Enlightenment (17th-18th Century) : Three Generations (Phases) of Human Rights Philosophy

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LECTURE 3 DATE: 9-10-2019

THREE GENERATIONS (PHASES) OF HUMAN RIGHTS PHILOSOPHY

1. Enlightenment (17th-18th Century)

The first generation consists of civil and political rights and derives primarily from the seventeenth and eighteenth-
century political theories noted earlier which are associated with the English, American, and French revolutions.
Think "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This approach favors limiting government by placing restrictions
on state action. The rights set forth in Articles 2-21 of the UDHR include: freedom from discrimination; freedom
from slavery; freedom from torture and from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; freedom from arbitrary arrest
and detention; the right to a fair and public trial; freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; freedom of opinion
and expression; and the right to participate in government through free elections.

2. Socialist tradition (19th century)

The second generation of rights broadens the primarily political focus of earlier views to include economic, social,
and cultural rights. This view originates primarily in the socialist traditions of Marx and Lenin. According to this
view, rights are conceived more in positive rather than negative terms, and thus encourage the intervention of the
state. Illustrative of these rights are Articles 22-27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They include the
right to social security; the right to work; the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of
self and family; and the right to education.

3. The third generation of "solidarity rights" (20th century)

These views are a product of the rise and decline of the nation-state in the last half of the twentieth century. These
rights have been championed by the Third World and remain somewhat controversial and debated. The specific
rights include the right to political, economic, social, and cultural self-determination; the right to economic and
social development; and the right to participate in and benefit from "the common heritage of mankind."

HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The belief that everyone, by virtue of her or his humanity, is entitled to certain human rights is fairly new. Its roots,
however, lie in earlier tradition and documents of many cultures; it took the catalyst of World War II to propel
human rights onto the global stage and into the global conscience.

Throughout much of history, people acquired rights and responsibilities through their membership in a group – a
family, indigenous nation, religion, class, community, or state. Most societies have had traditions similar to the
"golden rule" of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." 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. In addition, the Inca and Aztec codes of
conduct and justice and an Iroquois Constitution were Native American sources that existed well before the 18th
century. In fact, all societies, whether in oral or written tradition, have had systems of propriety and justice as well
as ways of tending to the health and welfare of their members.

1. 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). 

2. The Birth of the United Nations

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."

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. The essence of these emerging human rights principles was
captured in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union Address when he spoke of a world
founded on four essential freedoms: freedom of speech and religion and freedom from want and fear (See Using
Human Rights Here & Now). The calls came from across the globe for human rights standards to protect citizens
from abuses by their governments, standards against which nations could be held accountable for the treatment of
those living within their borders. These voices played a critical role in the San Francisco meeting that drafted
the United Nations Charter in 1945.

3. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights


Member states of the United Nations pledged to promote respect for the human rights of all. To advance this goal,
the UN established a Commission on Human Rights and charged it with the task of drafting a document spelling out
the meaning of the fundamental rights and freedoms proclaimed in the Charter. The Commission, guided by Eleanor
Roosevelt’s forceful leadership, captured the world’s attention.

On December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)was adopted by the 56 members of the
United Nations. The vote was unanimous, although eight nations chose to abstain.

The UDHR, commonly referred to as the international Magna Carta (Great Charter, Originally in 1215), extended
the revolution in international law ushered in by the United Nations Charter – namely, that how a government treats
its own citizens is now a matter of legitimate international concern, and not simply a domestic issue. It claims that
all rights are interdependent and indivisible. 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.

The influence of the UDHR has been substantial. Its principles have been incorporated into the constitutions of most
of the more than 185 nations now in the UN. Although a declaration is not a legally binding document, the
Universal Declaration has achieved the status of customary international law because people regard it "as a common
standard of achievement for all people and all nations."

4. The Human Rights Covenants

With the goal of establishing mechanisms for enforcing the UDHR, the UN Commission on Human Rights
proceeded to draft two treaties: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and
its optional Protocol and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Together
with the Universal Declaration, they are commonly referred to as the International Bill of Human Rights. The
ICCPR focuses on such issues as the right to life, freedom of speech, religion, and voting. The ICESCR focuses on
such issues as food, education, health, and shelter. Both covenants trumpet the extension of rights to all persons and
prohibit discrimination.

As of 1997, over 130 nations have ratified these covenants. The United States, however, has ratified only the
ICCPR, and even that with many reservations, or formal exceptions, to its full compliance. (See From Concept to
Convention: How Human Rights Law Evolves). 

5. Subsequent Human Rights Documents

In addition to the covenants in the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations has adopted more than 20
principal treaties further elaborating human rights. These include conventions to prevent and prohibit specific
abuses like torture and genocide and to protect especially 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). As of 1997 the United States
has ratified only these conventions:

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

The Convention on the Political Rights of Women

The Slavery Convention of 1926

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

In Europe, the Americas, and Africa, regional documents for the protection and promotion of human rights extend
the International Bill of Human Rights. For example, African states have created their own Charter of Human and
People’s Rights (1981), and Muslim states have created the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (1990).
The dramatic changes in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America since 1989 have powerfully demonstrated a
surge in demand for respect of human rights. Popular movements in China, Korea, and other Asian nations reveal a
similar commitment to these principles.

6. 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 are 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.
LECTURE 4 DATE: 16-10-2019

NATURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS


Human Rights are of universal character and do not have any geographical or political boundary. It endorses the use
of persuasion as well as force by the international community on any country violating human rights. However,
these impositions may be restricted in the interest of public peace, social decency and political security of a
particular country. Also it has to be kept in mind that individual countries have cultural uniqueness with own set of
traditions which restrict people from enjoying certain rights that are recognized as against human rights. For
instance in Sudan Bull-man fighting is tradition where bull may tear the man into pieces which is enjoyed by the
public. But these are termed as violation of human rights there, as they are socially accepted as tradition. This point
acts as a huge barrier in the universalisation of human rights.
However, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 states that “All human rights are universal, indivisible,
interdependent and interrelated. So it is the duty of the states regardless of their political, economic, and cultural
systems to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedom.”

UDHR
 History of UDHR
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December
1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War. With the end of that war, and the creation of the
United Nations, the international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like those of that conflict happen
again. World leaders decided to complement the UN Charter with a road map to guarantee the rights of every
individual everywhere. The document they considered, and which would later become the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, was taken up at the first session of the General Assembly in 1946. 

The Assembly reviewed this draft Declaration on Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms and transmitted it to
the Economic and Social Council "for reference to the Commission on Human Rights for consideration in its
preparation of an international bill of rights." The Commission, at its first session early in 1947, authorized its
members to formulate what it termed "a preliminary draft International Bill of Human Rights". Later the work was
taken over by a formal drafting committee, consisting of members of the Commission from eight States, selected
with due regard for geographical distribution.

The Commission on Human Rights was made up of 18 members from various political, cultural and religious
backgrounds. Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, chaired the UDHR drafting
committee. With her were René Cassin of France, who composed the first draft of the Declaration, the Committee
Rapporteur Charles Malik of Lebanon, Vice-Chairman Peng Chung Chang of China, and John Humphrey of
Canada, Director of the UN’s Human Rights Division, who prepared the Declaration’s blueprint. But Mrs.
Roosevelt was recognized as the driving force for the Declaration’s adoption.

The final draft by Cassin was handed to the Commission on Human Rights, which was being held in Geneva. The
draft declaration sent out to all UN member States for comments became known as the Geneva draft.
The first draft of the Declaration was proposed in September 1948 with over 50 Member States participating in the
final drafting. By its resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948, the General Assembly, meeting in Paris, adopted
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with eight nations abstaining from the vote but none dissenting.

The entire text of the UDHR was composed in less than two years. At a time when the world was divided into
Eastern and Western blocks, finding a common ground on what should make the essence of the document proved to
be a colossal task.

 Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The Universal Declaration of Human Right is a common standard of
achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end every individual and every organ of society, keeping this
Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and
freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international to secure their universal and effective
recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member states themselves and among the peoples of
territories under their jurisdiction.

1. We Are All Born Free & Equal. 


All human being are born free and equal in dignity and rights, they are endowed(able) with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another in spirit of brotherhood.
2. Don’t Discriminate. 
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this declaration, without distinction of any
kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, poverty,
or other status.
3. The Right to Life. 
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
4. No Slavery. 
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall e prohibited in all their forms.
5. No Torture.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
6. Recognition before the Law. 
Everyone has the right or recognition everywhere as a person before the laws.
7. We’re all equal Before the Law. 
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discriminating to equal protection of the law. All
are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination.
8. Your Human Rights Are Protected by Law.
Everyone has the rights to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for act violation the
fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
9. No Unfair Detainment. 
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
10. The Right to Trial. 
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in
the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
11. We’re always innocent till Proven Guilty. 
Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according
to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees.
12. The Right to Privacy
No one shall be subject to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family and home or correspondence, not to
attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to protection of the laws against such
interference or attacks.
13. Freedom to Move. 
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
14. The Right to Seek a Safe Place to Live. 
Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum form persecution.
15. Right to a Nationality. 
Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the
right to change his nationality.
16. Marriage and Family. Men and women of full age , without any limitation due to race, nationality or
religion, have the right to marry and to found a family, They are entitled to equal rights as the marriages,
during marriage and at its dissolution. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of
the indenting spouses. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to
protection by society and the State.
17. The Right to Your Own Things. 
Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily
deprived of his property.
18. Freedom of Thought.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thoughts, conscience and religion: this right includes freedom to
change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with otters and in public or private,
to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, proactive, worship and observance.
19. Freedom of Expression. 
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.
20. The Right to Public Assembly. 
Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to
belong to an association.
21. The Right to Democracy. 
Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen
representatives. Everyone will have equal access to public service in his country. The will of the people shall
be on the basis of the authority of government. The will must be expressed in periodic and genuine elections
which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting
procedures.
22. Social Security. 
Everyone as a member of society has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through
national effort and international cooperation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each
state, or the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for this dignity and the free development of
his personality.
23. Workers’ Rights. 
Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment to just and favorable conditions of work and to
protection against unemployment. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal
work. Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his
family an existence worthy of human dignity and supplemented.
24. The Right to Play.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of worried hours and periodical
holidays with pay.
25. Food and Shelter for All.
We all have the right to a good life. Mothers and children, people who are old, unemployed or disabled, and
all people have the right to be cared for. 
26. The Right to Education.
Everyone has the right to Education. Education shall be free at least in the elementary and fundamental
stages, Elementary education shall be compulsory, Technical and professional education shall be made
generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis upon merit. Education
shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for
human right and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all
nations. Parents have proper right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
27. Copyright.
Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific,
literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
28. A Fair and Free World.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in
declaration can be fully realized.
29. Responsibility.
In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are
determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms
of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a
democratic society.
30. No one Can Take Away Your Human Rights.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to
engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set
forth herein.

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