Historical development of Human rights issues in

international context

What Are Human Rights?

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity,
language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from
slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more.
Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.

Concept Of Human Rights

Human rights are the rights a person has simply because he or she is a human being. Human rights are
held by all persons equally, universally, and forever. United Nations Universal declaration of human
rights (UDHR) mentioned 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
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.

Different counties ensure these rights in different way. In India they are contained in the Constitution as
fundamental rights, i.e. they are guaranteed statutorily. In the UK they are available through precedence,
various elements having been laid down by the courts through case law. In addition, international law and
conventions also provide certain safeguards.

Human Rights evolution

The origins of Human Rights are ideally pinpointed to the year 539 BC. When the troops of Cyrus the
Great conquered Babylon. Cyrus freed the slaves, declared that all people had the right to choose their
own religion, and established racial equality. These and other principles were recorded on a baked-clay
cylinder known as the Cyrus Cylinder, whose provisions served as inspiration for the first four Articles of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Several ancient documents and later religious and philosophies included a variety of concepts that may be
considered to be human rights. Notable among such documents are the Edicts of Ashoka issued by
Ashoka the Great of India between 272-231 BC.

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.

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An evolution of the concepts expressed by the Magna Carta is represented by the English Bill of Rights.
It was an act signed into law in 1689 by William III and Mary II, who became co-rulers in England after
the overthrow of King James II. The bill outlined specific constitutional and civil rights and ultimately
gave Parliament power over the monarchy.

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.

However, the idea for the protection of human rights grew after the tragic experiences of the two world
wars. Prior to the world war, there was not much codification done either at the national or the
international levels for the protection and implementation of human rights.

Precursors of 20th Century Human Rights Documents

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).

Human Rights In during World Wars Era

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." Neither utilitarism nor scientific positivism, the philosophies that had undermined the natural
rights concept, could address the problems. The dominant political paradigm, realism, could not find
national interest violated. The language of human rights seemed more appropriate. After the war, the
Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal introduces the subject of gross human rights violations to the
international relations. The individual German soldiers were charged of crimes against humanity. The
revival of the concept of human rights can thus be seen as a reaction to the horrors of the War

Human Rights In post World Wars Era

Following the second world war, a series of declarations and covenants began to articulate universal human
rights. In 1948, for the first time, countries agreed on a comprehensive list of inalienable human rights. In

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December of that year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR), a milestone that would profoundly influence the development of international human rights
law. In December 1966, the UN General Assembly adopted two international treaties that would further shape
international human rights: the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). These are often referred to as “the
International Covenants.”Together, the UDHR and these two Covenants are known as the International Bill of
Human Rights.

Human Rights Council

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall
framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council
in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and was also assisted in
its work by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR). It was the
UN's principal mechanism and international forum concerned with the promotion and protection of human
rights. On March 15, 2006, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to replace UNCHR with the UN
Human Rights Council.

Conclusion
Human rights are fundamental to the stability and development of countries all around the world. Great
emphasis has been placed 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
today on human rights has been both negative and positive. In particular, the risks posed by advancements in
science and technology may severely hinder the implementation of human rights if not handled carefully. In
the field of biotechnology 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, 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 Being with Regard to the Application and Medicine puts the welfare of the human
being above society or science.
However the efficacy of the mechanisms in place today has been questioned in the light of 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 intensity usually
because perpetrators feel that they enjoy immunity from punishment.