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