HISTORY OF

HUMAN RIGHTS
Originally, people had rights only because of their membership in a group,
such as a family. Then, in 539 BC, Cyrus the Great, after conquering the
city of Babylon, did something totally unexpected—he freed all slaves to
return home. Moreover, he declared people should choose their own
religion. The Cyrus Cylinder, a clay tablet containing his statements, is the
first human rights declaration in history.
The idea of human rights spread quickly to India, Greece and eventually
Rome. The most important advances since then have included:
1215: The Magna Carta—gave people new rights and made the king
subject to the law.
1628: The Petition of Right—set out the rights of the people.
1776: The United States Declaration of Independence—proclaimed
the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
1789: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen—a
document of France, stating that all citizens are equal under the law.
1948: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights—the first
document listing the 30 rights to which everyone is entitled.
Historical Development of Human Rights

International law traditionally governs the relations between sovereign

states and has therefore, not been considered responsible for regulating
the relations between states and their citizens or those among citizens.
The latter are part of the individual states sovereignty and, as such, are
governed by national law (constitutional, administrative, penal and civil
law). It is only since the Second World War, especially in reaction to the
atrocities of National Socialism, that international law has come to
regulate the rights of individuals in relation to their governments although
many states still refuse to surrender their traditional part of their national
sovereignty to international law. That is why the development of the
international protection of human rights is an ongoing battle against
national sovereignty.
Up until the Second World War, international law was not responsible for
the rights of individuals unless the interests of more than one state were
concerned. This was true in particular in the case of foreigners for whom
the state they are citizens of, has protection power vis-à-vis the state that
exercises defacto power.

The protection of minorities is a further historical antecedent of

international human rights protection, which is also closely related to the
protection power of national states. Ethnic, linguistic and religious
minorities traditionally developed as new borders were drawn between
states in the aftermath of wars. The protection of minorities is also closely
linked to the peoples' right of self determination. In the case of the former
colonies of the Axis powers, the right of self determination supported by
the League of Nations mandates system and the United Nations
trusteeship system, eventually led to their independence.

In addition to bringing an end to the First World War and introducing

provisions for the protection of minorities, the Peace Treaty of Versailles
also created two international organizations which proved to be important
for the development of protection of human rights: the League of Nations
as predecessor of the United Nations, and the International Labour Office
as predecessor of the International Labour Organization, which today is
one of the most effective specialized agencies of the United Nations for
the protection of economic, social and cultural rights today.

We will finalize the discussion of this section by discussing the

International Bill of Human Rights which has been described as a
milestone in the history of human rights, a veritable Magna Carta marking
mankind’s' arrival at a vitally important phase: the conscious acquisition
of human dignity and worth . Since its inception, the United Nations has
strived to secure the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide.
The first, and possibly the singularly most important, step taken by the
United Nations in furtherance of the incumbent obligation to promote
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms was the General
Assembly's adoption on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. Although not technically binding, the effect of the
Universal Declaration has far surpassed the expectations of the drafters
and it is widely accepted as the consensus of global opinion on
fundamental rights. The original intention that it would be followed swiftly
by a binding enforceable tabulation of rights was not to be realized; it was
to be eighteen years before consensus was reached on the text of the
International Covenants and a further ten years before the instruments
attracted sufficient ratifications to enter in to force.

The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and two Optional Protocols annexed there to and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It has
been referred to by the United Nations as the ethical and legal basis for all
the human rights work of the United Nations, the foundation up on which
the international system for the protection and promotion of human rights
has been developed.

Before and after the adoption of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic Social and
Cultural Rights, the United Nations and its specialized agencies helped to
formulate a number of other multilateral treaties which sought to
implement specific rights or groups of related rights. These supplement
the protection afforded by the covenants and several of them contain
implementation procedures of their own. Among the human rights treaties
elaborated by, or under the auspices of, the United Nations are:

a) The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of

Genocide

b) Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the

Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others.

c) Convention Relating to the Status of Refugee as Amended by the

Protocol of 1966.

d) Convention on the Political Rights of Women.

e) Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons.

f) Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade,

and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery.

g) Convention on the Nationality of Married Women.

h) Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

i) Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and

Registration of Marriages.

j) International Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial

Discrimination.

k) Convention on the Non Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War

Crimes and Crimes against Humanity.

l) International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the

Crime of Apartheid

m) Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against

Women.

n) Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading

Treatment or Punishment.

o) International Convention against Apartheid in Sports.

p) Convention on the Rights of the Child.

q) International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant

Workers and Members of their Families

In addition to these international human rights developments, there are

also others which grew up as body of regional human rights law. This
regional development will be discussed in section

The United Nations Human Rights System

The human rights provisions of the United Nations Charter have been
described as scattered, terse, and cryptic. No comprehensive system for
protecting human rights was enshrined in the charter. Rather, the goal of
securing respect for human rights was specified with state pledging to
encourage the promotion and observance of rights with in their territories.
There was no real definition or articulation of human rights although
reference was made to the concept of equality and the notion of the
dignity and worth of the human person. It is unlikely that the drafters of
the original Charter could have foreseen the development of international
human rights law to its present form based on the Charter’s references.

From the outset, the United Nations has placed great emphasis on the
promotion of economic and social progress and development of all states.
This has positive repercussions for international human rights, including
political and economic stability, conditions more conducive to the
realization of human rights.

The failure of national laws to protect citizens had been cruelly

demonstrated, the responsibility thus lay with the global community, the
new United Nations Organization. As the League of Nations had failed in
its attempts to protect minorities from the states in which they find
themselves, the new organization sought to approach the question of
human rights from a different angle adopting the concept of equality for
all in place of the idea of protection of minorities. The new organization
was anxious to avoid the problems associated with minorities which has
beset its predecessor, ultimately leading to its collapse. The United
Nations system is based on a fundamental and irrevocable belief in the
dignity and worth of each and every individual. Realization of this should
ipso facto obviate the need for minority protection; every individual is
entitled to the same fundamental rights and freedoms.

Having pledged to promote universal observance of and respect for

human rights, the United Nations required an institutional framework to
exercise responsibility thereof. Accordingly, Chapter IX of the Charter,
International Economic and Social Cooperation, elaborates on the
economic and social foundations of peace. Article 55 of the Charter aims
at creating conditions of stability and well being which are necessary for
peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the
principle of equal rights and self determination of peoples … in
furtherance thereof, the Charter then lists economic and social aims which
the United Nations shall promote without distinction as to race sex,
language or religion (Art 53(31)). Article 61 of the Charter created the
Economic and Social Council. One of the functions of this body is making
recommendations for the purpose of promoting respect for, and
observance of , human rights and fundamental freedoms for all (Art
62/21) . To assist in this task, Economic and Social Council was to
establish a commission for the protection of human rights. This
commission has been supplemented by a number of other bodies. Today
there is a comprehensive body of institutions, organs and committees
which over see the implementation and realization of human rights at the
international level. Six Committees, created by the principal human rights
treaties, monitor the implementation of each treaty. These treaty
monitoring bodies are the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the Human Rights Committee, the Committee against Torture, the
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and the Committee on
the Rights of the Child. These Committees work with and report through
the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly of the United
Nations.

This new international organization very quickly established itself as a

body which would actively fulfill its commitment under Article 55 of the
Charter, promoting universal respect for, and observance of, human rights
and fundamental freedoms. Progress in this area has been achieved in a
number of ways: drafting Conventions and resolutions; applying political
pressure to states; preparing and disseminating relevant information; and
internationally condemning serious human rights violations.

Introduction to Regional human rights systems with particular reference to

Africa

Parallel with the United Nations human rights systems, regional human
rights systems have developed. In this section we are going to see these
regional human rights developments.

There are three main regional systems that aim to protect and promote
human rights: the Council of Europe; the Organization of American States,
and the African Union. Of these, Europe has the oldest and most
developed system with an established judicial mechanism for determining
complaints brought by individuals. Like the United Nations, the Council of
Europe was founded in the turbulent period after the cessation of
hostilities in the Second World War.
Human rights were high on the agenda of the new organization. The
founding states drew up a convention on human rights and fundamental
freedoms which was opened for signature on 4 November 1950, entering
in to force in September 1953. All member states of the Council have
signed and ratified it. The drafters sought to provide a mechanism for
realizing civil and political rights and freedoms as proclaimed in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and

Fundamental Freedoms is the prime instrument on human rights with in
Europe. The rights enshrined therein are essentially drawn from the first
half of the Universal Declaration. They are the right to life, freedom from
torture and other inhuman , or degrading treatment or punishment,
freedom from slavery and forced or compulsory labour, right to liberty and
security of person, right to a fair trial, prohibition on retroactive penal
legislation, right to private and family life, home and correspondence,
freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression,
freedom of association and assembly, right to marry and found a family ,
right to an effective remedy for a violation of the rights and freedom from
discrimination in respect of the specific rights and freedoms. With a focus
primary on civil and political rights, the Convention did not greatly expand
the Universal Declaration. It did provide considerably more detail on many
of the rights and, of course, it articulated a binding legal framework to
ensure the realization of those rights.

When we come to the American system, the Americans host one major
regional organization with a significant impact on human rights- the
Organization of American States. The Organization of American States
(OAS) was established in 1948 at the ninth inter American Conference
(Bogota, Colombia).

The Bogota Conference adopted the American Declaration on Rights and

Duties of Man. This Declaration is similar to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. The rights included encompass civil and political (life,
liberty, religious freedom, inviolability of home and correspondence, fair
trial) as well as economic, social, and cultural rights (benefit of culture,
leisure time, work, social security). However, it also sets out a number of
duties incumbent up on the American citizens. The duties are varied
ranging from civil and military service through the support, education, and
protection of minor children to a duty to pay taxes.
The American Convention on Human Rights was signed in 1969 and
entered in to force in 1978. The Convention restricts itself to a detailed
tabulation of civil and political rights. Economic social and cultural rights
are covered in a single Article (Art. 26) which cross refers to the charter of
the OAS as amended by the Protocol of Buenos Aires. On this matter, it
should be noted that in 1988, the OAS adopted an additional protocol in
the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Convention itself
establishes the machinery to be employed in protecting the rights of all
Americans. The OAS has also expanded the scope of its human rights
protection with a number of further conventions.

Now let’s focus on the African system. The youngest developed regional
system is to be found in Africa. The African Union, formerly the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) has played a prominent role in
developing an African jurisprudence on human rights. The African system
is in some ways considerably less developed than its American and
European counterparts yet perhaps its greatest success lies on its very
existence. It is the youngest system of the fully fledged (i.e. monitored
and implemented) regional systems for the protection and promotion of
human rights. Human rights were not the sole priority when the Charter
was drafted although the OAU Charter provides that the constituent states
will coordinate and intensify their collaboration and efforts to achieve a
better life for the peoples of Africa. The OAU Charter also stipulates that
freedom, equality, justice and dignity are essential objectives for the
achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples,
acknowledging both the United Nations Charter and the Universal
Declaration of Human rights in passing (Art II (1) (el).

In 1981, the OAU adopted the African Charter Human and People's Rights.
It was designed to reflect African concepts of rights and thus is distinctive
in its phraseology and underlying rationale. In 1998, a protocol to the
charter was agreed - the Protocol on the Establishment of an African Court
on Human and Peoples Rights.

The Charter (often referred to as the Banjul Charter) entered in to force in

1986. It enshrines the African concept of rights and aims to be accessible
to African philosophy: it is striking among international and regional
instruments in its emphasis on human and peoples' rights and its
cataloguing of the duties the individual /group to the state. A further
notable feature is that, unlike other international and regional
instruments, states are not permitted to derogate from the articles of the
Charter. The rights and duties thus apply during times of public
emergency.

In addition to the Banjul Charter, the African system has also adopted
other human rights instrument. The OAU Convention Governing the
Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (1969) is one of these. With
civil unrest, authoritarian rule, inter- faction fighting and natural disasters
common place in African Society, there is a frequent displacement of
peoples, whether to avoid hostilities or escape famine. Refugees are a
major problem in some areas. It is thus perhaps inevitable that Africa
should read the way in drafting an instrument aimed solely at regulating
refugees. Many of the provisions in the convention reflect those of the
United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951).

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1950) is the
other instrument. This instrument entered in to force in 1999. In many
respects, it reflects the scope and popularity of the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child. It recognizes that children in Africa
need special support and assistance. 'The situation of most African
children remains critical due to the unique factors of their socio -
economic, cultural, traditional and developmental circumstances, natural
disasters, armed conflicts , exploitation and hunger.’’ (Preamble). The
rights of children are considered to impose duties on every one. Many of
the provisions are similar to those included in the United Nation
Convention, though in Africa the rights extend to all those below the age
of eighteen without exception.

A draft Protocol on Women's Rights has been adopted by the Commission

on Human Rights. The draft seeks to respond to the Beijing principles (UN)
and plan of action. The Protocol, if and when adopted, will most probably
be part of the existing human rights machinery.

Before concluding our discussion on the African human rights system it is

important to briefly discuss the institutional framework. The African
Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, a body of eleven independent
experts, was created in 1987. The functions of the Commission include the
promotion of human rights through collecting documents, undertaking
studies on African problems in the field of human and peoples' rights,
dissemination of information, organization of symposia, formulation of
principles and rules aimed at solving legal problems relating to rights and
freedoms, and cooperating with other African and international institutions
concerned with the promotion and protection of human and peoples'
rights, the protection of human rights in accordance with the Charter, and
the interpretation of the Charter (Art 45) .

The other important institution is the African Court on Human and People's
Rights. The Protocol to the African Charter on the Establishment of the
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (1997) seeks to create a
court which will complement and reinforce the work of the Commission in
furtherance of the protection of human and people's rights as enshrined in
the Charter (preamble).