Indian President meeting chief justices of the world and speaking human rights protection in the context of international covenants on human rights

 

President of India Lord Shri Pranab Mukherjee met with close to 190 chief justices from 65 nations in the presidential hall on December 6 to kick start the 13 th International Conference of Chief Justices of the World and draw connections between Indian constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

 

President made reference to the spirit of Article 51 of the Constitution of India : “ introduce and practice the various international instruments , in particular the United Nations Charter on Human Rights and the Convention ( International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights )” to espouse the foundation of human rights. The president expressed the idea that the high respect for Article 51 of the Constitution by the government demonstrates the consistency between domestic and international laws. It is common acceptance among Indian courts that the Article has made international covenants a part of enforceable domestic laws so that domestic law is in compliance with international regulations. The compliance also shows the global perspective of the lawmakers.

 

The 13 th International Conference of Chief Justice of the World, held by the City Montessori School , also appealed to Article 51 in advancing respect for international covenants and human rights. In the past decade, 484 chief justices from 103 nations have attended the conference and pleaded for the rights to life of the children. Mr. Jia Di Syria Gandhi, founder of City Montessori School and sponsor of the conference, spoke of the threat to every individual on the planet from international terrorism, disrespect for law, environmental degradation and potential outbreak of war. We have to draft an international regulatory regime to safeguard peace, harmony and balance so that people, especially the children, will have the chance to enjoy a better future.

 

Members of Association of World Citizens (AWC) have been invited to attend the conference many times in the past. The members went to the presidential hall together with the chief justices this year. AWC members, on behalf of the president, Rene Wadlow, and the honorary vice president and member of advisory board, Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, shared with the Indian president the brochures of Association of World Citizens, Federation of World Peace and Love, and Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy. The Declaration of Taxpayer's Human Rights was also shared with the president and the president retained a copy for reference.

 

Human rights are the universal values. Protecting human rights with the two international covenants is an emerging trend. The topic of protection of taxpayer's rights is a relatively new issue. Dr. Hong delivered a speech entitled “Taxpayer's human rights in the 21st century – Implementation of theories and actions”. It says in the speech “The protection of taxpayer's human rights is also highly correlated with children's rights to life. The livelihood of a family is severely affected by the unfair taxation and the child is the direct victim when the parents are bothered by unjust tax collection measures. Out of our love for the children, we have to facilitate reforms and equip the next generation with the abilities and skills to deal with the future through schooling and tutoring in daily life. We would like to bring the issue of taxpayer's human rights to the attentions of grand judges and hope it will be instrumental for nations to push forward favorable bills for our future generations.”

 

The respect for the two international covenants and human rights by the legal professions and heads of states can be seen as an indicator of human rights development. The conference of chief justice is just the beginning. The protection of taxpayer's rights will start from India and spread around the world.