A Short History of Human Rights

The belief that everyone, by virtue of her or his humanity, is entitled to certain
human rights is fairly new. Its roots, however, lie in earlier tradition and
documents of many cultures; it took the catalyst of World War II to propel
human rights onto the global stage and into the global conscience.

Throughout much of history, people acquired rights and responsibilities

through their membership in a group – a family, indigenous nation, religion,
class, community, or state. Most societies have had traditions similar to the
"golden rule" of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The
Hindu Vedas, the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, the Bible, the Quran
(Koran), and the Analects of Confucius are five of the oldest written sources
which address questions of people’s duties, rights, and responsibilities. In
addition, the Inca and Aztec codes of conduct and justice and an Iroquois
Constitution were Native American sources that existed well before the 18th
century. In fact, all societies, whether in oral or written tradition, have had
systems of propriety and justice as well as ways of tending to the health and
welfare of their members.

Precursors of 20th Century Human Rights Documents

Documents asserting individual rights, such the Magna Carta (1215), the
English Bill of Rights (1689), the French Declaration on the Rights of Man and
Citizen (1789), and the US Constitution and Bill of Rights (1791) are the
written precursors to many of today’s human rights documents. Yet many of
these documents, when originally translated into policy, excluded women,
people of color, and members of certain social, religious, economic, and
political groups. Nevertheless, oppressed people throughout the world have
drawn on the principles these documents express to support revolutions that
assert the right to self-determination.

Contemporary international human rights law and the establishment of the

United Nations (UN) have important historical antecedents. Efforts in the 19th
century to prohibit the slave trade and to limit the horrors of war are prime
examples. In 1919, countries established the International Labor
Organization (ILO) to overseetreaties protecting workers with respect to their
rights, including their health and safety. Concern over the protection of certain
minority groups was raised by the League of Nations at the end of the First
World War. However, this organization for international peace and
cooperation, created by the victorious European allies, never achieved its
goals. The League floundered because the United States refused to join and
because the League failed to prevent Japan’s invasion of China and
Manchuria (1931) and Italy’s attack on Ethiopia (1935). It finally died with the
onset of the Second World War (1939).

The Birth of the United Nations

The idea of human rights emerged stronger after World War II. The
extermination by Nazi Germany of over six million Jews, Sinti and Romani
(gypsies), homosexuals, and persons with disabilities horrified the world.
Trials were held in Nuremberg and Tokyo after World War II, and officials from
the defeated countries were punished for committing war crimes, "crimes
against peace," and "crimes against humanity."

Governments then committed themselves to establishing the United Nations,

with the primary goal of bolstering international peace and preventing conflict.
People wanted to ensure that never again would anyone be unjustly denied
life, freedom, food, shelter, and nationality. The essence of these emerging
human rights principles was captured in President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union Address when he spoke of a world
founded on four essential freedoms: freedom of speech and religion and
freedom from want and fear (See Using Human Rights Here & Now). The
calls came from across the globe for human rights standards to protect
citizens from abuses by their governments, standards against which nations
could be held accountable for the treatment of those living within their borders.
These voices played a critical role in the San Francisco meeting that drafted
the United Nations Charter in 1945.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Member states of the United Nations pledged to promote respect for the
human rights of all. To advance this goal, the UN established a Commission
on Human Rights and charged it with the task of drafting a document spelling
out the meaning of the fundamental rights and freedoms proclaimed in the
Charter. The Commission, guided by Eleanor Roosevelt’s forceful leadership,
captured the world’s attention.
On December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR)was adopted by the 56 members of the United Nations. The vote was
unanimous, although eight nations chose to abstain.

The UDHR, commonly referred to as the international Magna Carta, extended

the revolution in international law ushered in by the United Nations Charter –
namely, that how a government treats its own citizens is now a matter of
legitimate international concern, and not simply a domestic issue. It claims
that all rights areinterdependent and indivisible. Its Preamble eloquently
asserts that:

[R]ecognition 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.

The influence of the UDHR has been substantial. Its principles have been
incorporated into the constitutions of most of the more than 185 nations now
in the UN. Although a declaration is not a legally binding document, the
Universal Declaration has achieved the status of customary international
law because people regard it "as a common standard of achievement for all
people and all nations."

The Human Rights Covenants

With the goal of establishing mechanisms for enforcing the UDHR, the UN
Commission on Human Rights proceeded to draft two treaties: the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and
its optional Protocol and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Together with the Universal Declaration, they are
commonly referred to as theInternational Bill of Human Rights. The ICCPR
focuses on such issues as the right to life, freedom of speech, religion, and
voting. The ICESCR focuses on such issues as food, education, health, and
shelter. Both covenants trumpet the extension of rights to all persons and
prohibit discrimination.

As of 1997, over 130 nations have ratified these covenants. The United
States, however, has ratified only the ICCPR, and even that with many
reservations, or formal exceptions, to its full compliance. (See From Concept
to Convention: How Human Rights Law Evolves).
Subsequent Human Rights Documents

In addition to the covenants in the International Bill of Human Rights, the

United Nations has adopted more than 20 principal treaties further elaborating
human rights. These include conventions to prevent and prohibit specific
abuses like torture and genocide and to protect especially vulnerable
populations, such as refugees (Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees, 1951), women (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, 1979), and children (Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 1989). As of 1997 the United States has ratified only
these conventions:

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of

Genocide

The Convention on the Political Rights of Women

The Slavery Convention of 1926

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment

In Europe, the Americas, and Africa, regional documents for the protection
and promotion of human rights extend the International Bill of Human Rights.
For example, African states have created their own Charter of Human and
People’s Rights (1981), and Muslim states have created the Cairo Declaration
on Human Rights in Islam (1990). The dramatic changes in Eastern Europe,
Africa, and Latin America since 1989 have powerfully demonstrated a surge in
demand for respect of human rights. Popular movements in China, Korea, and
other Asian nations reveal a similar commitment to these principles.

The Role of Nongovernmental Organizations

Globally the champions of human rights have most often been citizens, not
government officials. In particular, nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) have played a cardinal role in focusing the international community
on human rights issues. For example, NGO activities surrounding the 1995
United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, drew
unprecedented attention to serious violations of the human rights of women.
NGOs such as Amnesty International, the Antislavery Society, the
International Commission of Jurists, the International Working Group on
Indigenous Affairs, Human Rights Watch, Minnesota Advocates for Human
Rights, and Survivors International monitor the actions of governments and
pressure them to act according to human rights principles.

Government officials who understand the human rights framework can also
effect far reaching change for freedom. Many United States Presidents such
as Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy
Carter have taken strong stands for human rights. In other countries leaders
like Nelson Mandela and Vaclev Havel have brought about great changes
under the banner of human rights.

Human rights is an idea whose time has come. The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights is a call to freedom and justice for people throughout the world.
Every day governments that violate the rights of their citizens are challenged
and called to task. Every day human beings worldwide mobilize and confront
injustice and inhumanity. Like drops of water falling on a rock, they wear down
the forces of oppression and move the world closer to achieving the principles
expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Source: Adapted from David Shiman, Teaching Human Rights, (Denver:

Center for Teaching International Relations Publications, U of Denver, 1993):
6-7.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The Cyrus Cylinder (539 B.C.)

The decrees Cyrus made on human rights were inscribed in the Akkadian language on a
baked-clay cylinder.

In 539 B.C., the armies of Cyrus the Great, the first king of ancient Persia,
conquered the city of Babylon. But it was his next actions that marked a major
advance for Man. He freed the slaves, declared that all people had the right to
choose their own religion, and established racial equality. These and other
decrees were recorded on a baked-clay cylinder in the Akkadian language with
cuneiform script.

Known today as the Cyrus Cylinder, this ancient record has now been
recognized as the world’s first charter of human rights. It is translated into all
six official languages of the United Nations and its provisions parallel the first
four Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Cyrus the Great, the first king of Persia, freed the slaves of Babylon, 539 B.C.

The Spread of Human Rights

From Babylon, the idea of human rights spread quickly to India, Greece and
eventually Rome. There the concept of “natural law” arose, in observation of
the fact that people tended to follow certain unwritten laws in the course of
life, and Roman law was based on rational ideas derived from the nature of
things.

Documents asserting individual rights, such as the Magna Carta (1215), the
Petition of Right (1628), the US Constitution (1787), the French Declaration of
the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789), and the US Bill of Rights (1791)
are the written precursors to many of today’s human rights documents.

Making the modern world

Magna Carta was a crucial step on the road to modern democracy. It may have started as a
peace treaty but it became a symbolic milestone in human history. The ideals it expressed
influenced the development of law and liberty throughout the world.
But the history of civil liberties is not an inevitable march towards democratic freedom: it's
marked by fierce debate, impetuous rulers and bloody conflict. Here we look at some of the hard-
won breakthroughs fuelled by the ideals of Magna Carta.

1166

Law and order comes to England

The Court of Common Pleas.

Courtesy of Masters of the Bench of the Inner Temple.

The story of Magna Carta doesn’t start in 1215. Societies had long contemplated how best to
govern and dispense justice.

Under pressure from his nobles, King Henry II began reform of the justice system in England.
The Assize of Clarendon committed to written law the formation of a kind of medieval
neighbourhood watch – a group of men would report crime to the King’s judges, meaning
responsibility for upholding the law rested with the community. It marked a shift towards an
early system of trial by a jury of peers. For the guilty, a punishment could be as extreme as
deportation or even the amputation of limbs.

The Charter of Liberties: A precursor to Magna CartaHenry II and the birth of a stateLawyer Harry
Potter on the church courts

1215

Magna Carta

David Starkey comes face to face with the 1215 Magna Carta Clip from David Starkey's
Magna Carta (BBC Two).
Transcript (PDF 192k)
King John, facing the threat of civil war, reluctantly agreed to demands by his wealthiest and
most powerful subjects - rebellious barons and bishops.

Alongside specific protections for their property and rights, the group’s demands included
clauses which established the right of all ‘free men’ to justice. While such an idea was not new,
this was the first time it was committed to written law. Magna Carta asserted that all – even the
King – were accountable and subject to the law.

How did Magna Carta forge the freedoms of 2015?The Legacy of Magna Carta on Radio 4
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights…except by the
lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.

Clause 39, Magna Carta (1215)

1225

Magna Carta re-issued (again)

Topfoto

John's son, King Henry III is crowned.

King John reneged on the original Magna Carta within just six weeks, but its ideas lived on.

The charter was now an important tool for negotiating peace between a ruler and the ruled. Kings
continued to reissue the charter in times of civil unrest, including 1216, 1217 and 1225. The
1225 version issued by Henry III – John’s son and heir – is the version we remember today.
Strikingly issued of the King’s own ‘spontaneous and free will’, it redefined the nature of
monarchical rule in England, enshrining in law the principle that a king governs only with the
consent of his people.

Discover the 1225 version of Magna CartaThe January Parliament: The House of Commons is born

Around this time…

1517

Persuades the Pope

From: Who was the real Thomas Cromwell?

1505
Helped by a Florentine family
From: Who was the real Thomas Cromwell?

1600

From stone to paint

From: Why does the art of ancient Greece still shape our world?

1628

Taming the Crown

David Starkey on Edward Coke's mission for civil liberties Clip from David Starkey's
Magna Carta (BBC Two).
Transcript (PDF 156k)
When King Charles I defied Parliament and flouted the rights of his subjects, lawyer Edward
Coke decided to curtail him.

He argued Charles’s actions violated the liberties afforded to his subjects by Magna Carta. He
drew up a new document, the Petition of Right, which turned the charter’s core principles into
constitutional law. Yet Charles wouldn’t be constrained for long and civil war ensued. Magna
Carta’s legacy of holding power to account reached its starkest and bloodiest conclusion yet: a
king put on trial and beheaded for breaching the rights and freedoms of his subjects.

Civil War and Revolution timelineIn Our Time: The Putney DebatesAgreement of People: A new
constitution?

Magna Carta is such a fellow that he will have no Sovereign.

Sir Edward Coke, House of Commons (17 May, 1628)

1679

The great writ

AKG

“You may have the body” – Habeas corpus

The right to a fair trial can be traced back to Magna Carta: “No free man will be seized or
imprisoned… except by the lawful judgement of his equals.”

It wasn’t until 1679 that the principles of the charter’s most famous clause became part of
English law. Habeas corpus ensured the state could not arbitrarily imprison people without the
backing of the law. If an individual was imprisoned without charge, they now had the right to
challenge their detention before a judge. A landmark in English legal history, it proved Magna
Carta had the power to influence the nation’s law some 300 years later and remains on the statute
book today.

Watch lawyer Harry Potter on habeas corpusListen to writer Frances Fyfield on habeas corpusHabaes
corpus at the British Library

1689

A glorious revolution

David Starkey on how the Bill of Rights profoundly changed Britain's democracy (Clip
from David Starkey's Magna Carta BBC Two)
Transcript (PDF 99k)
When another meddling monarch – King James II – was deposed, Parliament acted to ensure his
replacement would not interfere in the democratic process.

It was a momentous opportunity to reorganise England’s power structure according to the will of
the people. Before they could take power, the new King, William of Orange and his wife Mary
were required to agree to a Bill of Rights. It set out a series of rules governing how Parliament
should be run and limiting the power of the Crown. The monarch was no longer the sovereign
power in the land – Britain’s sovereignty now resided in the Palace of Westminster, rather than
the palace of a King.

The Glorious Revolution reconsidered on Radio 4John Locke My Favourite Political Thinker, MP Lisa
NandyHistory of Ideas: Thomas Hobbes' social contract
Join in society with others… for the mutual preservation of their lives, liberties, and
estates.

John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (1690)

1776

No taxation without representation

Dr David Starkey on Magna Carta's impact on the US Declaration of Independence Clip

from David Starkey's Magna Carta (BBC Two).
Transcript (PDF 156k)
As English people spread across the world, so did their ideas. In particular, Magna Carta had a
profound influence on the founding fathers of the USA.

When the mother country imposed a tax on its overseas colony, giving its inhabitants no say in
the matter, the likes of Thomas Jefferson saw it as breaching fundamental rights enshrined in
Magna Carta. The US Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791, promised liberty and equality under law.
Magna Carta harboured the symbolic power to shape a world well beyond 13th Century England.

Was the American Revolution inevitable?In Our Time: The French Revolution's legacyExplore the
Declaration of Independence

We claim nothing but the liberty and privileges of Englishmen in the same degree as if
we had still continued among our brethren in Great Britain.

George Mason, American statesman and 'founding father', 1776

1832

A charter for an industrial age

Getty

The Reform Act of 1832 satirised by a contemporary artist.

By 1832, Britain’s democracy needed to be redefined for a society radically changed by the
Industrial Revolution.
The Great Reform Act redistributed parliamentary seats to more fairly represent a population
which had shifted from a mainly rural to a mainly urban one. Although it did not go nearly as far
as giving all citizens a say in how they were governed – a cause taken up immediately by the
Magna Carta-inspired Chartist movement – it set in motion the birth of modern, fully-
representative parliamentary democracy.

The Reform Act at the British LibraryA history of the Chartists

Around this time…

17:28, 30 May

The British Grand Fleet sails to war

From: The Battle of Jutland timeline: WW1's biggest naval clash

1895-1899

Imperial adventures
From: Sir Winston Churchill: The greatest Briton?

25 April 1915

The Gallipoli campaign

From: World War One: The global conflict that defined a century
1918

Extending the vote

Getty

At a time when people were being asked to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country,
Britain’s political system needed to evolve.

The Representation of the People Act came at the end of World War One, when the seismic
events of the preceding years led to a profound re-evaluation of British society. It brought
reform, most notably granting women over the age of 30 – many of whom had played a major
role in the war effort – the right to vote, and represented a move towards greater political
equality among all British citizens.

A history of women and the vote on Radio 4

The democratic aspiration… permeated the ancient life of early peoples. It blazed anew
in the Middle Ages. It was written in Magna Charta.

Franklin D Roosevelt – Third Inauguration Address (1941)

1948

A global Magna Carta

AKG

The United Nations was established as the world reeled from the atrocities of the Second World
War.

It sought to foster a new co-operative international order. It adopted its Declaration in 1948
which set out to define and protect basic human rights to which it believed all individuals are
universally entitled. Many of its articles echo the sentiments of Magna Carta, such as the right to
equality before the law and protection against the arbitrary seizure of personal assets. In 1953,
the UN’s aspirations were enshrined in European law in the form of the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Listen: In Our Time: Rights in the 20th CenturyListen: Investigating international war crimes

This declaration may well become the international Magna Carta for all men
everywhere.

Eleanor Roosevelt, submitting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

1998

Rule Britannia

Getty

The Old Bailey, the central criminal court of England and Wales.
The Human Rights Act, which came into force in the UK in October 2000, set out a series of
fundamental rights to which all citizens are entitled.

It brought together and codified 16 clauses from the European Convention of Human Rights and
ensured British citizens could process human rights issues through UK courts. Over 700 years
after King John appeased a group of rebellious barons, Magna Carta’s principles were being
reaffirmed in British law ready for a new millennium.

Listen: Moral Maze: Human Rights Act, Radio 4Listen: Britain and the Human Rights Act, Radio 4

2001

Liberty vs security

Dr David Starkey on Magna Carta in a new millennium Clip from David Starkey's Magna
Carta (BBC Two)
Transcript (PDF 153k)
Following the attack on New York’s World Trade Centre in 2001, British and US governments
introduced legislation to address the threat of terrorism.

This put civil liberties firmly back on the political agenda. Laws which enabled authorities to
monitor and detain people without charge were seen by some as an infringement of fundamental
rights first written down in Magna Carta. In 2008, debate raged when the government introduced
the Counter-Terrorism Bill, aiming to increase the maximum detention period for suspected
terrorists to 42 days. The clause was eventually dropped but not before leading MP David Davis
resigned in protest.

Timeline: When did the state start to spy on us?

It seeks to further erode the fundamental legal and civil rights that have been the pride
of this country for centuries.

Lord Dear, on the Counter Terrorism Act 2008

2014

Another decade, another charter?

Getty

The House of Commons, London.

Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to scrap the Human Rights Act and produce a British
Bill of Rights if the Conservative party were re-elected.

He claimed the European convention was no longer fit for purpose, citing the Magna Carta as an
example of Britain’s commitment to liberty and equality. The move sparked debate – was reform
necessary or did it pose a threat to the legitimacy of human rights law in Britain? This latest
chapter in the story of civil liberties confirms the enduring legacy of Magna Carta – a symbolic
touchstone used to challenge, define and protect fundamental rights and freedoms by generations
throughout history.

Petition of Rights:

The Petition of rights was a charter that the parliament

made that King Charles has to sing in order to get money
from parliament. One of the big complaints that parliament
had was that the king does not follow the rules of the
 Magna Carta, which is no free man may be imprisoned, or
relived of his land or liberties, or be outlawed and exiled,
except by lawful judgements of his peers.
next 1640-1653

Geneva Conventions
1864–1977
WRITTEN BY:
 Malcolm Shaw
LAST UPDATED: Dec 26, 2018 See Article History

Geneva Conventions, a series of international treaties concluded

inGeneva between 1864 and 1949 for the purpose of ameliorating the effects
of war on soldiers and civilians. Two additional protocols to the 1949
agreement were approved in 1977.

READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC

 war crime: Geneva conventions

After the Nürnberg and Tokyo trials, numerous international treaties and

conventions attempted to devise a comprehensive and enforceable definition of

war crimes. The four separate Geneva conventions, adopted in 1949, in theory

made prosecutable certain acts committed in violation of the laws of…

The development of the Geneva Conventions was closely associated with

the Red Cross, whose founder, Henri Dunant, initiated international
negotiations that produced the Convention for the Amelioration of the
Wounded in Time of War in 1864. This convention provided for (1) the
immunity from capture and destruction of all establishments for the treatment
of wounded and sick soldiers and their personnel, (2) the impartial reception
and treatment of all combatants, (3) the protection of civilians providing aid to
the wounded, and (4) the recognition of the Red Cross symbol as a means of
identifying persons and equipment covered by the agreement.
The 1864 convention was ratified within three years by all the major European
powers as well as by many other states. It was amendedand extended by the
second Geneva Convention in 1906, and its provisions were applied to
maritime warfare through the Hague conventions of 1899 and 1907. The third
Geneva Convention, theConvention Relating to the Treatment of Prisoners of
War (1929), required that belligerents treat prisoners of war humanely, furnish
information about them, and permit official visits to prison camps by
representatives of neutral states.
Because some belligerents in World War II had abused the principles
contained in earlier conventions, an International Red Cross conference in
Stockholm in 1948 extended and codified the existing provisions. The
conference developed four conventions, which were approved in Geneva
on August 12, 1949: (1) theConvention for the Amelioration of the Condition of
the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, (2) the Convention for
the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked
Members of Armed Forces at Sea, (3) the Convention Relative to the
Treatment of Prisoners of War, and (4) theConvention Relative to the
Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
The first two conventions elaborated on the principle that the sick and
wounded have neutral status. The prisoner-of-war convention further
developed the 1929 convention by requiring humane treatment, adequate
feeding, and the delivery of relief supplies and by forbidding pressure on
prisoners to supply more than a minimum of information. The fourth
convention contained little that had not been established in international
law before World War II. Although the convention was not original, the
disregard of humanitarian principles during the war made the restatement of
its principles particularly important and timely. The convention forbade inter
alia the deportation of individuals or groups, the taking of
hostages,torture, collective punishment, offenses that constitute “outrages
upon personal dignity,” the imposition of judicial sentences (including
executions) without due-process guarantees, and discriminatory treatment on
the basis of race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs.
In the decades following World War II, the large number of anticolonial and
insurrectionary wars threatened to render the Geneva Conventions obsolete.
After four years of Red Cross-sponsored negotiations, two additional protocols
to the 1949 conventions, covering both combatants and civilians, were
approved in 1977. The first, Protocol I, extended protection under the Geneva
and Hague conventions to persons involved in wars of “self-determination,”
which were redefined as international conflicts. Theprotocol also enabled the
establishment of fact-finding commissions in cases of alleged breaches of the
convention. The second protocol,Protocol II, extended human
rights protections to persons involved in severe civil conflicts, which had not
been covered by the 1949 accords. It specifically prohibited collective
punishment, torture, the taking of hostages, acts of terrorism, slavery, and
“outrages on the personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading
treatment, rape, enforced prostitution and any form of indecent assault.”
The end of the Cold War, during which tensions between ethnic groups had
been suppressed in states throughout eastern and central Europe and
elsewhere, gave rise to a number of civil wars, blurring the distinction between
internal and international conflicts and complicating the application of relevant
legal rules. In a number of cases (e.g., in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Somalia),
the United Nations Security Council declared that internal conflicts amounted
to a threat to or a breach of international peace and security, which thus made
its resolutions on the conflicts binding on the combatants. Because of the
Security Council’s activities in expanding the definition of international armed
conflicts, an increasing number of rules outlined in the Geneva Conventions
and their protocols have come to be regarded as binding on all states. Such
rules include the humane treatment of civilians and of prisoners of war.
More than 180 states have become parties to the 1949 conventions.
Approximately 150 states are party to Protocol I; more than 145 states are
party to Protocol II, though the United States is not. In addition, more than 50
states have made declarations accepting the competence of international fact-
finding commissions to investigate allegations of grave breaches or other
serious violations of the conventions or of Protocol I.

The importance of the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols was
reflected in the establishment of war-crimes tribunals for Yugoslavia (1993)
and Rwanda (1994) and by the Rome Statute(1998), which created
an International Criminal Court.

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS

OF MAN AND CITIZEN: TIMELINE
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May 10, 1774

King Louis XVI Becomes King of France

Louis was only nineteen and France was on the edge of bankruptcy, but we're guessing
there are good times ahead…? Nope? Okay then.

February 6, 1778
France Officially joins the United States in Its War Against Great Britain

France had been unofficially supporting the U.S. for two years, but they finally started
admitting it—and hey, they can afford it right?

Hmm…turns out they really can't.

January 24, 1789

King Louis XVI Calls for a Meeting of the Estates General

France's finances had finally gotten so bad that the king is willing to try asking a
representative body to meet and solve the problem for him.

May 5, 1789
The Estates General Meets in Versailles

Things didn't go well. It turns out the privileged classes weren't willing to raise taxes on
themselves and they could outvote the lower classes every time. What's a Third Estate
to do?

June 20, 1789

Members of the Third Estate Take the Tennis Court Oath

After being locked out of their meeting room for declaring themselves the National
Assembly and actually trying to fix France's money problems, the Third Estate met in
the King's indoor tennis court (ooh, fancy!) and promised to write a constitution.
July 14 1789
The Storming of the Bastille

Angry mobs in Paris broke into and burned down a prison in a somewhat misguided
attempt to get weapons and release political prisoners, neither of which were housed
there.

August 26, 1789

The Assembly Adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Finally getting something done, the National Assembly agreed on basic rights and a
direction for that constitution they'll eventually get around to.

October 5-6, 1789

The Women's March on Versailles

An angry mob demanding bread marched on Versailles and forced the King and his
family to move back to Paris where they're placed in a state of house arrest, the
National Assembly relocates too.

September 3, 1791
France Adopts Its First Constitution

Using the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen as a preamble the French
representatives finally agreed on a constitution making France a republic. Unfortunately,
it doesn't last very long and they burn through two other constitutions as the Revolution
became increasingly violent.

January 21, 1793

Louis XVI Is Beheaded

After a trial in which he was found guilty of conspiracy, Louis was sent to the guillotine.
The queen was also beheaded about nine months later.
November 9, 1799
Napoleon Bonaparte Became the Ruler of France

After leading the French military in several victories, Napoleon returned to France and
mounted a successful coup ending the French Revolution.