International Human Rights Day

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY, 2022

DAY 1

The first day of International Human Rights Day, 2022 of ‘IMS UNISON UNIVERSITY’ began with its grandeur. The first day was for the panel discussion on the topic of protection of the environment as a human right or duty.

The moderator for the first round was Dr. Shoaib Mohammad. There were 6 panellists from different Universities. The main question asked was that “what can be done in order to protect the environment by keeping the human dignity and human rights in the mind”?

The panellists were of several opinions, like one of them said that the condition of the environment has improved after the insertion of Article 21 in the Indian Constitution. Art 21 of our Constitution not only talks about the Right to life but also the right to have a clean and breathable environment, this was the judgement stated by one of the able panellists which was given by the Supreme Court in the case of MC Mehta Vs Union of India.

The panellists believed, higher fines should be imposed, charges should be held for the offenders and people who pollute the environment, irrespective of their economical class.

A question was raised that, whether the construction of buildings and monuments should be restricted to save the environment? But it was answered very creatively by the panellists that if construction is restricted it would create an imbalance in the economic growth of the state which is specially known for its tourism.

Several topics like sustainable development, carbon emissions, etc were discussed. Finally, the conclusion of the panel was that it is not the duty of a citizen or a fundamental right to protect the environment, but it is a collective participation of each person residing in this environment.

The moderator for the second round was Mr. Harsh Kumar. He opened the panel discussion by stating a statement that “we have common earth, and we suffer from common problem”. Panellists showcased their opinions like resources of the nature should be used as a duty and conservation should be the priority. Several case laws like, Tamil Nadu case related to environmental justice, abhiyans like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Nanami Ganga project, etc were also discussed.

The point that the ‘World Environment Day’ is celebrated on 5th of June every year was also brought in the limelight. It was discussed that the only solution to protect the environment is to make the people aware by providing them proper moral education regarding the environmental issues. The Biodiversity Act of 2002 was also discussed.

Then, was the welcome address of the participants by our guest of honour, i; e, Dean (SOL), Prof. Dr. Ashish Verma. The main agenda for conducting this event was to check that how can the panel discussion on the environmental topic could go on. He also stated a statement by M.C Mehta, that if you want to conserve the environment then you should stop using mobiles and air conditioners. He concluded his address by stating the main agenda of the 1992 Earth Summit that is everyone, globally is responsible for the protection of the environment and that the agenda is still unfinished and we need to keep working on it

Day 2

The second day of the International Human Rights Day,2022 celebration began with the poster making competition. All the participants showed great enthusiasm and creativity through their posters. The topic for the competition was “Human Rights and Environment”. After that, the judges grilled the participants with their questions about their posters and the Human Rights.

After that, was the Nuked Nataak on the topic “Environmental justice in close nexus with right to life”. Every participant gave their best in their performance to spread the awareness among people through their dramatization.

Next, was the inaugural and valedictory ceremony of the event. The guest of honour was Dr. Pramod Kant, IFS (Retd.). The ceremony began with the lighting of the lamp by the chief guest and the dignitaries. After that, Dean SOL, Prof. Dr. Ashish Verma presented a bouquet of flowers to respected chief guest. Welcome was addressed by the faculty co-convener, Mr. Ashutosh Kumar.

Afterwards, the guest of honour, Dr. Pramod Kant was invited upon the stage to bless us all with his words of wisdom. He talked about various aspects of Human Rights including the UDHR, UNGA, the co-relationship between our Indian Constitution and the UDHR, Stockholm Declaration, etc.

Moving forward, the Dean SOL, Prof. Dr. Ashish Verma presented a memento as a token of respect to the honourable chief guest and then was called upon the stage for the welcome address to the chief guest and to throw some light on the topic of Human Rights. He talked about Article 21 of our Indian Constitution and mentioned several case laws like the Olga Telis case, etc.

Then was the prize distribution ceremony of the event, the first prize for panel discussion went to a student at DIT University, the prize for the best poster went to Kusum Rawat of IMS Unison University. After that, the faculty convener of the event, Dr. Arti Sharma was invited on the stage to provide with a summary of the 2 days event and the vote of thanks. A Video graphical representation of the event was also presented.