Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Timeline
1215

King John of England is forced to sign the Magna Carta by members of the English aristocracy.
Although intended for the nobility, the document forced the king to respect certain rights of his
subjects and imposed legal limits on his power.

1689

 English philosopher John Locke sets forth the notion of natural rights and
defines them as the rights to "life, liberty and property."
 The Bill of Rights is adopted in England. It establishes the rights of the
representatives of the people (the "House of Commons") to limit the king's
actions and even remove him from power if he should act against their interests.
The Bill sets guarantees against unjust taxation and cruel and unusual
punishment and for the right to religious toleration.

1762

Jean-Jacques Rousseau publishes his philosophical tract The Social Contract, Or Principles of
Political Right. In it Rousseau argues that government must heed the general will of society, and that
the needs of society as a whole come before the specific needs of the individual.

1776

The US Declaration of Independence, authored by Thomas Jefferson and others, is adopted by

Congress. It presents the rationale for American independence from Britain on the basis that "all
men are created equal" and endowed with rights that cannot be taken from them, including the right
to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen is adopted during the early stage of the French
Revolution. This document proclaims the end of the monarchy and the rights of all citizens to liberty,
property, security, and the resistance to oppression.

1791

Containing the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, the US Bill of Rights extends citizens'
rights to include freedom of speech, of the press, and to a fair trial, among others.

1864

The first section of the Geneva Conventions, protecting the rights of sick and wounded soldiers, is
adopted by European powers, This agreement would eventually be expanded to include the rights of
prisoners and of all war victims.

1899 and 1907

Building on the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions codify laws and customs of war on
land, set procedures for use of peaceful diplomacy and arbitration to settle international conflicts,
limit the use weapons of mass killing, and provide rules for maritime warfare.

1915

The Turkish genocide of Armenians begins. One to 1.5 million Armenians are killed. The
governments of Russia, France, and the United Kingdom declare the massacres a "crime against
humanity."

1914

World War I begins after the Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand is murdered in June.

1919

 The Treaty of Versailles, drawn up to end World War I aggressions, sets the
terms for world peace on the basis of democratic diplomacy, national
sovereignty, and self-determination.
 The League of Nations—a peacekeeping international organization—is formed.
Ineffective owing to lack of international support, it fails to prevent World War
II (1939-1945).

1930

Led by Gandhi, the Salt March to Dandi—a campaign of nonviolent protest against the British salt
tax in colonial India—begins in March. The Salt March draws widespread attention to the
independence movement in India, to the injustice of colonialism, and to nonviolence as a powerful
political tool.

1939

World War II begins following Germany's invasion of Poland.

1941

 Signed by Great Britain and the United States, the Atlantic Charter creates a
blueprint for the postwar peace and the basis of the mutual recognition of the
rights of all nations.
 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) gives his famous "Four
Freedoms" speech in which he claims that postwar peace must be rooted in the
recognition of "the Freedom of speech and expression, the freedom of religion,
freedom from want, and the freedom from fear."
 FDR coins the term "United Nations" for the Allies he led against the Nazis.

1942

The Declaration of the United Nations is signed by the Allied Powers who pledged to form a
peacekeeping organization by that name, on the basis of the Atlantic Charter.

1943
The Tehran Conference, the first of three wartime conferences between Britain, the United States,
and the Soviet Union, is held. The most significant development for human rights from this
gathering was the agreement by the three powers to form an organization of "united nations" after
the war.

1944

At the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, the charter of the United Nations is drafted and negotiated. Its
membership and structure are also debated and set.

Spring to Summer 1945

 World War II ends. The Nazi concentration camps are liberated. The United
States drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
 The United Nations Conference on International Organization in held in San
Francisco and adopts the United Nations Charter, as ratified by the original 51
signing nations. The UN Charter states that one of its main purposes is the
promotion of "respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all
without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion."

1945-1949

At the Military Tribunals at Nuremberg (and later, in Tokyo), the Allied Powers prosecute accused
war criminals for crimes against humanity.

1946

The Commission on Human Rights is established by the United Nations. Eleanor Roosevelt is
selected by the General Assembly to be its chairperson. The committee would later draft a
declaration of human rights.

1948

 On December 9 the UN General Assembly adopts the Convention for the

Punishment and Prevention of Genocide.
 On December 10 the UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights as proposed by the Commission on Human Rights.

1961

In response to a decline in international support for the UDHR, Amnesty International, an

international organization devoted to the monitoring and protection of human rights, is established.

1976

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic,
Social, and Cultural Rights enter into force after sufficient UN member states sign it.
1760 BCE

In Babylon King Hammurabi draws up the ‘Code of Hammurabi’, an early legal

document that promises to ‘make justice reign in the Kingdom and promote the
good of the people’

c. 528 BCE - 486 BCE

In India, Gautama Buddha advocates morality, reverence for life, non-violence

and right conduct

500 BCE

Confucian teaching develops based on 'jen' or benevolence and respect for other
people

27 BCE - 476 CE

Roman Empire develops the concepts of natural law and the rights of citizens

c. 26 - 33 CE

In Palestine, Jesus Christ preaches morality, tolerance, justice, forgiveness and

love. The Christian New Testament teaches equality before God: 'In Christ
there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female'

613 - 632

In Saudi Arabia, Prophet Mohammed teaches the principles of equality, justice

and compassion revealed in the Qur’ān

1215

Britain's King John is forced by his lords to sign the Magna Carta,
acknowledging that free men are entitled to judgment by their peers and that
even a King is not above the law. It also stated that taxes could not be demanded
without first obtaining the consent of ‘the realm’.

1583 - 1645

Hugo Grotius, Dutch jurist credited with the birth of international law, speaks of
brotherhood of humankind and the need to treat all people fairly.
1689

In England, Parliament adopts the Bill of Rights that curtails the power of the
monarch and includes freedom from torture and from punishment without trial.
The Bill sets out that it is the job of government to represent the people and their
rights.

1776

US Declaration of Independence proclaims that 'all men are created equal' and
endowed with certain inalienable rights.

1789

In France the National Assembly adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen, which guarantees the rights to liberty, equality, property,
security, and resistance to oppression.

1791

The United States Congress adopts their Bill of Rights, amending the US
Constitution to include rights to trial by jury, freedom of expression, speech,
belief and assembly

1833

The British Parliament abolishes slavery through the Slavery Abolition Act

1945

The United Nations is created ‘to affirm the dignity and worth of every human
person’

1948

The United Nations adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

1951

The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees ('The Refugee Convention')

is adopted and opened for signature. It defines who a refugee is and what the
rights and legal obligations of states are in relation to them
1965

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial

Discrimination (CERD) is adopted and opened for signature. It is introduced to
eliminate racial discrimination and promote understanding among all races

1966

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) are
adopted and opened for signature

1979

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW) is adopted and opened for signature. It is introduced to
prevent discrimination against, and to promote the rights of, women

1984

In Australia, the Sex Discrimination Act comes into force

1984

The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment is adopted and opened for signature.

1986

In Australia, the Human Rights Commission Act is enacted, which establishes a

national human rights commission, today known as the Australian Human
Rights Commission

1989

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is adopted and opened for signature

1992

In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act comes into force

2004

In Australia, the Age Discrimination Act comes into force

2006 - 2007
 The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is adopted (2006) and
opened for signature (2007)

2007

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is adopted by the United

Nations in 2007, and the Australian Government announced its support for the
Declaration in 2009.

2011

The United Nation adopts the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights
Education and Training

2013

The first National Children's Commissioner is appointed in Australia

History of human rights

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While belief in the sanctity of human life has ancient precedents in many religions of the world, the foundations of
modern human rights began during the era of renaissance humanism in the early modern period. The European wars
of religion and the civil wars of seventeenth-century England gave rise to the philosophy of liberalism and belief
in natural rights became a central concern of European intellectual culture during the eighteenth-century Age of
Enlightenment. These ideas lay at the core of the American and French Revolutions which occurred toward the end
of that century. Democratic evolution through the nineteenth century paved the way for the advent of universal
suffrage in the twentieth century. Two world wars led to the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The post-war era saw movements arising from specific groups experiencing a shortfall in their rights, such
as feminism and the civil rights of African-Americans. The human rights of members of the Soviet bloc emerged in
the 1970s along with workers' rights in the West. The movements quickly jelled as social activism and political
rhetoric in many nations put human rights high on the world agenda.[1] By the 21st century, historian Samuel Moyn
has argued, the human rights movement expanded beyond its original anti-totalitarianism to include numerous
causes involving humanitarianism and social and economic development in the Developing World. [2]
The history of human rights has been complex. Many established rights for instance would be replaced by other
systems which deviate from their original western design. Stable institutions may be uprooted such as in cases of
conflict such as war and terrorism or a change in culture.[3]

Contents

 1Ancient and pre-modern eras

 1.1Ancient West Asia
 1.2Africa
 1.3Antiquity
 1.4Early Islamic Caliphate
 1.5Middle Ages
 2Early modern period and modern foundations
  2.1Age of Discovery, early modern period and Age of Enlightenment
 2.219th century to World War I
 2.3Between World War I and World War II
 3Modern human rights movement

 3.1After World War II

 3.1.1Rights in War and the Geneva Conventions
 3.1.2Universal Declaration of Human Rights
 3.1.3Peace on Earth
 3.2Late 20th century
 4See also
 5Notes
 6External links

Ancient and pre-modern eras[edit]

Some notions of righteousness present in ancient law and religion are sometimes retrospectively included under the
term "human rights". While Enlightenment philosophers suggest a secular social contract between the rulers and the
ruled, ancient traditions derived similar conclusions from notions of divine law, and, in Hellenistic
philosophy, natural law. Samuel Moyn suggests that the concept of human rights is intertwined with the modern
sense of citizenship, which did not emerge until the past few hundred years.[4] Nonetheless, relevant examples exist
in the Ancient and pre-modern eras, although Ancient peoples did not have the same modern-day conception of
universal human rights.[5]

Ancient West Asia[edit]

An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi.

The reforms of Urukagina of Lagash, the earliest known legal code (ca. 2350 BC), is often thought to be an early
example of reform. Professor Norman Yoffee wrote that after Igor M. Diakonoff "most interpreters consider that
Urukagina, himself not of the ruling dynasty at Lagash, was no reformer at all. Indeed, by attempting to curb the
encroachment of a secular authority at the expense of temple prerogatives, he was, if a modern term must be applied,
a reactionary."[6] Author Marilyn French wrote that the discovery of penalties for adultery for women but not for
men represents "the first written evidence of the degradation of women".[6][7] The oldest legal codex extant today is
the Neo-Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu (ca. 2050 BC). Several other sets of laws were also issued in Mesopotamia,
including the Code of Hammurabi (ca. 1780 BC), one of the most famous examples of this type of document. It
shows rules, and punishments if those rules are broken, on a variety of matters, including women's rights, men's
rights, children's rights and slave rights.

Africa[edit]
The Northeast African civilization of Ancient Egypt[8] supported basic human rights.[9] For
example, Pharaoh Bocchoris (725-720 BC) promoted individual rights, suppressed imprisonment for debt, and
reformed laws relating to the transferral of property.[9]

Antiquity[edit]
Further information: The Golden Rule, Cyrus Cylinder, and Edicts of Ashoka

The Cyrus Cylinder of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire

Some historians suggest that the Achaemenid Persian Empire of ancient Iran established unprecedented principles
of human rights in the 6th century BC under Cyrus the Great. After his conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in
539 BC, the king issued the Cyrus cylinder, discovered in 1879 and seen by some today as the first human rights
document.[10][11][12] The cylinder has been linked by some commentators to the decrees of Cyrus recorded in
the Books of Chronicles, Nehemiah, and Ezra, which state that Cyrus allowed (at least some of) the Jews to return to
their homeland from their Babylonian Captivity. Additionally it stated the freedom to practice one's faith without
persecution and forced conversions.[13][14]
In opposition to the above viewpoint, the interpretation of the Cylinder as a "charter of human rights" has been
dismissed by other historians and characterized by some others as political propaganda devised by the Pahlavi
regime.[15] The German historian Josef Wiesehöfer argues that the image of "Cyrus as a champion of the UN human
rights policy ... is just as much a phantom as the humane and enlightened Shah of Persia", [16] while historian Elton L.
Daniel has described such an interpretation as "rather anachronistic" and tendentious.[17] The cylinder now lies in
the British Museum, and a replica is kept at the United Nations Headquarters.
Many thinkers point to the concept of citizenship beginning in the early poleis of ancient Greece, where all free
citizens had the right to speak and vote in the political assembly. [18]
The Twelve Tables Law established the principle "Privilegia ne irroganto", which literally means "privileges shall
not be imposed".
The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, who ruled from 268 to 232 BCE, established the largest empire in South Asia.
Following the reportedly destructive Kalinga War, Ashoka adopted Buddhism and abandoned an expansionist
policy in favor of humanitarian reforms. The Edicts of Ashoka were erected throughout his empire, containing the
'Law of Piety'.[19] These laws prohibited religious discrimination, and cruelty against both humans and
animals.[20] The Edicts emphasize the importance of tolerance in public policy by the government. The slaughter or
capture of prisoners of war was also condemned by Ashoka.[21] Some sources claim that slavery was also
non-existent in ancient India.[22] Others state, however, that slavery existed in ancient India, where it is recorded in
the Sanskrit Laws of Manu of the 1st century BC.[23]
In ancient Rome a ius or jus was a right which a citizen was due simply by dint of his citizenship. The concept of a
Roman ius is a precursor to a right as conceived in the Western European tradition. The word "justice" is derived
from ius.

Early Islamic Caliphate[edit]

Main articles: Islamic ethics and Early reforms under Islam
See also: Al-Risalah al-Huquq
Further information: Constitution of Medina and Sharia
Historians generally agree that Muhammad preached against what he saw as the social evils of his day, [24] and that
Islamic social reforms in areas such as social security, family structure, slavery, and the rights of women and ethnic
minorities were intended to improve on what was present in existing Arab society at the
time.[25][26][27][28][29][30] For example, according to Bernard Lewis, Islam "from the first
denounced aristocratic privilege, rejected hierarchy, and adopted a formula of the career open to the
talents."[which?][25] John Esposito sees Muhammad as a reformer who condemned practices of the pagan Arabs
such as female infanticide, exploitation of the poor, usury, murder, false contracts, and theft.[31] Bernard
Lewis believes that the egalitarian nature of Islam "represented a very considerable advance on the practice of both
the Greco-Roman and the ancient Persian world."[25] Muhammed also incorporated Arabic and Mosaic laws and
customs of the time into his divine revelations.[32]
The Constitution of Medina, also known as the Charter of Medina, was drafted by Muhammad in 622. It constituted
a formal agreement between Muhammad and all of the significant tribes and families of Yathrib (later known
as Medina), including Muslims, Jews, and pagans.[33][34] The document was drawn up with the explicit concern of
bringing to an end the bitter intertribal fighting between the clans of the Aws (Aus) and Khazraj within Medina. To
this effect it instituted a number of rights and responsibilities for the Muslim, Jewish and pagan communities of
Medina bringing them within the fold of one community-the Ummah.[35]
If the prisoners were in the custody of a person, then the responsibility was on the individual. [36] Lewis states that
Islam brought two major changes to ancient slavery which were to have far-reaching consequences. "One of these
was the presumption of freedom; the other, the ban on the enslavement of free persons except in strictly defined
circumstances," Lewis continues. The position of the Arabian slave was "enormously improved": the Arabian slave
"was now no longer merely a chattel but was also a human being with a certain religious and hence a social
status and with certain quasi-legal rights."[37]
Esposito states that reforms in women's rights affected marriage, divorce and inheritance.[31] Women were not
accorded with such legal status in other cultures, including the West, until centuries later.[38] The Oxford Dictionary
of Islam states that the general improvement of the status of Arab women included prohibition of female
infanticide and recognizing women's full personhood.[39] "The dowry, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to
the father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her personal property."[31][40] Under Islamic law,
marriage was no longer viewed as a "status" but rather as a "contract", in which the woman's consent was
imperative.[31][39][40] "Women were given inheritance rights in a patriarchal society that had previously restricted
inheritance to male relatives."[31] Annemarie Schimmel states that "compared to the pre-Islamic position of women,
Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman has the right, at least according to the letter of the law, to
administer the wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work."[41] William Montgomery
Watt states that Muhammad, in the historical context of his time, can be seen as a figure who testified on behalf
of women's rights and improved things considerably. Watt explains: "At the time Islam began, the conditions of
women were terrible—they had no right to own property, were supposed to be the property of the man, and if the
man died everything went to his sons." Muhammad, however, by "instituting rights of property ownership,
inheritance, education and divorce, gave women certain basic safeguards."[42] Haddad and Esposito state that
"Muhammad granted women rights and privileges in the sphere of family life, marriage, education, and economic
endeavors, rights that help improve women's status in society."[43] However, other writers have argued that women
before Islam were more liberated drawing most often on the first marriage of Muhammad and that of Muhammad's
parents, but also on other points such as worship of female idols at Mecca. [44]
Sociologist Robert Bellah (Beyond belief) argues that Islam in its 7th-century origins was, for its time and place,
"remarkably modern...in the high degree of commitment, involvement, and participation expected from the
rank-and-file members of the community." This is because, he argues, that Islam emphasized the equality of all
Muslims, where leadership positions were open to all. Dale Eickelman writes that Bellah suggests "the early Islamic
community placed a particular value on individuals, as opposed to collective or group responsibility."[45]
Early Islamic law's principles concerning military conduct and the treatment of prisoners of war under the
early Caliphate are considered precursors to international humanitarian law. The many requirements on how
prisoners of war should be treated included, for example, providing shelter, food and clothing, respecting their
cultures, and preventing any acts of execution, rape or revenge. Some of these principles were not codified in
Western international law until modern times.[46] Islamic law under the early Caliphate institutionalised
humanitarian limitations on military conduct, including attempts to limit the severity of war, guidelines for ceasing
hostilities, distinguishing between civilians and combatants, preventing unnecessary destruction, and caring for the
sick and wounded.[47]

Middle Ages[edit]
 Magna Carta was written in 1215.

Magna Carta is an English charter originally issued in 1215 which influenced the development of the common
law and many later constitutional documents, such as the 1689 English Bill of Rights, the 1789 United States
Constitution, and the 1791 United States Bill of Rights.[48]
Magna Carta was originally written because of disagreements between Pope Innocent III, King John and the
English barons about the rights of the King. Magna Carta required the King to renounce certain rights, respect
certain legal procedures and accept that his will could be bound by the law. It explicitly protected certain rights of the
King's subjects, whether free or fettered—most notably the writ of habeas corpus, allowing appeal against unlawful
imprisonment.
For modern times, the most enduring legacy of Magna Carta is considered the right of habeas corpus. This right
arises from what are now known as clauses 36, 38, 39, and 40 of the 1215 Magna Carta. Magna Carta also included
the right to due process:

“
No Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his
Freehold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed, or exiled,
or any other wise destroyed; nor will We not pass upon him, nor condemn
him, but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land.
We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either
Justice or Right. ”
— Clause XXIX of Magna Carta
The statute of Kalisz (1264), bestowed privileges to the Jewish minority in the Kingdom of Poland such as
protection from discrimination and hate speech.[49]

Early modern period and modern foundations[edit]

United States Declaration of Independence ratified by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776

Main articles: Natural and legal rights and Natural law

Age of Discovery, early modern period and Age of Enlightenment[edit]

The conquest of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries by Spain, during the Age of Discovery, resulted in
vigorous debate about human rights in Colonial Spanish America.[50] This led to the issuance of the Laws of
Burgos by Ferdinand the Catholic on behalf of his daughter, Joanna of Castile. Fray Antonio de Montesinos, a Friar
of the Dominican Order at the Island of Hispaniola, delivered a sermon on December 21, 1511, which was attended
by Bartolomé de las Casas. It is believed that reports from the Dominicans in Hispaniola motivated the Spanish
Crown to act. The sermon, known as the Christmas Sermon, gave way to further debates from 1550-51 between Las
Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda at Valladolid. Among the provisions of the Laws of Burgos were child
labor; women's rights; wages; suitable accommodations; and rest/vacation, among others.
Several 17th- and 18th-century European philosophers, most notably John Locke, developed the concept of natural
rights, the notion that people are naturally free and equal.[51][52] Though Locke believed natural rights were derived
from divinity since humans were creations of God, his ideas were important in the development of the modern
notion of rights. Lockean natural rights did not rely on citizenship nor any law of the state, nor were they necessarily
limited to one particular ethnic, cultural or religious group. Around the same time, in 1689, the English Bill of
Rights was created which asserted some basic human rights, most famously freedom from cruel and unusual
punishment.[53]
In the 1700s, the novel became a popular form of entertainment. Popular novels, such as Julie, or the New
Heloise by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson, laid a foundation for
popular acceptance of human rights by making readers empathize with characters unlike themselves. [54][55]
Two major revolutions occurred during the 18th century in the United States (1776) and in France (1789).
The Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776 sets up a number of fundamental rights and freedoms. The later United
States Declaration of Independence includes concepts of natural rights and famously states "that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness". Similarly, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen defines a set of
individual and collective rights of the people. These are, in the document, held to be universal—not only to French
citizens but to all men without exception.

19th century to World War I[edit]

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26,
1789

Philosophers such as Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill and Hegel expanded on the theme of universality during the
18th and 19th centuries.
In 1831 William Lloyd Garrison wrote in The Liberator newspaper that he was trying to enlist his readers in "the
great cause of human rights"[56] so the term human rights may have come into use sometime between Paine's The
Rights of Man and Garrison's publication. In 1849, a contemporary, Henry David Thoreau, wrote about human rights
in his treatise On the Duty of Civil Disobedience [1] which was later influential on human rights and civil rights
thinkers. United States Supreme Court Justice David Davis, in his 1867 opinion for Ex parte Milligan, wrote: "By
the protection of the law, human rights are secured; withdraw that protection and they are at the mercy of wicked
rulers or the clamor of an excited people."[57]
Many groups and movements have managed to achieve profound social changes over the course of the 20th century
in the name of human rights. In Western Europe and North America, labour unions brought about laws granting
workers the right to strike, establishing minimum work conditions and forbidding or regulating child labour.
The women's rights movement succeeded in gaining for many women the right to vote. National
liberation movements in many countries succeeded in driving out colonial powers. One of the most influential
was Mahatma Gandhi's movement to free his native India from British rule. Movements by long-oppressed racial
and religious minorities succeeded in many parts of the world, among them the civil rights movement, and more
recent diverse identity politics movements, on behalf of women and minorities in the United States.
The foundation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the 1864 Lieber Code and the first of the Geneva
Conventions in 1864 laid the foundations of international humanitarian law, to be further developed following the
two World Wars.
Pope Leo XIII's Apostolic Exhortation Rerum Novarum in 1891 marked the official beginning of Catholic Social
Teaching. The document was principally concerned with discussing workers' rights, property rights, and citizens'
rights against State intrusion. From that time forward, popes (and Vatican II) would release apostolic exhortations
and encyclicals on topics that touched on human rights more and more frequently.

Between World War I and World War II[edit]

The League of Nations was established in 1919 at the negotiations over the Treaty of Versailles following the end
of World War I. The League's goals included disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling
disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy and improving global welfare. Enshrined in its Charter
was a mandate to promote many of the rights which were later included in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
The League of Nations had mandates to support many of the former colonies of the Western European colonial
powers during their transition from colony to independent state.
Established as an agency of the League of Nations, and now part of United Nations, the International Labour
Organization also had a mandate to promote and safeguard certain of the rights later included in the UDHR:

the primary goal of the ILO today is to promote opportunities for

“ women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions

of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. ”
— Report by the Director General for the International Labour
Conference 87th Session

Modern human rights movement[edit]

Main article: Human rights

After World War II[edit]

Rights in War and the Geneva Conventions[edit]
 Original Geneva Convention in 1864

Progression of Geneva Conventions from 1864 to 1949

Main articles: International humanitarian law and Geneva Conventions

See also: Prisoner rights in Islam
The Geneva Conventions came into being between 1864 and 1949 as a result of efforts by Henry Dunant, the
founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The conventions safeguard the human rights of individuals
involved in conflict, and follow on from the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions, the international community's first
attempt to define laws of war. Despite first being framed before World War II, the conventions were revised as a
result of World War II and readopted by the international community in 1949.
The Geneva Conventions are:

 The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces
in the Field was adopted in 1864. It was significantly revised and replaced by the 1906 version,[58] the 1929
version, and later the First Geneva Convention of 1949.[59]
 The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked
Members of Armed Forces at Sea was adopted in 1906.[60] It was significantly revised and replaced by
the Second Geneva Convention of 1949.
 The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was adopted in 1929. It was
significantly revised and replaced by the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.
 The Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War was adopted
in 1949.
In addition, there are three additional amendment protocols to the Geneva Convention:

 Protocol I (1977): Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the
Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts.
 Protocol II (1977): Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the
Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts.
 Protocol III (2005): Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the
Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem.
All four conventions were last revised and ratified in 1949, based on previous revisions and partly on some of the
1907 Hague Conventions. Later, conferences have added provisions prohibiting certain methods of warfare and
addressing issues of civil wars. Nearly all 200 countries of the world are "signatory" nations, in that they have
ratified these conventions. The International Committee of the Red Cross is the controlling body of the Geneva
conventions.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights[edit]

Main article: Universal Declaration of Human Rights
 "It is not a treaty...[In the future, it] may well become the international Magna Carta."[61] Eleanor
Roosevelt with the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1949

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a non-binding declaration adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly[62] in 1948, partly in response to the barbarism of World War II. The Declaration urges member nations
to promote a number of human, civil, economic and social rights, asserting these rights are part of the "foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world".

...recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal

“ and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the

foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world ”
— Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was framed by members of the Human Rights Commission,
with Eleanor Roosevelt as Chair, who began to discuss an "International Bill of Rights" in 1947. The members of the
Commission did not immediately agree on the form of such a bill of rights, and whether, or how, it should be
enforced. The Commission proceeded to frame the UDHR and accompanying treaties, but the UDHR quickly
became the priority.[63] Canadian law professor John Humphrey and French lawyer Rene Cassin were responsible
for much of the cross-national research and the structure of the document respectively, where the articles of the
declaration were interpretative of the general principle of the preamble. The document was structured by Cassin to
include the basic principles of dignity, liberty, equality and brotherhood in the first two articles, followed
successively by rights pertaining to individuals; rights of individuals in relation to each other and to groups; spiritual,
public and political rights; and economic, social and cultural rights. The final three articles place, according to Cassin,
rights in the context of limits, duties and the social and political order in which they are to be realized. [63] Humphrey
and Cassin intended the rights in the UDHR to be legally enforceable through some means, as is reflected in the third
clause of the preamble:[63]

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have

“ recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and

oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of
law.
”
— Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
Some of the Declaration was researched and written by a committee of international experts on human rights,
including representatives from all continents and all major religions, and drawing on consultation with leaders such
as Mahatma Gandhi.[64] The inclusion of both civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural
rights[63][65] was predicated on the assumption that basic human rights are indivisible and that the different types of
rights listed are inextricably linked. Though this principle was not opposed by any member states at the time of
adoption (the declaration was adopted unanimously, with the abstention of the Soviet Bloc, Apartheid South
Africa and Saudi Arabia), this principle was later subject to significant challenges.[65]
Peace on Earth[edit]
In 1963, two years after the completion of the Berlin Wall and just months after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Pope John
XXIII released the Encyclical Pacem in terris. In paragraphs 11-27, the document lays out an enormous list of human
rights, including:

 "a right to his good name"

 "a right to freedom in investigating the truth"
 "a wage ... in accordance with the precepts with justice"
 "when there are just reasons in favor of it,.. to emigrate to other countries and take up residence there."
Pacem in terris was enormously influential, leading to a United National conference on the Encyclical two years later
and to many of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.

Late 20th century[edit]

We have already found a high degree of personal liberty, and we are now struggling to enhance equality of
opportunity. Our commitment to human rights must be absolute, our laws fair, our natural beauty preserved;
the powerful must not persecute the weak, and human dignity must be enhanced.

Jimmy Carter Inaugural Address.[66]

According to historian Samuel Moyn the next major landmark in human rights happened in the 1970s.[67] Human
right was included in point VII of Helsinki Accords, which was signed in 1975 by thirty-five states, including the
United States, Canada, and all European states except Albania and Andorra.
During his inaugural speech in 1977, the 39th President of United States Jimmy Carter made human rights a pillar of
United States foreign policy.[68] Human rights advocacy organization Amnesty International later won Nobel Peace
Prize also in 1977.[69] Carter, who was instrumental in Camp David accord peace treaty would himself later won
Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to
advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development". [70]

See also[edit]
 Asian values
 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam
 World Conference on Human Rights

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What are the Basic Principles of the Human Rights Framework?

The human rights framework protects civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights. But no matter what kind of right is at issue, there are basic principles that are
always part of human rights standards and implementation. These principles include:
Universality: Human rights must be afforded to everyone, without exception. The
entire premise of the framework is that people are entitled to these rights simply by
virtue of being human.
Indivisibility: Human rights are indivisible and interdependent, which means that in
order to guarantee civil and political rights, a government must also ensure economic,
social and cultural rights (and visa versa). The indivisibility principle recognizes that if
a government violates rights such as health, it necessarily affects people’s ability to
exercise other rights such as the right to life.
Participation: People have a right to participate in how decisions are made regarding
protection of their rights. This includes but is not limited to having input on government
decisions about rights. To ensure human rights, governments must engage and support
the participation of civil society on these issues.
Accountability: Governments must create mechanisms of accountability for the
enforcement of rights. It is not enough that rights are recognized in domestic law or in
policy rhetoric, there must actually be effective measures put in place so that the
government can be held accountable if those rights standards are not met.
Transparency: Transparency means that governments must be open about all
information and decision-making processes related to rights. People must be able to
know and understand how major decisions affecting rights are made and how public
institutions, such as hospitals and schools, which are needed to protect rights, are
managed and run.
Non-Discrimination: Human rights must be guaranteed without discrimination of any
kind. This includes not only purposeful discrimination, but also protection from
policies and practices which may have a discriminatory effect.

PART I THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

United Nations Declaration of Human Rights 1948

“Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of
all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the
world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts
which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which
human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want
has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort,

to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by
the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between

nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the
equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and
better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the
United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights
and fundamental freedoms...”

The above is an extract from the preamble of the United Nations Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, agreed upon at the General Assembly on the 10th of December 1948.
The Declaration laid the foundation for international human rights law and has,
throughout time, become the guiding light for those who promote the reinforcement
and respect for human rights worldwide.

For centuries, leaders and politicians of all states, even those who do not respect human
rights themselves, have cited the Declaration and recognized its values, in spite of
current widespread violations of human rights norms across the globe. Articles of
national Constitutions worldwide resemble that of the Declaration, often incorporating
many of the rights inherent therein. As such, the Declaration had, and still has a
remarkable impact on today's societies and states.

Human rights are at the core of international law and international relations. They
represent basic values common to all cultures, and must be respected by countries
worldwide. Human rights are inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is
inherently entitled simply because he or she is a human being. The principle of equality
and non-discrimination, as stipulated in Article 2 of the Declaration, is the cornerstone
of the human rights protection system, enshrined in every human rights instrument,
stipulating that;

“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore,
no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international
status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent,
trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.“

In this section the concept of human rights from its origins to the broad interpretation
given to it today will be discussed. First, the concept of human rights is introduced as
well as general elements of international law, including the application of principles of
human rights law. The emphasis is further laid on three major dimensions: standards
(the human rights norms as defined in internationally agreed texts); supervision (the
mechanisms to monitor compliance with human rights standards); and the ways in
which respect for human rights is put into practice.