The history until The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

human-rights

 

 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:..

/www.ohchr.org/en/udhr/Pages/UDHRIndex.aspx

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
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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