All of my remaining realisable assets are to be disbursed as follows: the capital, converted to safe securities by my executors, is to constitute a fund, the interest on which is to be distributed annually as prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The interest is to be divided into five equal parts and distributed as follows: one part to the person who made the most important discovery or invention in the field of physics; one part to the person who made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine;one part to the person who, in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction; and one part to the person who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses. The prizes for physics and chemistry are to be awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences; that for physiological or medical achievements by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm; that for literature by the Academy in Stockholm; and that for champions of peace by a committee of five persons to be selected by the Norwegian Storting. It is my express wish that when awarding the prizes, no consideration be given to nationality, but that the prize be awarded to the worthiest person, whether or not they are Scandinavian.
Paris, 27 November, 1895
Alfred Bernhard Nobel On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace – the Nobel Prizes. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
The Nobel Prize amount
Alfred Nobel left most of his estate, more than SEK 31 million (today approximately SEK 1,702 million) to be converted into a fund and invested in “safe securities.” The income from the investments was to be “distributed annually in the form of prizes to those who during the preceding year have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind.”
The Nobel Prize amount for 2018 was set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 9.0 million per full Nobel Prize.
Literary mastery, pioneering science, life-saving discoveries and actions for peace and human rights - achievements of women around the world awarded the Nobel Prize.
Mahatma Gandhi, one of the strongest symbols of non-violence in the 20th century, was nominated in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and, finally, shortly before he was assassinated in January 1948. Although Gandhi was not awarded the Prize (a posthumous award is not allowed by the statutes), the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to make no award that year on the grounds that “there was no suitable living candidate”.
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.
Contemporary
international human rights law and the establishment of the United Nations (UN)
have important historical antecedents(=things that happened before).
Efforts in the
19th century to prohibit (=stop) the slave trade and to limit the horrors of war are
prime examples.
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.
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
The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights.
Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds
from all regions of the world, it set out, for the first time,
fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
How has it
changed the world as we know it?
In 1948 the
Declaration was signed to prevent the horrors of WWII from re-occurring. .
The Declaration was adopted by the UN General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 during its 183rd plenary meeting:..
Now 198 countries allow women to
vote, compared to 91 in 1948, 57 per cent of countries have a human rights
institution and 111 countries have adopted press freedom laws
AND FROM THERE ON..............................................
1951
The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees ('The Refugee Convention') is
adopted and opened for signature. It defines who a refugee is and what the
rights and legal obligations of states are in relation to them
1965
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination (CERD) is adopted and opened for
signature. It is introduced to eliminate racial discrimination and promote
understanding among all races
1966
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) are
adopted and opened for signature
1979
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) is adopted and opened for signature. It is introduced to
prevent discrimination against, and to promote the rights of, women
1984
In Australia, the Sex Discrimination Act comes into force
1984
The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment is adopted and opened for signature.
1986
In Australia, the Human Rights Commission Act is enacted, which establishes a
national human rights commission, today known as the Australian Human Rights
Commission
1989
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is adopted
and opened for signature
1992
In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act comes into
force
2004
In Australia, the Age Discrimination Act comes into
force
2006 - 2007
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is
adopted (2006) and opened for signature (2007)
2007
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is adopted
by the United Nations in 2007, and the Australian Government announced its
support for the Declaration in 2009.
2011
The United Nation adopts the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights
Education and Training
