We are coming near the end of our month-long educational series of how each of the rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was violated, we still have five more rights to discuss. Today, we will be talking about Article 25, Food and Shelter for all. This right overlaps what was discussed a few days ago under Article 22, Right to Social Security.
Click here to watch video on Article 25, Food and Shelter for All
Article 25: (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Abraham Maslow came up with a thesis where he set out five fundamental human needs in a hierarchical nature. He said that if the most basic needs are not met, then the other needs cannot be met.
Maslow’s hierarchy identifies food, water and shelter as basic needs; these are physiological needs, and he identifies them as the most basic needs a human requires for survival.
For the Tamil civilians forced into the camps, they were denied their right to a standard of living that was adequate for the health of themselves and their families, including food, clothing, housing and medical care.
1) Food
“Representatives of Non-government Organizations (NGOs) in Jaffna have brought to the notice of Jaffna Government Agent (SLA) the prevailing misappropriation in the supply of relief food to the detainees held in the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) internment camps in Jaffna peninsula.” (Tamilnet)
“Witness testimonies obtained by The Times in May described long queues for food and inadequate water supplies inside Manik Farm.” (Tamilnet)
“In late June, the Colombo based NGO Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya said tens of thousands of Tamil children were malnourished with many acutely malnourished.
“About thirty thousand to thirty five thousand children are sheltered in Manik Farm. Many of them are suffering from diseases and some still suffer from injuries sustained in the military operations. Fifteen to twenty percent of them are also suffering from acute malnutrition,” media reports in Colombo said quoting Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, the executive director of the NGO said.” (Tamilnet)
2) Water
1,400 dying each week in Manik Farm camp, according to the Times: About 1,400 people are dying every week at the giant Manik Farm internment camp set up in Sri Lanka to detain Tamil refugees from the nation’s bloody civil war, senior international aid sources have told The Times. The shocking toll lends credence to allegations that the Government, which has termed the internment sites “welfare villages”, has actually constructed concentration camps to house 300,000 people, the paper said. Most of the deaths are the result of water-borne diseases, particularly diarrhoea, a senior relief worker told The Times on condition of anonymity. (Tamilnet)
“Meanwhile, according to a latest UN report, diarrhea and hepatitis A are still prevalent in some of the IDP camps. According to the report, health care, water distribution and supply of food items still need more attention. The report has warned of the effect the approaching rainy season might have on the camps, especially in low-lying areas. It has called for an improved drainage system and shelters before the rainy season begins.” (Tamilnet)
3) Medicine
“Ambassador Rice also expressed concern at the shortage of “critical medicines,” and disappointment at the refusal by Sri Lanka to allow “UN humanitarian team into conflict zone to facilitate relief operations and safe evacuation of civilians.” (Tamilnet)
4) Housing
“Amnesty International Monday called for “the immediate release of 285,000 innocent Tamil civilians including an estimated 50,000 children – being held in cramped and squalid camps” by Sri Lanka’s hard-line government. Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said: “The largest camp – Menik Farm – is horrendous. It holds about 160,000 people in an area smaller than one square kilometre.” (Tamilnet)
“Aid workers and the British Government have warned that conditions at the site are inadequate.” (Tamilnet)
“The international standard is for 20 people to use one toilet, but in Manik Farm about 70 people are sharing one toilet.” (Tamilnet)
Credits:
http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29364
http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29492
http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29975
http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=29757
Tags: Speak Out
