Module: Human rights

Human Right Defenders

The following persons are examples of individuals who fight or fought for
human rights.

Mahatma Gandhi1

One of the most famous individuals that fought for the human rights (before
they were written down) of a whole nation was Mohandas Karamchand
(Mahatma) Gandhi. He is considered the father of the Indian Independence
movement and used the concept of “satyagraha”, as a means of non-violent
protest against injustice. This form of protest has been adopted by many that
have fought for human rights in the 20th and 21st Centuries like Martin Luther
King Jr.

Nelson Mandela2

Nelson Mandela is the most famous leader in the fight against the Apartheid
in South Africa. He was detained in prison by the pro-Apartheid regime during
27 years of his life. After his release, he became President of South Africa from
1994 to 1999. He continued the fight for racial reconciliation and the
realisation of human rights for all in South Africa.

Rosa Parks3

Rosa Parks became famous in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat to a white
passenger on a bus in Alabama (United States). This act became an

1 Peace pledge Union, Mahatma Ghandi,

http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/people/pst_gandhi.htm, Date accessed: 20/07/2016
2 Nelson Mandela: A timeline, http://www.southafrica.info/mandela/timeline.htm#.V489Rfm7iko, Date

accessed: 20/07/2016
3 "Beyond the Bus: Rosa Parks’ Lifelong Struggle for Justice", Library of Congress Magazine, vol. 4 no. 2

(March-April 2015):16-18, https://www.loc.gov/collections/rosa-parks-papers/articles-and-

essays/beyond-the-bus/, Date accessed: 20/07/2016
E-Training provided by Mental Health Policy and Service Development, World Health Organization.
Production prohibited without prior authorisation
important symbol against racial segregation. She took part in the Civil Rights
Movement and fought for racial equality.

Martin Luther King Jr.4

Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the North American Civil Rights
Movement (see below). He campaigned for equal civil rights for all
Americans including African Americans, using non-violent civil disobedience.
In 1963, he delivered a powerful speech, “I have a dream” to protest against
racial discrimination. This speech has become famous worldwide. In 1964 he
received the Nobel Peace Prize for his combat. He was assassinated in 1968.

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to
home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the
world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighbourhood he
lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he
works. Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal
justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these
rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without
concerned citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain
for progress in the larger world.”

- Eleanor Roosevelt, Politician, activist and former First Lady of the United
States

4Martin Luther King Jr., http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html,

Date accessed: 20/07/2016
E-Training provided by Mental Health Policy and Service Development, World Health Organization.
Production prohibited without prior authorisation