Evolution of human Rights

Shachita Kuikel
Shachitakuikel88@gmail.com
 Evolution of Human Rights
• The evolution of human right is as eternal as human
civilization.
• In the Greek civilization it was regarded as a natural
rights “Jus Naturals” inherent by man kind.
• In Eastern philosophy it was considered as “ADHIKARA”
of human being who belongs to the society.
• The concept of human rights roots, however, lie in
earlier tradition and documents of many cultures, it
tool catalyst of World War II to propel human rights on
to the global stage and into the global conscience.
• So the history of Human rights dates back to
millennia and draws upon :
i. Religious
ii. Cultural
iii. Philosophical and
iv. legal development
 Before Christ
• Ancient Egypt
Egyptian law was based on a common sense view of
right and wrong following the codes based on the
concept of Ma ‘at.
Ma ‘ at represented truth, order, balance and justice
in the universe.
so, it allowed that everyone exception of slaves,
should be viewed as equals under the law,
regardless of wealth or social position.
 Ancient Mesopotamia
• Hammurabi was an ancient king who created the
first written laws dating to 1780 BC.
• It has developed equal punishment to all the
individuals who broke the law according to
Hammurabi Court.
• 282 laws were developed according to that
Hammurabi Court.
 539 B.C. Cyrus Cylinder
• An armies of Persian king Cyrus the Great
conquered the Babylon and he had freed all the
slaves.
• There was the declaration that all the people have
right to choose their own religion.
• He had established racial equality.
• The above mentioned and other rights were
recorded on a baked clay cylinder in the Akkodian
language with cuneiform script.
• The Cyrus Cylinder has been recognized as the
world’s first human rights charter.’
• it had been translated in six official language of
United Nations and its provisions are parallel to the
first four articles of the Universal Declaration of the
Human Rights, 1948:
• Free and Equal
• No discrimination
• The right to life
• No slavery
 Edict of Ashoka
• The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of 33
inscriptions on the pillars of Ashoka as well as
boulders and cave walls, made by the king Ashoka
of the Mauryan dynasty during his regime.
• These inscriptions were dispersed throughout the
areas of modern day Pakistan and India and
reflected as a tangible element of Buddhism.
• That was based on social welfare.
 Justinian Code
• JUS NATURALS and JUS JENTIUM
• Slavery and lack of individual freedom.
• it is regarded as a major development of codified
law. It did not facilitate much the human rights on
issues such as ceasing slavery and freedom of
religion as they were practically for the centuries
before the Persian Empire.
• some amendment had been done such as allowing
slaves to make petition against cruelty of their
masters.
 Individual Rights in Europe and America

• Magna Carta, 1215

• The Petition of Rights, 1628
• The Constitution of USA, 1787
• The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of
the Citizen and
• The US Bill of Rights, 1791
 Magna Carta
• The Magna Carta is regarded as a most significant “Great
charter” that led to the rule of constitutional law in the English
speaking world.
• In 1215 after king John of England violated many ancient laws
and customs by which England had been governed, his subjects
forced him to sign the Magna Carta, which enumerates what
later come to be thought of as Human Rights :
• The right of the Church to be free from governmental
interference and vice-versa .
• The rights of all free citizens to own and inherent property and
• To be protected from excessive tax.
 Petition of Rights (1628)
• This is regarded as a milestone in the development of
human rights which was produced by the parliament of
England and sent to Charles I as a statement of civil
liberty.
• The petitions of Rights, was based on the following four
Principles:
1. No taxes may be levied without consent of parliament.
2. no subject may be imprisoned without cause shown
3. no soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry and
4. martial law may not be used in time of peace .
 The Constitution of USA, 1787
• On July 4, 1776 the United States of America
congress approved the Declaration of the
Independence.
• The declaration was formal explanation of why
congress voted to declare independence from Great
Britain. The independence was based on the two
themes :
1. Individual rights and freedom
2. The right of the revolution
• The Constitution of United States of America
written in 1787 was the foundation for the written
constitutional history.
• It has defined the principal organs of government
and their jurisdictions and the basic rights of the
citizens.
• It has developed the principle of check and balance
between state organ and protected the rights of
people with the philosophy of limited government.
 The Bill of Rights (1971)
• The bill of rights is came into existence with 10 th amendment of American
Constitution which limited the power of the federal government and
protecting rights of all citizens, residents, visitors in American territory.
• It protects:
• Freedom of speech
• freedom of religion
• the right to keep and bear arms
• the freedom of assembly and the freedom of petition
• it also prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual
punishment and compelled self- incrimination.
• It guarantees a speedy public trial with an impartial jury in the district in
which the crime occurred.
 Declaration of the Rights of the Man and
Citizen (1789)
• In 1789, the people of France overthrew their monarchy and
established the First French Republic. The Declaration of the Rights of
the Man and Citizen was adopted as the first step toward writing a
constitution for the Republic of France.
• The declaration proclaims that all citizens are to be guaranteed the
rights of :
Liberty
Property
Security and
Resistance to oppression
Thus, the declaration sees law as an “expression of the general will “
intended to promote the right to equality of rights and to forbid “only
actions harmful to the society.”
 The First Geneva Convention (1864)

• In 1864, 16 European Countries and several

American States attended a conference in Geneva
at invitation of Swiss Federal Council, on the
initiative of the Geneva committee.
• It was purposed for the treatment and care, without
any discrimination, to wounded and sick military
personnel and respect for and marking of medical
personnel transports and equipment with the
distinctive sign of the red cross on a white
background.
 The United Nations (1945)
• World war II had raged from 1939 to 1945. many cities throughout
Europe and Asia lay in ruins. Millions of people were dead, millions
more were homeless or starving.
• In April 1945, delegates from 50 countries met in San Francisco full
of optimism and hope
• The goal was to fashion an international body to promote peace
and prevent future war.
• The ideals of the organization were started in the preamble to its
proposed charter: “we the peoples of the United Nations are
determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war
which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind”
• The united nations charter was promulgated on October 24, 1945
which is called united nations day.
 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• By 1948, UN new Human Rights Commission had

attracted world’s attention under the dynamic
chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt to draft UDHR
and it was adopted by the UN on December 10,
1948.
• In its Preamble and in Article 1 the Declaration
unequivocally proclaims the inherent rights of all
human beings : all human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights”.
 Generational Development of Human Rights

• Louis Sohn traces the concept of three generations

of human rights to Czech Jurist Karel Vasakin 1979,
whom quotes as the source of the term.
• His division follows the three watchwords of the
French Revolution : Liberty , Equality and Faternity.
 First Generation of Human Rights
• Civil and Political Rights strongly based on
individualistic approach.
• it was often called blue rights deal essentially with
liberty and participation in political life.
• These are negative rights against state they includes,
1. Freedom of speech
2. The right to a fair trial
3. Freedom of religion
4. Voting rights
Article 3- 21 of UDHR
 Second Generation human rights
• Based on economic, social and cultural rights
• These rights developed after second world
war to strengthen living standard of life.
1. Rights to be employed
2. right to the housing and health care
3. security and unemployment benefits
UDHR Articles 22 – 27 and ICESCR, 1966
 Third Generation human Rights
• These rights are beyond the civil, political,
social and economic rights
• They are based on Stockholm Declaration of
UN conference on the Human Environment
and 1992 Rio Declarations on Environment
and Development
• These are regarded as soft law.
• Group and collective rights
• Right to self-determination
• Right to economic and social development
• Right to healthy environment
• right to natural resources
• Right to communicate and communication
rights
• Right to participate in cultural heritage
• rights to intergenerational equity and
sustainability.