Reader's views: Human rights should be maintained on social media

December 10 is celebrated as Human Rights Day by the United Nations. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – a document which entitles rights to every human being, irrespective of gender, caste, creed, colour and nationality. However, if we look around, we still witness human rights violations everywhere be it in countries where wars are being fought, or where they have the refugee problems as a result of civil wars.

Detaining innocent people who are suspected of a crime or terrorism, and having them tortured is also another violation of human rights. In another form, violations of human rights take place in offices where people are discriminated against on the basis of gender or nationality, in some cases.

Some women face such issues in their own homes. They are denied the freedom of expressing their thoughts or voicing their concerns. It would be advisable for the UN to identify such classes of society and work for their betterment, especially for women and children, so that they are able to enjoy the fruits of equality. The UN should utilise this year to bring about considerable change in the lives of the people suffering as a result of such human rights violations. This would add meaning to celebrating such an anniversary.

When we communicate on social media we should respect other users and their rights. Recently, I have seen people in social groups that use their platform to abuse and tarnish the reputation of their close friends. I consider this to be a new violation of human rights. People are free to share their opinions and voice their concerns.

In this new era of technology, where everyone is always ‘online’, this seems to be another outlet where people can violate the rights of an individual. Intolerance is the main reason for such violations on social media.

- The reader is a logistics manager, based in Dubai.