Human Rights Day observed: HRCP reminds state of basic rights enshrined in Constitution

LAHORE: On Human Rights Day, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reminds the state that it must urgently realize the fundamental rights enshrined in Pakistan’s Constitution, particularly those that have come under immense pressure in the last year, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, the need for economic and climate justice, and an immediate end to enforced disappearances and custodial torture.

HRCP observes with marked concern a rapid deterioration in people’s right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Raids on homes, preventive detention and the use of disproportionate and even illegal force have become the norm against protestors, whether those marching against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings or political workers from the opposition.

Tacit censorship has given way to more direct measures, particularly in the digital sphere, with increasingly stringent regulations and bans on social media platforms. The short-term disappearance of journalists and activists has further stifled any space for investigation and advocacy, much less dissent.

HRCP reminds the government that jobs and livelihoods, particularly among vulnerable workers and peasants, remain under strain. The state must prioritize people’s right to decent work and understand that beyond fair wages and collective bargaining, this right intersects with the right to connectivity for gig workers, land rights for landless peasants and small farmers, and clean air for all urban and daily-wage workers. On Human Rights Day, it is also the most vulnerable and excluded to whom we need to give visibility — women, children, religious minorities, transgender persons, the elderly, refugees and internally displaced persons, and persons living with disabilities — whose fundamental rights must be protected at all costs.