v. Human Rights Are Dynamic: Human rights are ever changing, constantly dependent on the change in the political, economic, social or environmental structures of the State. For example, the right to be cared for in time of sickness has now been stretched to include free medical treatment in public hospitals under different schemes of the Government of India. Free medical examination in schools and also especially equipped schools for the physically handicapped have been included.
vi. Human Rights Are Essential for Gratification of Aspirations: Every human life has a purpose. The term ‘human right’ is applied to those conditions which are essential for the fulfillment of this purpose. No government has the power to curtail or take away the rights which are sacrosanct, inviolable and immutable.
vii. Human Rights Are Never Absolute: Man lives in a society which invariably establishes some limitations on the enjoyment of rights and freedoms. Human rights are those restricted privileges or prerogatives, which subscribe to the common good. These are acknowledged and attested by the state through its legislation. Each of these rights comes with restrictions.
viii. Human Rights Restrains State Power: Human rights imply that all citizens have rightful demands upon his or her society for certain freedoms and assistance. Thus we could say that human rights limit the State’s power. These may be in the form of restrictions on the powers of the State from violating the inalienable freedoms of the individuals, or it may be in the obligations of the State to not interfere in the citizen’s personal life.
2.3 Human Right Violations
Human right violation is as a result of human right abuses. It also means denying human his fundamental human rights as it involves treating man in a cruel, unfair and violent way or less human. In the recent past, human rights violations and abuses in Nigeria had held people down and devalued the nation’s cherished values (Nnochiri, 2013).
Speaking of rights allows us to express 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 the most basic human rights, on the other hand, is to deny individuals their fundamental moral entitlements. It is, in a sense, to treat them as if they are less than human and undeserving of respect and dignity. 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 nondiscrimination and the notion that certain basic rights apply universally (Michelle, 2003).
2.4 The National Human Right Commission (NHRC)
The National Human Rights Commission was established by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Act, 1995, as amended by the NHRC Act, 2010, in line with the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly which enjoins all member States to establish national human rights institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights. The Commission serves as an extra-judicial mechanism for the enhancement of the enjoyment of human rights. Its establishment is aimed at creating an enabling environment for the promotion, protection and enforcement of human rights. It also provides avenues for public enlightenment, research and dialogue in order to raise awareness on human rights issues. The Commission is headed by the Executive Secretary who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). There are six departments in the administrative structure of the Commission namely: Admin, LID, Finance and Accounts, Public Affairs and Communications, Planning, Research and Statistics, and Monitoring and External Programmes (www.nhrc.org.ng).
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under Chapter IV enumerates the following as fundamental human rights: -
i. Right to life
ii. Right to dignity of human person
iii. Right to personal liberty
iv. Right to fair hearing
v. Right to private and family life
vi. Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
vii. Right to freedom of expression and the press
viii. Right to peaceful assembly and association
ix. Right to freedom of movement
x. Right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of ethnic group, place of origin, circumstance of birth, sex, religion or political opinion.
xi. Right to compensation for property compulsorily acquired Violating any of these rules may lead to severe punishment.
