‘Human rights come with duty’

CHIEF Ombudsman Chronox Manek says human rights come with responsibilities and all people should be accountable to themselves and to others.
Speaking at the launch of the 20-day human rights activism last Thursday, Mr Manek told partners and stakeholders that one could not have rights without responsibilities and vice-versa.
“Human rights are not only about what someone can provide for you and me but also about what is expected of you and I as individuals,” he said.
Mr Manek said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) clearly stated that “all persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood”. 
He said the UDHR also stated that the State was the principal duty bearer of having the responsibility to realise the human rights of its citizens.
Mr Manek said the State should be providing sufficient resources to enable its people to live dignified and meaningful lives, as already guaranteed by the constitution.
“PNG must now understand that without a right to demand accountability and to actually demand it, there will be no transparency and sometimes no effective realisation of human rights.
“The greatest challenge for PNG now was to bring to realisation the economic and social conditions conducive for a population that is healthy, educated and living free from abject poverty,” he said.
Mr Manek called on all state and non-state actors to put into place mechanisms that would collect accurate and verifiable data to capture the works done on human rights in PNG as time goes on.