300 LEVEL HUMAN RIGHTS LECTURE NOTES:

MODULE 2

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The human rights we enjoy today which is anchored on the belief that
everyone, by virtue of their humanity, is entitled to certain human rights
is fairly new. It is however, rooted 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, and the Analects of Confucius are five of the oldest
written sources which address questions of people’s duties, rights, and
responsibilities. 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
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 oversee treaties 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, etc.
The idea of human rights emerged stronger after World War II. The
extermination by Nazi Germany of over six million Jews and Romani,
homosexuals, and persons with disabilities was an incident that 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.

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Member states of the United Nations pledged to promote respect for the
human rights of all. On December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the 56 members of the United
Nations. It claims that all rights are interdependent and indivisible. Its
Preamble eloquently asserts that, “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.”
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 the International 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.

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, women, children, etc.
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, etc,
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 Martin Luther have
brought about great changes under the banner of human rights.
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.

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Over all, the fact is that human rights did not come to existence
overnight, but evolved gradually and passed many historical ups and
downs. Throughout the centuries, human rights gained many proponents
but also some opponents from radicals and conservatives. In short, it is
widely agreed upon that men are entitled to natural and inalienable
rights. 

FEUDAL, ANCIENT AND PRE-MODERN ERAS

In tracing the historical development of human rights, we must take a
look at feudal and ancient era. Some notions of righteousness present in
ancient law and religion are sometimes retrospectively included under the
term "human rights". While some Enlightenment philosophers suggest
a 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. 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. For instance, 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]
In Asia 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 code
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.

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,
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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.
The coining of the word 'Human rights' can be attributed to Tertullian in
his letter To Scapula where is he wrote about the religious freedom in
Roman Empire.[24][25] He equated 'fundamental human rights' as a
'privilege of nature' in this letter.
Magna Carta is an English charter originally issued in 1215 which
influenced the development of the common law and many later

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constitutional documents, such as the 1689 English Bill of Rights, the
1789 United States Constitution, and the 1791 United States Bill of
Rights.[50]
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

MODERN, COLONIAL AND WORLD WARS ERAS

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. [53] 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. [54][55] 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

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of Rights was created which asserted some basic human rights, most
famously freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.[56]

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.

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" [59] 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."[60]
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.

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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

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

After World War II

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

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 version,[61] the 1929 version, and later the First Geneva
Convention of 1949.[62]
 The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of
Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at
Sea was adopted in 1906.[63] 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.

POST COLONIAL ERA

The 2nd stage in the evolution of International Human Rights Law began in
the late 1960s and continued for 15 to 20 years. The second wave of
activism was influenced by the newly independent states of Africa and
Asia. There were some important conventions and covenants established
during the decade. Together with the UDHR, the Covenants form the
essential written core of international human rights norms. These apart,
during this period, two distinct developments took place within the UN
Framework. The 1st focused on the nature of human rights obligation
which article 55 and 56 created for the member states. The phrase “to

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promote” was somewhat vague but the vagueness was removed by the
adoption of ECOSOC resolutions.

With the goal of establishing mechanism for enforcing the UDHR, the UN
Commission on Human Rights proceeded to draft two treaties: ICCPR and
ICESCR. Together with the UDHR they are commonly referred to as the
International Bill of Human Rights. 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, women, and children. In
Europe, the Americas and Africa, regional documents for the protection
and promotion of human rights extend the International Bill of Human
Rights. These documents have powerfully demonstrated a surge in
demand for respect of human rights.

The 3rd wave of human rights development came about immediately after
the Cold War. This was triggered by the revulsion against the overthrow
of the Allende government on Chile in 1973, the fact that Covenants of
1966 entered into force and the beginning of the Carter Presidency in the
US. In the 1970s the US Foreign Ais was linked to the human rights
performance of recipients. Also the middle of the 1970s saw the rise of
human rights non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty
International. The end of Cold War freed many nations in Europe from
Communist rule permitting them to embark on a process of democratic
transformation. The end of the Cold War and its effect on human rights is
reflected in part in the text of 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of
Action adopted at the World Conference of human rights held in Vienna in
June 1993.

The ending of the Cold War in the beginning of the 1990s has meant
changes in the activity and functioning of the human rights regime.
Human rights have become more visible in the political language and the
institutions are now more active. It seems there is a new wave of human
rights activism going on. Both the General Assembly and Human Rights
Commission have become more active. Most importantly, the UN goals of
peace-keeping and human rights protection have become increasingly

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combined. During the Cold War, genocide in places such as Burundi, East
Pakistan and Cambodia were met only by verbal expressions of concern.
Now, peace-keepers in EL Salvador, Haiti, Guatemala, Rwanda have
explicit mandates to investigate human rights violations. Rwanda and
Yugoslavia have international tribunals to handle the charges against
human rights criminals, first time after Nuremberg.

Today, International human rights commitments are still enmeshed in

complex pattern of international politics and it is easy to point out cases
of inconsistent will to act in some cases and withdraw in some other. The
war in Iraq, which was partly justified by human rights claims and the
international unwillingness to interfere in Sudan’s genocidal civil war is a
good example. More and more since the end of the Cold War, the
international willingness to use the human rights language in international
power politics has become larger. Even if this rhetoric hides the true
intentions, it tells something about the accepted values of our times.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, human rights are fundamental to the stability and

development of countries all around the world. Great emphasis has been
place on international conventions and their implementation in order to
ensure adherence to a universal standard of acceptability. With the
advent of globalization and the introduction of new technology, these
principles gain importance not only in protecting human beings from the
ill-effects of change but also in ensuring that all are allowed a share of the
benefits. The impact of several changes in the world of today on human
rights has been both negative and positive. In particular, the risks posed
by advancements in science and technology and medicine especially,
there is strong need for human rights to be absorbed into ethical codes
and for all professionals to ensure that basic human dignity is protected
under all circumstances. For instance the, with the possibility of
transplanting organs from both the living and dead, a number of issues
arise such as consent to donation, the definition of death to prevent
premature harvesting, an equal chance at transplantation, etc. Genetic
engineering also brings with it the dangers of gene mutation and all the
problems associated with cloning. In order to deal with these issues, the
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human

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Being with Regard to the Application of Medicine puts the welfare of the
human being above society and science. However, the efficacy of the
mechanisms in place today has been questioned in the light of the blatant
human rights violations and disregard for basic human dignity in nearly all
countries in one or more forms. In many cases, those who are to blame
cannot be brought to book because of political considerations, power
equations, etc. When such violations are allowed to go unchecked, they
often increase in frequency and intensify usually because perpetrators feel
they enjoy immunity from punishment.

REFERENCES:

 Wikipedia: History of Human Rights


 http://outlookafghanistan.net/topics.php?
post_id=11440#ixzz6m0XyGaxk

  http://outlookafghanistan.net/topics.php?
post_id=11440#ixzz6m0XdgfFP

 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
318851323_The_Evaluation_of_Human_Rights_An_Overview_in_Historical_Perspec
tive

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