ASSIGNMENT TOPIC:

HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO

ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS
FRENCH BILL OF RIGHTS
HELSINKI ACCORD
NAME: UMAIMA ALI
ROLL NO: LLB/2K22/90
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS -II
SUBMITTED TO: SIR SARDAR SHAH
DEPARTMENT: INSTITUTE OF LAW
INDEX

1. Introduction

2. Precursors of 20th Century Human Rights Documents

3. Revolutions In The History Of Human Rights

3.1 The Cyrus Cylinder (539 B.C.)
3.2 The Spread of Human Rights
3.2 The Magna Carta (1215)
3.3 Petition of Right (1628)
3.4 United States Declaration of Independence (1776)
3.5 The Constitution of the United States of America (1787) and Bill of
Rights (1791)
3.6 French Revolution or The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen 1789

4. Other Revolutionary Measures For Human Rights

5. Role of Non-Governmental Organization

1. INTRODUCTION

Human rights” are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of our nationality,
residence, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, national or ethnic origin, color,
religion, language or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without
discrimination.

This is the modern concept of our fundamental rights but it was not always this way. The
belief that everyone, by virtue of her or his humanity, is entitled to certain human rights
is fairly new and is something stemming from an evolution of the consideration of
human dignity over the last centuries. Its roots lie in earlier tradition and documents of
many cultures.

2. 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 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 and
Manchuria (1931) and Italy’s attack on Ethiopia (1935). It finally died with the onset of the
Second World War (1939).
3. REVOLUTION IN THE HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS

3.1 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.

3.2 The Spread of Human Rights

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

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.

3.2 The Magna Carta (1215)

Another cornerstone in Human Rights History is
represented by the promulgation of the Magna Charta in
1215 which introduced a raw concept of “Rule of Law” and
the basic idea of defined rights and liberties to all persons, which offers protection from
arbitrary prosecution and incarceration. Before the Magna Charta, the rule of law,  now
considered as a key principle for good governance in any modern democratic society,  was
perceived as a divine justice, solely distributed by the monarch or the king or, in this case,
King John of England.

3.3 Petition of Right (1628)

In 1628 the English Parliament sent this statement of civil liberties to King Charles I.

The next recorded milestone in the development of human

rights was the Petition of Right, produced in 1628 by the
English Parliament and sent to Charles I as a statement of
civil liberties. Refusal by Parliament to finance the king’s
unpopular foreign policy had caused his government to exact
forced loans and to quarter troops in subjects’ houses as an economy measure. Arbitrary
arrest and imprisonment for opposing these policies had produced in Parliament a violent
hostility to Charles and to George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham. The Petition of Right,
initiated by Sir Edward Coke, was based upon earlier statutes and charters and asserted four
principles:
(1) No taxes may be levied without consent of Parliament,
(2) No subject may be imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation of the right of habeas
corpus),
(3) No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry, and
(4) Martial law may not be used in time of peace.

3.4 United States Declaration of Independence (1776)

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned the American Declaration of

Independence.

On July 4, 1776, the United States Congress approved the

Declaration of Independence. Its primary author, Thomas Jefferson,
wrote the Declaration as a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare
independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American
Revolutionary War, and as a statement announcing that the thirteen American Colonies were
no longer a part of the British Empire. Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in
several forms. It was initially published as a printed broadsheet that was widely distributed
and read to the public.

Philosophically, the Declaration stressed two themes: individual rights and the right of
revolution. These ideas became widely held by Americans and spread internationally as well,
influencing in particular the French Revolution.

3.5 The Constitution of the United States of America (1787) and

Bill of Rights (1791)

Written during the summer of 1787 in
Philadelphia, the Constitution of the United
States of America is the fundamental law of the
US federal system of government and the
landmark document of the Western world. It is
the oldest written national constitution in use
and defines the principal organs of government
and their jurisdictions and the basic rights of citizens.

The first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—came into effect on
December 15, 1791, limiting the powers of the federal government of the United States and
protecting the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors In American territory.

.The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear
arms, the freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition. It also prohibits unreasonable
search and seizure,cruel and unusual punishment and compelled self-incrimination. Among
the legal protections it affords, the Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law
respecting establishment of religion and prohibits the federal government from depriving any
person of life, liberty or property without due process of law. In federal criminal cases it
requires indictment by a grand jury for any capital offense, or infamous crime, guarantees a
speedy public trial with an impartial jury in the district in which the crime occurred, and
prohibits double jeopardy.

3.6 French Revolution or The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen 1789
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted in 1789,
by France’s National Assembly , represents one of the basic charters of human liberties,
containing the principles that inspired the French Revolution.

The basic value introduced by the Declaration was that all “men are born and remain free and
equal in rights”, which were specified as the rights of liberty, private property, the
inviolability of the person, and resistance to oppression. All citizens were equal before the
law and were to have the right to participate in legislation directly or indirectly; no one was to
be arrested without a judicial order. Freedom of religion and freedom of speech were
safeguarded within the bounds of public “order” and “law”. Private property was given
the status of an inviolable right, which could be taken by the state only if an indemnity were
given and offices and positions were opened to all citizens.

It is in this historical period that the concept, mostly based on political concerns, of Civil and
Political Rights was defined. These rights, also known as first generation rights, recognise the
existence of certain things that the all-powerful rulers should not be able to do and that people
should have some influence over the policies affecting them. The two central ideas were
those of personal liberty, and of protecting the individuals against violations by the
State. They serve negatively to protect the individual from excesses of the State.

4. Other Revolutionary Measures For Human Rights

The steps forward made since the time of Cyrus were impressive, yet still many of these
concepts, when originally translated into policies, excluded women, people of color, and
members of certain social, religious, economic, and political groups.

Prime examples to overcome this situation are represented by the efforts in the 19th and early
20th centuries to prohibit the slave trade and to limit the horrors of war.

Significant is the adoption of the first three Geneva Conventions and the Hague
Conventions expressing the deep concern of the public opinion to promote a respect of a
basic level of Human dignity of individuals even in wartime and posing the foundations
of  modern International Humanitarian Law. The concerns over the protection of certain
minority groups, which were raised by the League of Nations at the end of the First World
War, and the establishment of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to oversee treaties
protecting workers with respect to their rights, including their health and safety, manifest  the
increased positive attitude toward the recognition of the importance of Human Rights as we
know them today.
The time for a revolution and a deep progress in the protection and promotion of human
dignity was ripe. Eventually, it took the catalyst of World War II to propel human rights onto
the global stage and into the global conscience. The unprecedented cruelties perpetrated
during the conflict and outside it such as the extermination by Nazi Germany of over six
million Jews, Sinti and Romani (gypsies), homosexuals, and persons with disabilities
horrified the world. The idea of human rights thus emerged even stronger than ever after
World War II. The Trials held in Nuremberg and Tokyo after World War II, introduced the
rather new concepts of "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.

It was the 1945 and the fifty founding members of the United Nations stated, in the preamble
of the UN Charter, that they were determined to save succeeding generations from the
scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, to
reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in
the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions
under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of
international law can be maintained in order to promote social progress and better standards
of life in larger freedom.

In the first article of the same Charter, Member states pledged “to achieve international co-
operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian
character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”

The Declaration was presented to the world, acting for the first time as a recognized and
internationally accepted charter, whose first article states that “All human beings are
born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience
and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

The UDHR, although not legally binding, introduces the concept that how a government
treats its own citizens is now a matter of legitimate international concern, and not simply a
domestic issue, and that  the exercise of a person's rights and freedoms may be subject to
certain limitations, which must be determined by law, solely for the purpose of securing due
recognition of the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of
morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

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. It restates the already identified civil and political rights and
introduces the so-called second generation rights, fundamentally economic, social, and
cultural in nature, furthermore claiming that all rights are interdependent and indivisible.

The message was clear and powerful, the realization of one Right is linked to the realization
of the others. All human rights are indivisible, whether they are civil and political rights, such
as the right to life, equality before the law and freedom of expression; economic, social and
cultural rights, such as the rights to work, social security and education, or collective rights,
such as the rights to development and self-determination, are indivisible, interrelated and
interdependent. The improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the others.
Similarly, the deprivation of one right hampers the improvement and enjoyment of the others.

The influence of the UDHR has been substantial and together with the  International
Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights it
constitutes the so defined “International Bill of Rights” that lays down the obligations of
Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from specific acts, in order to promote and
protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.

Its principles, by now, have been incorporated into the Constitutions of almost all the UN
members and has achieved the status of customary international law regarded as a common
standard of achievement for all people and all nations.

Human Rights have continued to evolve and, since its foundation, the United Nations has
adopted more than 20 principal treaties including conventions to prevent and prohibit specific
abuses like torture and genocide and to protect particularly 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).

Fortunately, it is nowadays clear that what human dignity means, how to protect and promote
it, is a concept that, albeit rooted within the principles of the UDHR, is in constant evolution
in accordance with the new necessities.  There is a need for a comprehensive response and
whilst the international community is still discussing about 4th generation rights it is my
belief that there will be room, in the future, for the fifth and, hopefully, for further
generations of Human Rights.

5. 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.