UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI

SCHOOL OF LAW

Name: Obaid Khan s/o Malook Khan

Class: L.L.B (3rd Year – 5th Semester)

Seat No 1887036

Subject: Human Rights- LLB - 613(L)

History of Human Rights

Assignment Topic:

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1.1 Meaning of Human Rights

Definition

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1.2 Classification of Human Rights by Universal Declaration of
Human Right
According to Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 the number of Human Rights are 25
(Civil and Political Rights-19 and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights-06).There are also another two
kinds of Human Rights Known as Solidarity rights. According to DGICCP, one right is to
Self-determination and according to DRD another right is to Self-development. So the total numbers
of Human Rights are 30.

Universal Declaration of Human Right Classify different Human Right in their article 1 -30 as appended
below. Basic human rights recognized around the world delacred by United Nations.

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1.3 Types of Human Rights

The evident characteristics of Human Rights make them different from other rights. The unique
features are as follows:

I. Inherent: The most outstanding characteristics of Human Rights are that it is inherent and
natural. None acquires it by any special quality of reputation. It is not the charity of any person or
any social system. Every man is by born entitled to these rights.

II. Not Exchangeable: Human Rights cannot be handed over, exchanged or transferred. It is
excessive to all. It could neither be given away, nor could be stolen or taken away by
snatching.

III. Universality: Universality stands out as the basic value of human rights. Everyone is entitled
to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration.

IV. Equality: Human Rights refer to equal enjoyment of opportunities and resources to all.
Justice, rule of law and indiscrimination are the philosophy of Human
Rights.

V. Feasibility: The important characteristics of Human Rights are its feasibility or effectiveness.
That is Human Rights should never be viewed as a hypothetical or
abstract concept. It is shaped by the social values, norms, culture and institutions

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1.4 INTRODUCTON

As the Second World War appeared to be drawing to a close, world leaders started planning
for banishing war and resorting sustainable peace. The United Nations Charter envisaged
promotion of Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion as one of the means for that end. On
the 10th December, 1948,the U.N. General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration for the first time generated a common standard of
rights for all peoples and all nations without any discrimination [1]. Human Rights are mostly
inherent and natural rights, the execution, preservation or enjoyment of Human Rights is
simply impossible. It is also true that without ensuring the Human Rights the development of life
is quite impossible. In this regard every nation follows the international instrument of Human Rights.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation.
Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed
to monitoring, protecting and promoting human rights in Pakistan

1.5 Concepts of Human Rights

Rights are something people demands or desires for their self-Development. Rights are those
basic standards without which people cannot live in dignity. Hobbhouse says, “Rights
are what we may expect from others, and others from us and all genuine tights are conditions of
social welfare”.

Thomas Paine, a French first used the term ‘Human Rights’ While translating the French
Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen from French to English, But unfortunately he was
detained. Human Rights are those basic standards without which people cannot live in dignity.
The basic rights and freedoms, to which all humans are entitled, often held to include the

Md. Kamruzzaman and Shashi Kanto Das: The Evaluation of Human Rights: An Overview in Historical
Perspective right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the
law. To violate someone’s human right is to treat that person as though she or he were not
a human being. These are basically few natural rights which cannot be denied, but at the
same time not guaranteed by Statutory Law. It is the obligation of the state to promote and protect
human rights.

The New Lexicon Webster’s Dictionary of the English language describes the “Human Rights”
expression as under, “The right to be free from Governmental violations of the integrity of the
persons”. “Human Rights means Right to life, Right to liberty, Right to equality and Right to dignity of
a person guaranteed by the constitution of the People’s Republic of

1.6 Differences Between Human Rights and Fundamental Rights

Human Rights: Human Rights are those basic standards without which people cannot live in
dignity. Human Rights are inherent to each individual.

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Fundamental Rights: Fundamental Rights are those rights or Human Rights which are guaranteed
by the constitution.

All Fundamental Rights are Human Rights but all Human Rights are not fundamental rights.
Human Rights are concerned with the all human being of the world but fundamental rights
are related between one state and their citizens.

1.7 History of Human Rights

Introduction
The belief that all human beings possess rights and freedoms, simply because they are human, spread
globally in the aftermath of the Second World War.
The roots of rights and freedoms, however, lie in the written and oral traditions of many cultures that
go back thousands of years. Throughout history, people have debated ideas of rights and
responsibilities as part of their relationship to family, community, religion, nation and to one another.
The ongoing dialogue has produced countless actions, rules and institutions that tell the story of
human rights around the world. It’s a long record of advances and setbacks over time.

Early Rights Documents

In past centuries, many landmark laws, declarations and agreements have contributed to rights ideals
and protections.
For example, the Magna Carta (The Great Charter) of 1215 laid out the principle that everybody,
including royalty, was subject to the law. In 1689, the first English Bill of Rights affirmed rights such
as free elections, freedom of speech and freedom from “cruel and unusual punishment.” It was
followed a century later by the French Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizens. The United
States Constitution of 1791 contained a Bill of Rights that remains in effect today.
These early documents carried important guarantees about rights and freedoms for certain groups.
But they typically excluded references to the rights of women, Indigenous peoples and many social,
religious and political groups.
Despite such limitations, the basic principles they set out were drawn upon all over the world to
support struggles for self-determination and individual rights.

Birth of the United Nations

The concept that people are entitled to human rights intensified after the Second World War. The
world was horrified by the atrocities perpetrated by Nazi Germany against Jews, Roma and Sinti,
homosexual men, persons with disabilities and others. The scale of human tragedy led to the global
recognition that such crimes against humanity must be prevented from ever happening again.
After the war, governments around the globe committed to establishing the United Nations (UN). This
was to be an organization dedicated to the work of fostering peace and preventing conflict. The
Charter that created the United Nations contained a powerful statement:
“We the peoples of the United Nations [are] determined … to reaffirm faith in fundamental human
rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of
nations large and small.”

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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 an international Commission on Human Rights led by Eleanor
Roosevelt, a well-known human rights advocate. A major objective for the Commission was to create
a document that, for the first time in history, would set out human rights for every person.
Opinions about what this document should contain came from many different nations and non-
governmental groups. John Humphrey, a Canadian lawyer and human rights expert, was tasked with
distilling all these ideas into a draft universal bill of rights.
The draft penned by Humphrey became the foundation for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) of 1948. The Declaration’s 30 articles defined fundamental rights and freedoms for every
human being on earth.
The preamble in the UDHR says 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.”
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The International Bill of Human Rights

The principles of the UDHR offered hope and inspiration around the world. But to make a genuine
difference in people’s lives, those principles needed to be transformed into laws.
In 1966, the UN Commission on Human Rights drafted two instruments to give legal force to the
UDHR.
One instrument was called the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The second was the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Together with the Universal
Declaration, they comprise the International Bill of Human Rights.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights offers protections for the right to life, freedom
of speech, religion and voting. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
focuses on such issues as food, education, health and shelter.
More than 160 nations have ratified these two covenants which legally commit them to ensure these
rights for people within their borders.

Later Human Rights Agreements – International

Since passing the International Bill of Human Rights, the United Nations has adopted many legal
instruments that focus on various rights such as freedom from torture and protections for refugees
(the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1950).
Other instruments protect women’s rights (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, 1979); children’s rights (the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
1989); Indigenous rights (the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 2007);
and rights of persons with disabilities (the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
2006).
Regional rights instruments have also emerged, apart from the UN’s efforts. These include the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981); the European Convention on Human Rights (1953);
and the American Convention on Human Rights (1978), which covers Latin American states.

Later Human Rights Agreements – National

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The Evolution of Human Rights Law
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been viewed as one of the most important documents
of the 20th century. Its principles have inspired hundreds of laws, conventions and other legal
instruments protecting human rights. These new measures are the result of collective and individual
efforts by people all over the world.
As rights abuses continue to occur, as new armed conflicts erupt and as new issues emerge, the work
of defending human rights is ongoing. As people mobilize for their rights through awareness and
action, human rights laws must continue to evolve in response.

Modern Human Rights Movement

The 20th century witnessed the beginning of the modern human rights movement. Since then, the
world has seen profound social changes. The struggles for women’s rights, civil rights and the
resistance to apartheid in South Africa are examples of local and global activism that have made
significant progress.
Much remains to be done with regard to many other issues. This includes protecting the rights of
Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and persons of diverse sexual orientations and gender
identities. Relatively new issues like the right to privacy in an Internet age and prevention of cyber-
bullying are now entering public awareness.

1.8 The Background of Human Rights

The Cyrus Cylinder (539 B.C.)

The decrees Cyrus made on human rights were inscribed in the Akkadian language on a baked-clay
cylinder.
In 539 B.C., the armies of Cyrus the Great, the first king of ancient Persia, conquered the city of
Babylon. But it was his next actions that marked a major advance for Man. He freed the slaves,
declared that all people had the right to choose their own religion, and established racial equality.
These and other decrees were recorded on a baked-clay cylinder in the Akkadian language with
cuneiform script.

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Known today as the Cyrus Cylinder, this ancient record has now been recognized as the world’s first
charter of human rights. It is translated into all six official languages of the United Nations and its
provisions parallel the first four Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Spread of Human Rights

Cyrus the Great, the first king of Persia, freed the slaves of Babylon, 539 B.C.
From Babylon, the idea of human rights spread quickly to India, Greece and eventually Rome. There
the concept of “natural law” arose, in observation of the fact that people tended to follow certain
unwritten laws in the course of life, and Roman law was based on rational ideas derived from the
nature of things.
Documents asserting individual rights, such as the Magna Carta (1215), the Petition of Right (1628),
the US Constitution (1787), the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789), and
the US Bill of Rights (1791) are the written precursors to many of today’s human rights documents.
The Magna Carta (1215)
Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” signed by the King of England in 1215, was a turning point in human
rights.
The Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” was arguably the most significant early influence on the
extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today in the English-speaking
world.
In 1215, after King John of England violated a number of ancient laws and customs by which England
had been governed, his subjects forced him to sign the Magna Carta, which enumerates what later
came to be thought of as human rights. Among them was the right of the church to be free from
governmental interference, the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be
protected from excessive taxes. It established the right of widows who owned property to choose not
to remarry, and established principles of due process and equality before the law. It also contained
provisions forbidding bribery and official misconduct.
Widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in the development of modern
democracy, the Magna Carta was a crucial turning point in the struggle to establish freedom.

Petition of Right (1628)

In 1628 the English Parliament sent this statement of civil liberties to King Charles I.
The next recorded milestone in the development of human rights was the Petition of Right, produced
in 1628 by the English Parliament and sent to Charles I as a statement of civil liberties. Refusal by
Parliament to finance the king’s unpopular foreign policy had caused his government to exact forced
loans and to quarter troops in subjects’ houses as an economy measure. Arbitrary arrest and
imprisonment for opposing these policies had produced in Parliament a violent hostility to Charles and
to George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham. The Petition of Right, initiated by Sir Edward Coke, was
based upon earlier statutes and charters and asserted four principles: (1) No taxes may be levied
without consent of Parliament, (2) No subject may be imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation
of the right of habeas corpus), (3) No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry, and (4) Martial
law may not be used in time of peace.

United States Declaration of Independence (1776)

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned the American Declaration of Independence.
On July 4, 1776, the United States Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. Its primary
author, Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Declaration as a formal explanation of why Congress had voted
on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the
American Revolutionary War, and as a statement announcing that the thirteen American Colonies were
no longer a part of the British Empire. Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several

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forms. It was initially published as a printed broadsheet that was widely distributed and read to the
public.
Philosophically, the Declaration stressed two themes: individual rights and the right of revolution.
These ideas became widely held by Americans and spread internationally as well, influencing in
particular the French Revolution.

The Constitution of the United States of America (1787) and Bill of Rights (1791)
The Bill of Rights of the US Constitution protects basic freedoms of United States citizens.
Written during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, the Constitution of the United States of America is
the fundamental law of the US federal system of government and the landmark document of the
Western world. It is the oldest written national constitution in use and defines the principal organs of
government and their jurisdictions and the basic rights of citizens.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—came into effect on December 15,
1791, limiting the powers of the federal government of the United States and protecting the rights of
all citizens, residents and visitors in American territory.
The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to keep and bear arms,
the freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition. It also prohibits unreasonable search and
seizure, cruel and unusual punishment and compelled self-incrimination. Among the legal protections
it affords, the Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting establishment of
religion and prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty or property
without due process of law. In federal criminal cases it requires indictment by a grand jury for any
capital offense, or infamous crime, guarantees a speedy public trial with an impartial jury in the
district in which the crime occurred, and prohibits double jeopardy.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

Following the French Revolution in 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
granted specific freedoms from oppression, as an “expression of the general will.”
In 1789 the people of France brought about the abolishment of the absolute monarchy and set the
stage for the establishment of the first French Republic. Just six weeks after the storming of the
Bastille, and barely three weeks after the abolition of feudalism, the Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen (French: La Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen) was adopted by the
National Constituent Assembly 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.” It argues that the need for law derives from the fact that
“...the exercise of the natural rights of each man has only those borders which assure other members
of the society the enjoyment of these same rights.” Thus, the Declaration sees law as an “expression
of the general will,“ intended to promote this equality of rights and to forbid “only actions harmful to
the society.”
The First Geneva Convention (1864)
The original document from the first Geneva Convention in 1864 provided for care to wounded
soldiers.
In 1864, sixteen European countries and several American states attended a conference in Geneva, at
the invitation of the Swiss Federal Council, on the initiative of the Geneva Committee. The diplomatic
conference was held for the purpose of adopting a convention for the treatment of wounded soldiers in
combat.
The main principles laid down in the Convention and maintained by the later Geneva Conventions
provided for the obligation to extend care without 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.

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1.9 A Brief History of the Declaration of Human Rights

The United Nations (1945)

Fifty nations met in San Francisco in 1945 and formed the United Nations to protect and promote
peace.
World War II had raged from 1939 to 1945, and as the end drew near, cities throughout Europe and
Asia lay in smoldering ruins. Millions of people were dead, millions more were homeless or starving.
Russian forces were closing in on the remnants of German resistance in Germany’s bombed-out
capital of Berlin. In the Pacific, US Marines were still battling entrenched Japanese forces on such
islands as Okinawa.
In April 1945, delegates from fifty countries met in San Francisco full of optimism and hope. The goal
of the United Nations Conference on International Organization was to fashion an international body to
promote peace and prevent future wars. The ideals of the organization were stated 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 Charter of the new United Nations organization went into effect on October 24, 1945, a date that
is celebrated each year as United Nations Day.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has inspired a number of other human rights laws and
treaties throughout the world.
By 1948, the United Nations’ new Human Rights Commission had captured the world’s attention.
Under the dynamic chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt—President Franklin Roosevelt’s widow, a human
rights champion in her own right and the United States delegate to the UN—the Commission set out to
draft the document that became the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Roosevelt, credited with
its inspiration, referred to the Declaration as the international Magna Carta for all mankind. It was
adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948.
In its preamble and in Article 1, the Declaration unequivocally proclaims the inherent rights of all
human beings: “Disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have
outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy
freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest
aspiration of the common people… All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
The Member States of the United Nations pledged to work together to promote the thirty Articles of
human rights that, for the first time in history, had been assembled and codified into a single
document. In consequence, many of these rights, in various forms, are today part of the constitutional
laws of democratic nations.

WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE -1893

After years of effort by suffrage campaigners led by Kate Sheppard, women won the right to vote in
September 1893. New Zealand became the first independent country where women could vote in
parliamentary elections.

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL -1961
In1961, British lawyer Peter Benensonwas outraged when two
Portuguese students were jailed just for raising a toast to
freedom. He wrote an article and launched a campaign that
provoked an incredible response across the world.
Benenson’scall to action sparked the idea that people everywhere
can unite in solidarity for justice and freedom.Amnesty
International was founded and is now the world’s largest human
rights organisation.

THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS –1976

This covenant is also part of the International Bill of Rights. It covers civil and political rights such as
the right to life and liberty, political participation and non-discrimination.New Zealand has many these
rights written into its Bill of Rights.
THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS -1966
This covenant is part of the International Bill of Rights, along with its equivalent on civil and political
rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It covers economic, social and cultural rights such as the right to work for fair wages, holiday and
leisure time, the protection of the family and the right to adequate food, housing and clothing.
New Zealand ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in
1978.

NEW ZEALAND BILL OF RIGHTS ACT -1990

The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (1990) sets out the rights and freedoms of anyone subject to NZ
law. It focuses on civil and political rights, such as freedom from torture, the right to vote, freedom of
movement and the right to a fair trial.
However, economic, social and cultural rights such as access to healthcare and the right to adequate
housing are not fully protected in this.

Conclusion
The human rights ideal proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ignited and has
been kept lit by great human beings.

As the advancement of the liberating power of human rights deeply depends on their being rooted in
hearts, minds and everyday life, human rights education should be of paramount concern.

The ‘mothers and fathers’ of the 1948 Universal Declaration were aware that the promotion and
protection of human rights should begin… at the beginning, i.e. with education. Human rights
education especially concerns two professional fields: Law and Education.

Human rights also guarantee people the means necessary to satisfy their basic needs, such as
food, housing, and education, so they can take full advantage of all opportunities. Finally, by
guaranteeing life, liberty, equality, and security, human rights protect people against abuse by
those who are more powerful

Human beings are, under and above all, their values and sentiments. Human rights education—
understood according to its contemporary comprehensive, holistic scope—is an ethical, civic and
international education that is crucial for contemporary societies and the survival and perfecting of
Humankind…

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