HUMAN RIGHTS AND NATIONAL SECURITY: THE CONFLICT OF OUR TIME Shreya Khandelwal International Law Sat, Jun 24, 2023, at ,11:44 AM Introduction What are human rights?A recent fact sheet on "Human Rights, Terrorism, and Counterterrorism" was released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It described human rights as universal principles and legal safeguards that defend people and groups from abuses of their basic rights, entitlements, and human dignity by government agents. The full range of human rights includes the protection, accomplishment, and observance of civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights as well as the right to progress. Human rights are a fundamental aspect of who we are as beings because they are interconnected, indivisible, and universal. It can be established from the above statement that the main aim of human rights is establishing peace and security among the people. To understand this, we should also know what exactly do we mean by national security? National security is termed as the power and ability of a sovereign state to protect its citizens, resources, institutions, borders from foreign powers and organisation. In this research paper I will be investigating the violation of human rights in the garb of national security and the legal and ethical dimensions in context of national security. Violation of Human RightsBoth the state, or the government, and numerous other organisations, such as terrorist organisations, who violate human rights because the state fails to regulate them, can commit human rights breaches. When a state violates human rights, it may be done so by state agents, police officers, soldiers, judges, and prosecutors. These actions may take the form of police brutality, unfairness, or arbitrary rulings. These transgressions result in the invasion of peoples' civil, political, cultural, and economic human rights, including the right to privacy, the right to free expression, and the right to mobility, among others. Recently there has been a tremendous increase in human rights violations, both by the state in case of dictatorial governments and by terrorist organisations. This has mostly been observed in Middle East Nations like Syria, Iraq and most recently in Afghanistan. There have been cases of violations by the state in our country as well. It has reported that in India cases of unlawful detention, arrests of journalists, interference with privacy and freedom of expression has increased manifold in 2022. Violation of Human Rights in SyriaThe hostilities and war in Syria have gradually decreased but violation of human rights is still prevalent. Atrocities are being committed by both the government and terrorist organisations. The parties have committed war crimes and violations of international humanitarian laws. The government forces and terrorist organisations carry out abductions and forced detention in inhumane camps. Both the groups have targeted media personnel, journalists, doctors, and nurses. The groups have violated their freedom of expression, meeting and movement, their right to justice and equality. The people have been subjected to torture and ill treatment. They have exposed to electric shocks and impoverishment in detention camps. More than 1065 people, including journalists, lawyers, political activists, and human rights defenders, have reportedly been detained or disappeared. Such disappearances have been a part of the Syrian Government's information control efforts. Syria has been experiencing a serious economic crisis and lacks access to food. More than 6.9 million individuals have been internally displaced as a result of wars and terrorist acts. The OHCHR-established right of the people to food and water has also been impeded by the government. Government has made it difficult for non-governmental organisations to deliver relief. As a result, there is a shortage of food, supplies, and clean water for drinking and sanitising. The refugees have also been denied their rights. Many Syrians sought refuge in bordering and neighbouring nations, for example in Lebanon. The Lebanese government denied entry to the Syrian refugees owing to economic crisis in the country and restrictive laws imposed by the Lebanese government.Violation of Human Rights in IraqIraq has continuously experienced political instability, and attacks being carried out by both state and non-state actors to gain control over the unstable country. This has resulted in deaths and displacement of over a million citizens in the past decade. Iraq has been divided in two factions i.e., Kurdistan Regional Government which want to take over parts of Iraq and Turkey to form a separate nation for Kurds. Secondly the People’s Mobilisation Unit and its allied parties want to control the entirety of Iraq. PMU is backed by Russia and Iran, the adversaries of the United States of America necessitating their involvement in the Iraq war necessary. The United States in 2013 used the faction of Kurds to weaken ISIS then and later the combined faction of Iraq, Russia, and Iran. But this faction of Kurds used the weapons provided by the United States to attack Turkey, to form their own nation. Turkey then entered the war and carried out bomb strikes on both civilian and military infrastructure and waged attacks against both the factions. Currently there has been a de-escalation in the situation with a reportedly elected government in place led by Peoples Mobilisation Unit and its allies. This chaos has led to the violation of multiple human rights. The freedom of expression and association of people has been curtailed. The Kurds forces have arrested journalists, activists and have silenced the critics of their propaganda. The forces have been used tear gases, rubber bullets and police batons to disperse the protests being carried out despite being peaceful. The reporters and journalists are arrested on the pretext of national security, without any trial and an unjust jail time ranging up to 5 years. The continuous bombing has affected civilian infrastructure as well. Hospitals, schools, houses, storage units, warehouses, water distribution system, sanitation unit have either been destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Children right to education has been violated. Peoples access to clean drinking and sanitation water has been taken away and has affected the basic quality of life. The destruction of homes has forced people to live in camps which lack necessities of a quality living environment. There has also been violence against women and girls as well. the Iraqi government has failed to criminalise ‘honour killings’ being conducted by Islamic extremists. Gender-violence has increased manifold in the past decade with many cases of murders and rapes being reported. The rights of LGBTQIA+ people have been removed and a bill to criminalise the support these rights receive has been introduced by the government. The government has also introduced a draft bill to criminalise homosexuality. The government has also failed to tackle climate crisis and environmental degradation of Iraq. With the chaos prevalent in the country, it is unlikely that the country will be able to achieve the Sustainable Developmental Goals set out by the United Nations. Violation of Human Rights In IndiaIn 2022 there were various human rights violations committed in India. There were various laws and regulations passed in the parliament without proper discussion and legislative consultation in the houses of the parliament. Specific religious minorities were targeted, and crackdowns initiated against them. The government used colonial laws to arrests and detain journalists and activists in the name of national security.There has been increased use of governmental agencies like CBI and ED to raid offices of media houses and political parties on alleged charges of circulation of misleading information and corruption. The government has been using these surveillance agencies to deter and intimidate the organisations who go against the ruling party’s propaganda. There has also been use of surveillance technologies to monitor people’s movement and text messages. This has infringed upon people’s right to privacy.The government has also started regulating peoples posts and opinions on social media websites. People’s tweets on Twitter can be taken down by the platform on the request of the government on the pretext of national security. This has violated people’s freedom of expression. Further they government has banned several words which now can not be spoken during parliamentary proceedings such as “corrupt”, “eyewash”, “hypocrisy” etc. These words have banned to police the speeches of the opposition members. The usage of colonial statutes like the Sedition Law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and other laws that provide for preventative imprisonment has expanded. These laws are used by the government to arbitrarily detain and arrest persons without cause or a warrant. The administration cited national security as their justification for arresting them in cities. Although the government is acting within the bounds of the law, it is unethical and immoral. It is morally wrong to imprison and arrest people against their will without any evidence that they can commit further acts of violence, upsetting the peace in the nation, or endangering the integrity and security of the nation. The persons who get convicted of such treason are exceptionally low and most of the people who get arrested are acquitted. The government also uses laws to restrict the movement of journalists and people within the country as well in certain cases preventing them to enter the country. The right to assemble freely has also been restricted. In a recent instance, the government placed new limitations on assemblies and peaceful speech. The High Court of Karnataka affirmed this state directive. According to reports, disproportionate force was employed to subdue protesters. The police used illegal tactics to disperse the throng, violating people's rights to privacy and violating the law. Baton beatings on protesters may result in serious injuries. As seen by the arrest of Muslims on suspicion of inciting hostility between Muslims and Hindus in the country, minorities in the country are also being targeted explicitly. The government has even resorted to boycott businesses of Muslims. This has deprived them of their economic rights. It has been alleged that the most human right abuses have happened in Jammu & Kashmir in the country. It ranges from mass killings, forced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual abuse to suppression of freedom of speech, expression, movement, and gatherings. Several Kashmiri journalists have arrested, released, and re-arrested in the past 5 years. Crackdown on gatherings has increased and so has the suspension of internet. The state officials have cited the reason of national security for suspending internet in the region. Suspending it for a short period when risks were increased was reasonable to prevent spread of misleading information but suspending it for a longer period without any reason is morally and ethically wrong.ConclusionHuman rights in connection to state security measures have complex and contentious legal and ethical implications. On the one hand, there is unmistakable worldwide agreement that human rights are unalienable, universal, and must be upheld even when a country's security is at risk. For instance, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment." On the other side, it is also acknowledged that temporary limitations on some human rights may be necessary for maintaining national security. Examples include "public emergencies threatening the life of the nation" where the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) permits exceptions to certain rights. The ICCPR imposes strong restrictions on the kinds of constraints that may be authorised, requiring that they be "absolutely necessary" and "proportionate to the threat."The legal and ethical dimensions of human rights are thus a matter of balancing competing interests in the context of national security measures. On the one hand, the fundamental rights of individuals must be protected. On the other hand, national security must also be protected against threats such as terrorism. There are no easy answers to this balancing act, and different countries have taken different approaches. Some countries have adopted a more rigid approach, prioritizing national security over human rights. Other countries have taken a more rights-based approach and placed greater emphasis on protecting the fundamental rights of individuals. The best way to balance human rights and national security may vary from case to case. However, it is important to ensure that any restrictions on human rights are necessary and proportionate to the threat. It is also important to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to protect individuals from abuse.References Human Rights Extraterritoriality: The Right to Privacy and National ..., scholarship.law.gwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2562&context=faculty_publications. Accessed 20 June 2023. Human Rights Extraterritoriality: The Right to Privacy and National ..., scholarship.law.gwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2562&context=faculty_publications. Accessed 20 June 2023. UN Human Rights Office, www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/FAQen.pdf. Accessed 20 June 2023. Soken-Huberty, Emmaline. “What Are Human Rights Violations?” Human Rights Careers, 24 Apr. 2022, www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/what-are-human-rights-violations/. “India Witnessed Significant Human Rights Violations in 2022, Says US Report.” India Today, 21 Mar. 2023, www.indiatoday.in/world/story/india-human-rights-issues-us-report-antony-blinken-press-internet-freedom-religious-violence-2349328-2023-03-21. “Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The State of the World’s Human Rights.” Amnesty International, 14 Apr. 2023, www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/5670/2023/en/.