Don't treat human rights issue in isolation, pay equal attention to 'wounded' mother nature: Prez

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday urged all not to treat the human rights issue in isolation and sought "equal attention" to nursing the natural environment, lamenting that mother nature has been "deeply wounded" by human indiscretions.

Addressing a gathering at the biennial conference of national human rights institutions of the Asia Pacific at Vigyan Bhawan, she said the love for nature should be rekindled to conserve and enrich it "before it is too late". In her address she also said, "We have ensured a minimum of 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies' election... In a more pleasant coincidence, a proposal to provide a similar reservation for women in state assemblies and national Parliament is taking shape now. It will be the most transformative revolution in our times for gender justice."

Her remarks came a day after the government introduced a bill to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The lower House on Wednesday passed the bill with near unanimity. At the event, being organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India, in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Forum (APF) from September 20-21, Murmu said she looked at the list of conferences the forum previously held and expressed her happiness that this is the first in-person sitting in the post-Covid phase.

"I am told that the conference is being attended by nearly 100 foreign delegates," she said. Murmu also underlined the degradation the natural environment is facing. "Human beings are as good a creator as a destroyer. According to scientific studies, this planet has entered the phase of sixth extinction where man-made destruction, if not stopped, will be the undoing of not only the human race but also the other lives on the earth," she said. "In this context, I would urge you to not to treat the issue of human rights in isolation and pay equal attention to nursing Mother Nature, which is deeply wounded by the indiscretions of human beings," she added. Murmu said, "Let us ponder for a moment the causes of the pandemic and natural disasters that have been taking place all around us. Let us also ponder over the challenges of climate change that have been threatening the very existence of the planet."

In her address he invoked Mahatma Gandhi and said, he influenced the human rights discourse. "It was under his influence that the notion of human rights came to be expanded from basic necessities of life to dignity of life as well," she said. Similarly, BR Ambedkar was an ardent champion of human rights. He taught the depressed classes to stand for their rights and live with dignity, she said. "He (Ambedkar) also led from the front in shaping the Constitution of India, which is not only aligned with the modern concept of rights, liberty and justice but also deeply rooted in the Indian ethos that sees the world as one family -- 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -- the echo of which resonated during the recently-concluded G20 Summit," she said.

Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions Secretary Amina Bouayach, APF Chairperson Doo-Hwan Song and NHRC Chairperson Justice (Retd) Arun Kumar Mishra shared the dais with Murmu. Bouayach, also chief of the National Human Rights Council in Morocco, in her address said that expressions of compassion and support from India and other parts of the the world, in the aftermath of the quake was comforting. "The responses to the multiple crises we are facing must be centered in human rights - and all of this needs to be designed with people as part of the solution, by enabling inclusive, safe and meaningful channels for debate and participation," she said.

The NHRC chief began his address by saying: "At the outset, on behalf of all of us, let me place on record our heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in a tragic earthquake in Morocco. We also express sympathies to those who have otherwise suffered. In this hour of grief, we stand together with the people of Morocco". All of us are committed to upholding dignity and rights as every human in the vast Asia-Pacific region with diverse cultures, languages, traditions and religions, he said. "We are entrusted with the noble task of upholding the human rights of those who cannot fight for their rights. We also recognise the challenges of disparities that persist and injustices that continue to afflict us in many ways.

We all cherish the value of equality, freedom and justice; in that spirit, we protect human rights and provide expeditious and speedy machinery for the redressal of grievances," he said. While involved in hazardous business activity, big businesses have to be "accountable for human rights", the justice Mishra said. "After the worst gas tragedy in Bhopal in 1984, the hazardous debris still awaits removal. Delay is causing contamination of groundwater and soil. Business houses must be responsible for processing waste and removing debris from their premises. Stringent safety measures and liability are necessary to prevent the recurrence of such incidents," he added. The APF is also held its 28th annual general meeting at Vigyan Bhawan on Wednesday to discuss the issues of common interest to member countries. Sources said, some of the member countries raised the issues faced by civil societies, as also ways to foster cooperation among the member institutions. Representatives of national human rights institutions from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Phillipines, Jordan and Australia, among other countries, are taking part in the conference.

NHRC chairperson Justice Mishra in his address said, "We have already started paying the price due to environmental damage and climate change." The concentration of wealth in a few hands globally is causing a "brooding sense of injustice", the NHRC chief said. He further said that "we have to protect the human rights of victims of terrorism, drug abuse and war and their impact on the lives, livelihood, world economy and peaceful co-existence". "We must articulate joint strategies to protect cyber ethics and penalise unlawful internet behaviour to defend human rights. Similar attention needs to be paid to the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence. Care should be taken so that human life with attendant rights, as we know it, does not get affected.