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Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
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“In the primitive ages no-one spoke of human rights violations but now society is more civilised and human rights and HR violations are spoken of and reported daily,” he said.
“Every living being has a right to live. The Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Islamic scriptures speak of equality and the right to live with dignity. Ancient inscriptions in Sri Lanka prove that human rights were respected even during the rule of the kings. It was the Magna Carta Libertatum or the great Charter of the Liberties of England, signed between feudal barons and King John on 15 June 1215 that led to the rule of constitutional law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 and ratified on 16 December 1949, is the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled.”
The Lankan Human Rights Commission President concluded his address by stating: “Freedom to information is a must. As an example a plaque on the Golden Gate Bridge in California reveals important information like how much it costs and how many lives were lost during its construction, but in Sri Lanka this sort of information is withheld from the public.”
