Respect for human rights and human dignity "is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world", the General Assembly declared three years later in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, all States and interested organizations were invited by the General Assembly to observe 10th  December as Human Rights Day.

For More Information, see www.un.org  

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

For more information, see www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

Poverty is a cause and a product of human rights violations. It is this double edge that makes poverty probably the gravest human rights challenge in the world. The links between human rights and poverty should be obvious: People whose rights are denied -- victims of discrimination or persecution, for example -- are more likely to be poor. Generally they find it harder or impossible to participate in the labour market and have little or no access to basic services and resources. Meanwhile, the poor in many societies cannot enjoy their rights to education, health and housing simply because they cannot afford them. And poverty affects all human rights: for example, low income can prevent people from accessing education -- an “economic and social” right -- which in turn inhibits their participation in public life -- a “civil and political” right -- and their ability to influence policies affecting them.

Yet, poverty is still rarely seen thought the lens of human rights. Rather it is often perceived as tragic but inevitable, and even as the responsibility of those who suffer it. At best those living in poverty -- countries and individuals -- are portrayed as unfortunate, at worst as lazy and undeserving.
For more information, see www.un.org/events/humanrights/2006/

For a List of Human Rights issues, see
www.ohchr.org/english/issues/  

Pakistan Country Brief
Pakistan’s economy is growing, albeit slowly, and the government is increasingly spending more on education and healthcare. However wealthy rural landowners retain their hold on political power, and the gap between rich and poor is widening.

•    Almost one third of the country’s nearly 154 million people live in poverty, and in the poorest rural areas, half the population survives on less than $1 a day.
•    One in every two people in Pakistan cannot read or write, and among women, this figure is even lower.
•    Children aged under 18 make up nearly half of Pakistan’s population.1 One in every three is malnourished, and deep poverty forces many into work to support their family.
•    Children are often exposed to dangerous working conditions, violence and abuse. Work and poverty also has an impact on their education: in rural areas as few as one in every five girls gets the chance to complete primary school, and less than half of all boys get an education.
•    Pakistan has one of the highest childhood mortality rates in the world. Pneumonia, tuberculosis and malaria are the biggest killers. Millions of children are not immunized against common diseases and less than a quarter of all mothers have access to professional healthcare during labor.
•    Pakistan is prone to natural disasters, including earthquakes, floods, landslides and droughts.

These have the greatest impact on the poorest, most marginalized communities and leave children particularly vulnerable to harm.

For More Information, see www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/docs/pakistan-country-brief.pdf

For Fact Findings of Deprivation of Human Rights in Pakistan, see
www.hrcp-web.org/fact_list.cfm

For Contemporary Forms of Slavery in Pakistan, see
www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Pakistan.htm