The document provides an overview of the history and development of human rights from ancient codes of law to modern international agreements and bodies. It discusses the origins and foundations of basic human rights beginning in the 17th century with documents like the Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, and U.S. Declaration of Independence. Following World War II, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 to establish civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights for all. Since then, the UN has drafted over 80 instruments to further protect rights and established various bodies to monitor compliance.

1. Dr. Basil B Mathew
Department of Political Science
St.Peter’s College, Kolenchery

2. RIGHTS
What can we do with RIGHTS?
to protect; to observe;
to violate; to diminish;
to acquire; to guarantee;
to grant; to respect;
to restrict; to ensure …

3. HUMAN RIGHTS are the rights that all people have by virtue of being human beings.
HUMAN RIGHTS are derived from the inherent dignity of the human person and are defined
internationally, nationally and locally by various law making bodies
Human Rights

4. basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled
inalienable rights: a set of human rights that are fundamental,
are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered
Fundamental rights that belong to every person,
simply by being a human being.
Principles
 Universality
 Equality
 Non-discrimination

5.  Universal legal guarantees;
 Protecting individual and groups;
 Against actions and omissions
 That interfere with fundamental freedoms entitlements and human dignity
Human Rights

6. History of Human Rights

7. History Human Rights
Code of Hammurabi: is a well-preserved
Babylonian code of law of ancient Mesopotamia, dated
back to about 1754 BC .
It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of
significant length in the world.

8. • The right to hold Athenian citizenship
• All Athenian citizens had the right to vote in the
Assembly, debate, own land and own slaves.
• All Athenian citizens were expected to have military
training, be educated, pay their taxes and
serve Athens in times of war
Rights of Athenian Citizens

9. Magna Carta (1215)
Magna Carta was a Peace Treaty between the
King and the rebel barons. In that respect it was
a failure, but it provided a new framework for
the relationship between the King and his
subjects.

10. English Declaration of the Rights of Man (1689)
Bill of Rights 1689. ... It received the Royal Assent
on 16 December 1689 and is a restatement in
statutory form of the Declaration of Right
presented by the Convention Parliament to
William III and Mary II in February 1689, inviting
them to become joint sovereigns of England.

11. U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776)
The Declaration of Independence, 1776. By
issuing the Declaration of Independence,
adopted by the Continental Congress on July
4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their
political connections to Great Britain

12. French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen,
set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789,
is a human civil rights document from the French
Revolution.
Liberty
Fraternity
Equality

13. United States Constitution and Bill of Rights (1789)
On September 25, 1789, the First Federal Congress of the
United States proposed to the state legislatures twelve
amendments to the Constitution. ...
On June 8,1789, James Madison introduced his proposed
amendments to the Constitution, which would eventually
become known as the Bill of Rights.

14. International Committee for the Red Cross (1863)
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a
private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in
Geneva, Switzerland, in particular by Henry Dunant and
Gustave Moynier.

15. Geneva Convention (1864)
The First Geneva Convention for the
Amelioration of the Condition of the
Wounded in Armies in the Field, held on 22
August 1864, is the first of four treaties of the
Geneva Conventions.
It defines "the basis on which rest the rules
of international law for the protection of the
victims of armed conflicts."

16. Hague Conventions
The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 were the first
multilateral treaties that addressed the conduct of warfare
and were largely based on the Lieber Code, which was
signed and issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln to the
Union Forces of the United States on 24 April 1863, during
the American Civil War.

17. Established in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles as an
affiliated agency of the League of Nations, the ILO
became the first affiliated specialized agency of the
UnitedNations in 1946. .
League of Nations & International Labor Organization

18. Creation of the United Nations (1945)
The Formation of the United Nations, 1945.
On January 1, 1942, representatives of 26
nations at war with the Axis powers met in
Washington to sign the Declaration of
the United Nations endorsing the Atlantic
Charter , pledging to use their full resources
against the Axis and agreeing not to make a
separate peace.

19. The Nuremberg Trial and the Tokyo War
Crimes Trials (1945–1948)
Following World War II, the victorious Allied
governments established the first
international criminal tribunals to prosecute
high-level political officials and military
authorities for war crimes and other
wartime atrocities.
The Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals

20. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948) UDHR

21. • WWI: Trench warfare, poison gas, and new weapons intensify war and increasingly
affect civilian populations.
• WWII: Nazis exterminate millions of people (incl. Jews, gypsies, communists, people
with disabilities, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and homosexuals).
• The Japanese military brutalizes residents of occupied countries.
• The United States drops the first atomic bomb on Japan.
• Nazi and Japanese war criminals are prosecuted in the first-ever war trials: the
Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals.
Events Preceding UDHR

22. Article 19 UDHR:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas through any media and
regardless of frontiers”
UDHR:

23. Protection of International Human Rights
In 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
The Declaration enumerates civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, but the
Declaration contains no provisions for monitoring or enforcement.

24. Fundamental characteristics of human rights
 Set of beliefs about societal basis of human well-being
 Series of non-provable statements about what people need to maintain their human dignity
 Rights of individuals
 Inhere to individuals because they are human
 Apply to all people around the world
 Principally involve the relationship between the state and the individual

25. Characteristics of Human Rights
 Universal
 Internationally guaranteed
 Legally protected
 Protects individuals and groups
 Cannot be taken away
 Equal and indivisible
 Obliges States and State actors

26. Five Categories of Human Rights
Civil: The right to be treated as an equal to anyone else in society
Cultural: The right to freedom of religion, and to speak the language, and to practice the culture of
one’s choice
Social: The right to education, health care, food, clothing, shelter and social security
Political: The right to vote, to freedom of speech and to obtain information
Economic: The right to participate in an economy that benefits all; and to desirable work

27. CIVIL RIGHTS
 Cultural
background
 Non-discrimination
 religion
 Life
 Opinion
 Free speech
 Marry

28. POLITICAL RIGHTS
 Freely disagree with views and policies of political leaders
 Stand for public
office
 Live in an
independent country
 Freely form or join
political parties
 Vote in elections

29. ECONOMIC RIGHTS
 Protection against labor malpractices
 Have adequate food
 Form trade unions
 Safe working conditions
 Work without exploitation  Fair wage
 Jobs

30. SOCIAL RIGHTS
 Social security Clean environment  Recreation facilities
 Health services Education
 Housing

31. SOME CULTURAL RIGHTS
 Use own language
 Develop cultural activities
 Ancestral domains
 Develop own kind of schooling

32. Core Principles of HR
 Inalienable: all people everywhere in the world are entitles to human rights.
 Indivisible & interrelated: rights are completely interdepended & depend on each other for their
effectiveness.
 Non-Discrimination
 Accountability : Govts have certain duties & obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights.

33. Modern Protection of International Human Rights
In addition to the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations has
drafted and promulgated over 80 human rights instruments
 Genocide
 Racial discrimination
 Discrimination against women
 Refugee protection
 Torture
 The rights of disabled persons
 The rights of the child

34. UN Human Rights Bodies
 Security Council
 Economic and Social Council
 Commission on Human Rights  General Assembly
 Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
 Commission on the Status of Women

35. UN Human Rights Bodies
 Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
 International Court of Justice
 International Criminal Court
 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (created by the General Assembly in 1993)

36. UN Human Rights Bodies
Treaty Monitoring Bodies
 Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights
 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
 Human Rights Committee

37.  Committee on the Rights of the Child
 Committee Against Torture
 Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

39. Three Genarations of human rights
First Generation (Civil and Political Rights)
- date back to 18th Century
Designed to protect the individual against state interference
• Right to vote
• Right to assemble
• Right to free speech
• Right to a fair trial
• Right to freedom from torture, abuse
• Right to protection of the law

40. Second Generation (Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)
19th Century response to widespread poverty in wake of industrial revolution
Prohibit government from denying access, -entitle individuals to get protection
from state if third parties interfere with rights, - oblige states to take measures to
improve overall social situation
• Right to education
• Right to housing
• Right to health
• Right to employment
• Right to an adequate income
• Right to social security

41. Third Generation (Collective Rights)
-First articulated in second half of the 20th Century
With exception of African Charter on Human and People's
rights, have not been incorporated into human rights
treaties yet
• Right to economic and social development
• Right to prosperity
• Right to benefit from economic growth
• Right to social harmony
• Right to a healthy environment, clean air and water,
• Right to participation in cultural heritage etc.

42. PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
aanational level
National level
International level
Constitution
International Treaties and
Convention

43. Major Human Rights Conventions
ICESCR: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
ICCPR: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
CERD: International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racism.
CRC: Convention on the Rights of the Child

44. CEDAW: Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Decimation Against Women.
CAT: Convention against Torture and other Cruel, in human or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment

45. Regional human rights regimes
Non-governmental Organizations
Human rights defenders
National preventive mechanism
For States

46.  Asylum for refugees: Some people flee countries with terrible human rights, but they are
not always welcome in other countries
 LGBT rights: Often LGBT individuals are discriminated against and lack rights
 Gender rights: to equal employment, equal pay, equal access, etc.
Challenges