PESHAWAR, Dec 16: Speakers at an International Human Rights Day seminar on Thursday called for amicable settlement of disputes so that resources could be diverted from defence to the development sector.

The seminar was organized by the International Relation Students Association, University of Peshawar. Dr Siobhan Mullally, of the faculty of Law, University College Cork-Ireland, was chief guest on the occasion.

Dr Mullally said that resolution of international conflicts was must for the observance of human rights. She said human rights could not be defined from the universal point of view but needed to be explained according to local custom and traditions.

She said that differences in various religions should be respected and should not be considered a cause of human rights violation. She said women rights, particularly at the village level, were denied by a majority of states.

Dr Mullally informed the audience that about 177 countries had signed the International Human Rights Charter of the United Nations so far and more states were expected to sign it in near future. Pakistan, India and Afghanistan were among the states that had signed the convention relating to the rights of women, she added.

She regretted that prisoners at Shebargan in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib jails were mistreated and abused by the army personnel in clear violation of the human rights laws.

She said that ongoing conflicts among different countries and huge spending on defence at the cost of education, health and other social sectors were the international challenges hampering the implementation of the human rights laws.