Mysuru:  A one-day National Conference on ‘New Horizons in International Human Rights Law – Critical Discourse’ was organised by University School of Law at Rani Bahadur auditorium, Manasagangothri, here yesterday.

Speaking after inaugurating the Conference, University of Mysore (UoM) Vice-Chancellor Prof. G. Hemantha Kumar said that Human Rights recognise that each person is special with their own individual talents and abilities and no one is inferior or superior to another  and all persons are entitled to live with dignity.

Pointing out that the universal declaration of Human Rights is a milestone document in the history of Human Rights, he said that the document, for the first time, set out that Fundamental Human Rights are to be universally protected.

Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nation’s General Assembly on Dec.10, 1948, enumerates various Civil and Political Rights and as well as Economic and Social Rights, Prof. Hemantha Kumar said that declaration had a great impact on the philosophy and ideology of the Constitution framers, even as the Constitution of India was in the making at that time.

Stating that many similar rights were incorporated in our Constitution under the headings of Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of the State Policy, he said that a human being gets full freedom to develop himself mentally and physically, through the principles advocated by freedom fighters led by Mahatma Gandhi.

He further said that in India, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), an autonomous public body, was established in 1993 as an embodiment of India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights.

UoM Registrar Prof. Lingaraja Gandhi, Chairman and Dean, Faculty of Law, UoM and Conference Director Prof. C. Basavaraju and others were present.