Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination. These rights are regarded as the inalienable basic rights of an individual which he is endowed with by virtue of his being born as human being. The Legislature, an Independent Judiciary and a free Press are the three essential pillars of democracy and it is expected of all concerned to play their roles effectively. The press provides a platform for free political discourse which is essential for proper functioning of a government in a democracy. He said that dissemination of information and taking it to the masses to mould public opinion is the duty of the press. As a developing country, the range of human rights issues requiring media intervention are particularly large with a marked social content, and therefore the services of the media are required in furthering the cause of human rights. At the same time, there are a number of genuine concerns about the way the media functions like commercialization of the media, trivialization of news, among others. All these factors, he said, contribute to a slant in the news reporting and raise serious issues concerning media ethics. There is indubitably the need to encourage the setting up of a voluntary code of ethics for the media as a means of greater self-regulation.