. To achieve this goal WHO:
• advocates for the right to health and other health-related human rights, including through communication campaigns;
• raises awareness of health-related human rights, for example on the right to safe healthcare;
• supports countries to integrate human rights standards into laws, health programmes and policies, for example through
development of tools and guidelines such as guidance on human rights in the context of mental health and
sexual or reproductive health;
• builds capacity on a rights-based approach to health among policymakers;
• provides evidence, analysis and recommendations related to health and human rights; and
• collaborates with other UN entities, to ensure human rights are recognized as a fundamental foundation to effective health service
delivery, for example through implementation of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy across all 3 levels of WHO.
Human Rights Violations in Law and Medicine
Access to healthcare: Lack of access to essential medicines violates the right to health, dignity, and life.
Governments must ensure equal access to healthcare and take steps to protect people from degrading treatment.
Discrimination: Discrimination is a human rights violation that can occur when people are treated unfairly or
unjustly based on their real or perceived HIV status.
Intellectual property laws: Intellectual property laws can result in unequal access to vaccines. For example,
during the COVID-19 crisis, the speed at which vaccines were manufactured led to a lack of transparency around
the patent process.
Violence against women: Violence against women is a human rights violation that can cause physical and
psychological harm.
Exploitation of workers: The exploitation of workers, adults and children alike, can occur at any stage of the
supply chain, from the extraction of raw materials to the production of drugs and their distribution. For instance,
child labour is strongly prevalent in the production of raw materials, such as cocoa, which is a critical ingredient
in many pharmaceutical products.
Conflict minerals: Certain minerals, such as tin, tantalum, tungsten (called the 3TG minerals), and gold, that are
used in the production of pharmaceuticals, can be linked to human rights abuses. The 3TGs commonly used in the
pharmaceutical industry are tin, tantalum, and tungsten are essential components in the manufacture of various
electronic and medical devices and products, including some pharmaceutical or consumer health products that
contain electronic components. They can end up being used in the manufacture of pharmaceutical and laboratory
equipment. These minerals are often sourced from conflict-affected areas where armed groups control the mines
and use the profits to finance their activities, leading to human rights violations such as forced labour, child
labour, and violence against local communities.
Drug pricing: The high cost of some pharmaceutical ingredients and drugs has been criticised as a
violation of the right to health, particularly in low-income countries where access to affordable medicines
is limited. The issue of high drug prices has also been linked to violations of human rights in the
pharmaceutical industry. Specifically, some pharmaceutical companies have been criticised for engaging
in practices that prioritise profits over the right to health, such as exploiting patent laws to extend
monopolies and prevent generic competition, and engaging in anti-competitive practices that limit access
to affordable medicine.
Refugee Crisis
• A refugee crisis can refer to difficulties and dangerous situations in the reception of large groups of
forcibly displaced persons.
• These could be either internally displaced, refugees, asylum seekers or any other huge groups of migrants.
• According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR), due to conflicts, human
rights violations, and other disturbing events, 108.4 million individuals experienced forced displacement
globally by the end of 2022. 35.3 million of 108.4 were refugees.
• According to the UN Refugee Agency, refugees are individuals who find themselves outside their home
country due to a justified fear of persecution based on different factors such as race, religion, nationality,
membership in a specific social group, or political opinion.
• They can be without a nationality, residing outside their home countries, and unable or unwilling to return
there due to a fear of persecution. The UN Refugee Convention determines what conditions are required to
be considered a refugee or when someone's refugee status is taken away due to circumstances changing in
their country of origin.
Causes for Refugee Crisis
Causes for the refugee crises can include war, civil war, human rights violations, environment and climate issues,
economic hardship, gender and sexual orientation-related factors, and hunger.
War and civil war
• In June 2015 the UN refugee agency reported that wars and persecutions are the main reasons behind the refugee
crises all over the world.
Human rights violations
• Discrimination and inequality can also lead many individuals and families to move away from their homelands to
other countries or regions.
Economic hardship
• A forcibly displaced person is distinguished from an economic migrant. In 2008, the
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs suggested a better term for migrants who fled for the
purpose of their and their dependents' basic survival was "forced humanitarian migrants". These economic
migrants fall outside the mandates of the support structures offered by governments and non-governmental
organizations for refugees.
Gender based violence
• Women and children refugees face a disproportionate threat of violence throughout their migratory
journeys and within refugee camps. Violence targeting women who travel alone and women who
travel with children is an example of Gender-Based Violence. The most common forms of
Gender-Based Violence include rape and other forms of sexual assault, human trafficking, and
forced sex, often in exchange for passage to Europe via human smugglers.
• Moria Refugee Camp is Europe's largest refugee camp and is located on Lesvos Island, Greece. Moria
Refugee Camp was originally designed for 3,500 people, however it currently holds more than 20,000
people. Moria Refugee Camp is considered by many in the international community as an unsafe
environment for women and children.
Political Reasons
• Since the establishment of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, instances of population
displacement have been identified by registered non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in countries
where local governments fail to provide or protect the economic means and social rights of their citizens.
• Following the US-led intervention in Afghanistan in 2001, NATO joined forces to address the volatile
situation. By the end of 2014, as NATO forces withdrew, Afghanistan faced political challenges despite
having conducted elections and establishing an elected President.
• Recognizing the persistent weakness in the political infrastructure, the United Nations responded by
establishing the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. UNAMA collaborated with the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and various Afghan organizations.
• The focus was on monitoring the situation of the civilian population, taking into account efforts to
promote protection and assist in full implementation of fundamental freedoms and human rights
provisions of the Afghan Constitution and international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State Party.
Case Study
Somalia
In recent years, the number of Somali refugees around the world had been in decline, registering as less
than 800,000 last year. Unfortunately, Somalia’s protracted cycle of crisis has once again led to an
increase in refugees with over 814,000 as of mid-2023. The situation is dire for many, who are forced to
contend with drought, conflict, and hunger. Last year and earlier this year, the country was at the
epicentre of the current Horn of Africa crisis and facing famine-like conditions. While rains have broken
the drought, the recovery from this crisis will not be swift.
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo remains one of the world’s largest “forgotten” humanitarian crises,
with events in a protracted situation rarely making headlines. Combining refugees and IDPs, its
displacement numbers are the highest in Africa, with 6.1 million people displaced. This figure includes 1
million refugees seeking asylum outside DRC.
Bangladesh
Beginning in August 2017, over 1 million stateless Rohingya fled ongoing violence in Myanmar’s
Rakhine State. Many are still living in the world’s largest refugee camp, located in nearby Cox’s Bazar,
Bangladesh. The Rohingya represent the majority of the 1.26 million refugees displaced from Myanmar
over the last six years.
Ukraine
In February 2022, escalated conflict in Ukraine led to a full humanitarian crisis that has displaced over
5.8 million refugees in the last two years. This is more than 13% of the country’s population, and just
under 20% of the world’s global refugee population.
Concern began working in Ukraine in 2022, shortly after the beginning of the conflict. After initially
working in bordering host communities like Poland and Romania, we switched operations to Ukraine
itself, where we determined humanitarian need to be greatest.
Afghanistan
The ongoing crisis in Afghanistan has made it one of the top countries of origin for refugees. One out of every
six refugees originated from this country (a dramatic increase over recent years), and over 6.1 million Afghans
are internationally displaced — largely in neighbouring Pakistan and Iran. (The latest UNHCR data does not
yet account for the return of thousands of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, which took place in late 2023.)
Syria
Syria continues to be the world’s largest refugee crisis as we enter 2024, representing nearly 25% of the total
global refugee population. As of mid-2023, 6.49 million Syrians have sought refuge, primarily in Lebanon,
Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Türkiye. In Lebanon, there are no formal camps, which leaves its population of over 1
million Syrians living across 2,000 communities, often in overcrowded temporary shelters.
Conventions Regarding Refugees
• The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva
Convention, is a United Nations treaty that defines the rights of refugees and the responsibilities of countries that
grant asylum. The convention was adopted in 1951 and entered into force in 1954.
• The convention also sets out which people do not qualify as refugees, such as war criminals. The convention also
provides for some visa-free travel for holders of refugee travel documents issued under the convention.
• The Refugee Convention builds on Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
recognizes the right of persons to seek asylum from persecution in other countries. A refugee may enjoy rights and
benefits in a state in addition to those provided for in the convention.
• The rights created by the Convention generally still stand today. Some have argued that the complex nature of 21st
century refugee relationships calls for a new treaty that recognizes the evolving nature of the nation-state,
economic migrants, population displacement, environmental migrants, and modern warfare.[4] Nevertheless, ideas
like the principle of non-refoulement (non-returning of refugees to dangerous countries) (Article 33) are still
applied today, with the 1951 Convention being the source of such rights.