HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS PDF

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CHAPTER I HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS INTRODUCTION Human rights, are the rights that belong to an individual or group of individuals simply for being human, or as a consequence of inherent human vulnerability, or because they are requisite to the possibility of a just society. Whatever thei...

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CHAPTER I HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

INTRODUCTION Human rights, are the rights that belong to an individual or group of individuals simply for being human, or as a consequence of inherent human vulnerability, or because they are requisite to the possibility of a just society. Whatever their theoretical justification, human rights refer to a wide continuum of values or capabilities thought to enhance human agency or protect human interests and declared to be universal in character, in some sense equally claimed for all human beings, present and future. It is a common observation that human beings everywhere require the realization of diverse values or capabilities to ensure their individual and collective well-being. It also is a common observation that this requirement—whether conceived or expressed as a moral or a legal demand—is often painfully frustrated by social as well as natural forces, resulting in exploitation, oppression, persecution, and other forms of deprivation. Deeply rooted in these twin observations are the beginnings of what today are called “human rights” and the national and international legal processes associated with them.

In this chapter I mainly discussing about the evolution of human rights in each and every period of time in the world. In the first topic I like to discuss about the historical evidence of human rights in the world wide view. Under this topic we can see the human rights in the ancient period, from the different civilizations whole over the world. Egypt, Romans, Anglo Indian etc. then it goes to the classical period and then to the medieval period and sown. Next sub heading is that human rights after 1945. In 1945 we know that coming up of United Nations Organisation. After this sub title we see the evolution of human rights in Indian context. Here we see through the Hindu and Islamic ancient law about human rights. Then we discussed about the human rights development in the time of British rule, and after the independence and so own.

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1.1. EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE WORLD. The emergence of rights in political thought is generally regarded as relatively recent, though any historical study of rights reveals how indeterminate the philosophical charting of the evolution of rights has been (Renteln, 1988). Human rights are considered the offspring of natural rights, which themselves evolved from the concept of natural law. Natural law, which has played a dominant role in Western political theory for centuries, is that standard of higher-order morality against which all other laws are adjudged. To contest the injustice of human-made law, one was to appeal to the greater authority of God or natural law. 1.1.1. Human Rights in Ancient Period. Human Rights are not a modern phenomenon. It is the result of a long process of evolution. E.S. Venkataramaiah is of the opinion that the Concept of human rights is very much the product of history and human civilization, and as such is subject to evolution and change. The concept of human Rights is found in all cultures but in diverse forms.1 At all times and in all ages, right from the beginning there was oppression of human beings by human beings leading to struggles, revolutions for restoration and protection of Human Rights. In history and ancient scriptures there are references to the basic human rights.

In ancient Egypt one of the pharaohs gave instructions to his vazirs to the effect that "when a prisoner arrives, make sure that all is done according to the law, that custom is observed and the right of each man respected". The code of Hammurabi stipulated that the mission of the king is to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak....and to promote the good of the people”.2

E.S. Venkataramaiah. Confronting Capital Punishment in Asia. Bombay: Paul’s Publication, 2008. 32. 2 Veena Pani Pandey, International Perspectives on Human Rights. Westport: London, Praeger Publications, 2005. 10. 1

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The Romans gave utmost importance to law, but all were not considered equal before law. In their view the women and slaves were inferior in status and also did not have had equal rights with men or with their master. The king shall provide the orphan, the aged, the infirm, the afflicted and helpless with maintenance; he shall also provide subsistence to the helpless, expectant mothers and also the children they give birth to”.3 Besides the Graeco-Roman view on human rights, the Judaeo-Christian perspective made a greater contribution to it. As God is the creator of all, everyone has to be treated equally. The basic thinking emerged from the understanding that "man is made in the image and likeness of God"4 that everyone is created in the same dignity and status. The book of Proverbs, Isaiah and Jeremiah speak of the rights of 'the afflicted, the destitute, the poor, the innocent and the needy.5

The liberal tradition of human rights was developed primarily in the West. In Medieval Europe rights were the prerogatives of only special groups of people like the feudal lords, barons, slave owners etc. The common people had no rights whatsoever and were dependent on the whims and fancies of their masters. People with power rarely acknowledged the rights of those without power. Throughout history people who suffered from oppression and discrimination had to struggle hard to achieve their rights 6. However such struggles paved the way for the evolution of Human Rights evolution of human rights and also helped in enlarging the scope of rights.

The Anglo-Saxon contribution to human rights is noticeable. Recognition to individual freedom emerged from the contracts between rulers and feudal lords. For instance, the contract made by King Alphonso IX in 1088 with the feudal assembly of the kingdom of Leon included series of rights: the right of the accused to a regular trial and the right to 3

O. P. Dhiman, Understanding Human Rights in India. Jaipur: Rawat Publications, 2002. 38. Genesis 1.26. NRSV 5 M. Stephen. Human Rights Concepts and Perspectives. Westport: London, Praeger Publications, 2012. 12. 6 Training workshop, Manual for Teachers of Human Rights Education. 1. 4

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the inviobility of life, honor, home and property. The most famous of such contracts was that exacted by the feudal barons from King John, commonly known as the Magna Carta or Great Charter of 1215. This feudal document conceded personal and political liberty to the barons in return for their obedience to the king.7

Even though it did not affirm the rights and liberties of all, yet it gave expression to the idea of individual freedom and became the symbol of the same for centuries to come. Clause 39 of the Charter stated: 'No free man shall be taken or imprisoned ..., or exiled or in any way destroyed ... except by the lawful judgment of his peers or (and) the law of the land". During the Renaissance due to the efforts of the Humanists and in the 17th century, the popular view that human beings are endowed with certain eternal and inalienable rights gained currency. The liberal philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Rousseau etc. inaugurated a new chapter in the history of human rights by extending the concept of human rights to all classes of people. They spoke about the natural rights of man smell as right to life, liberty and property, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression etc. The English Bill of Rights, 1689 enforced the rule of law, through a freely and frequently elected parliament.8 It listed 'the true ancient and indubitable rights and liberties of the people like the right to election, right to speech, right to trial by a jury and freedom from unusual cruel punishment.

`Right of Man' became the slogan of the revolutionaries worldwide in the 18" and 19"' centuries. Thomas Jefferson, author of the American Declaration men are Independence on July 4", 1776 proclaimed that “All are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". Rousseau, the French philosopher noted in 'Social Contract' "Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains".9 The Marquis de Lafayette in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen insisted that "Men are born and remain free and equal in 7

Stephen. Human Rights Concepts and Perspectives.13. Adaikkalam Subbian. Human Rights, Philosophy, Promotion, and Protective’s. Bombay: Paul’s Publication, 2002. 45. 9 William Ebenstein, Great Political Thinkers. 441.

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rights...and defined liberty so as to include the right to free speech, thought and expression, freedom of association, religions freedom and freedom from arbitrary arrest and confinement".

The idea of rights continued to inspire the people in the 19th century known as the 'Age of Nationalism and Liberalism'. The abolition of slavery, factory legislations, popular education, trade unionism, the universal suffrage movement and other examples of the 19th century reformist zeal afford ample evidence to the influence of the concept of human rights. It was only after World War I (1914 -1918) that institutional form was given to human rights. The major trends in the 20th century like the establishment of the League of Nations established at the end of the I World War attempted to protect human rights between 1919 and 1939, encompassing primarily minority rights, labour rights and rights of individuals in mandated territories10. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 changed the world's perspective. The Nazi experience and the Holocaust revealed the horror that could result in a system where the individual counted for nothing and brought home the realization that human beings are entitled to simple respect at least 11. It was only after the establishment of the United Nations Organization in 1945 that human rights became one of the central pre-occupations of international relations. 1.1.2. Human Rights After 1945 The founding members of the United Nations Organization pledged to take joint and separate action for the achievement of "Universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion". Support for a strong human rights commitment came mainly from smaller countries in Latin America, the West and the Third world, where the de-colonization movement created many new member states of the UN. The Preamble to the UN Charter declares that one of the chief aims of the organization is "to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men 10 11

Adaikkalam Subbian, Human Rights, Philosophy, Promotion, and Protectives.48-49. ABA Journal, "Lawyers' Role in Human Rights". 1.

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and women and of nationals large and small". Article 1states that one of the principal purposes of the United Nations is 'to achieve international co-operation..., in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all12... Article 68 required Economic and Social Council to set up commissions for the promotion of human rights and on this basis the Council set up the Human Rights Commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The General Assembly adopted the declaration on 10th December 1948 with forty-eight states voting for none against and eight abstaining which are six communist states, Saudi, Arabia and South Africa13. The UDHR has been called the Bill of Rights for the world. The Declaration consists of a preamble and 30 articles under which "the human rights and fundamental freedoms, to which all men and women everywhere in the world are entitled, without any discrimination" are enumerated.

The declaration has a certain western bias in its emphasis on rights rather than duties, on individual rather than collective rights, on civil and political rather than economic, social and cultural rights. The declaration was a historic document. Before the II World War there was almost no international law of human rights. There are now approximately 200 international legal human rights instruments of which sixty five acknowledge the universal declaration as a source of authority. Subsequently the General Assembly declared 1968 as the International year of Human Rights. The Declaration paved the way for the conclusion of specific human rights treaties on genocide, civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, slavery and forced labour, racial discrimination, rights of refugees, rights of women, torture, and rights of children14.

The UDHR had no provision for it implementation. The UN was committed to both state sovereignty and human rights. It could not decide what was to be done if sovereign states 12

Adil-ul-Yasin, Archana Upadhyay. Human Rights, p.43 Michael Freeman, Human Rights. 35. 14 Michael Freeman, Human Rights. 36 13

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violated human rights because virtually all governments said that the declaration was not legally binding. Hence from 1948 until the late 1960s the ability of the UN or the international community to take effective action to protect human rights was extremely limited. During that period the two main cold war adversaries, the USA and the USSR, directly or indirectly participated in the gross violation of human rights. New initiatives to implement human rights were taken in the 1970s in the foreign policy of certain states. In the USA President Jimmy Carter introduced human rights into his foreign policy in 1977. Human rights NGO's also were making an increasing impact. Amnesty International for example was awarded the Noble Peace Prize. In 1977 the human rights group 'Charter 77' was set up in Czechoslovakia15. The human rights NGO's eventually played a vital role in the dismantling of the communist system in Eastern Europe.

In the 1980s and early 1990s the theme of 'cultural relativism' became more prominent in UN debates about human rights. In 1984 the Islamic Republic of Iran proposed that certain concepts in the Universal Declaration should be revised as they were contrary to Islam. Following this in the UN World Conference on Human Rights that was held in Vienna in 1993, there was much talk of a conflict between 'Asian values' and human rights. However the final declaration ultimately reaffirmed the universality of human rights but conceded that the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must also be taken into consideration in the implementation of human rights. The conference also emphasized the special vulnerability of certain groups such as women, children, minorities, indigenous, populations, handicapped persons, migrant workers and refugees and opened the way for the appointment of a High Commissioner for Human Rights.16

The UDHR call to every individual and every institution of society to promote respect for human rights was given an institutional framework with the proclamation of the UN Decade for Human Rights Education 1995-2004. The proclamation resulted in the 15 16

Michael Freeman, Human Rights. 46-47. Michael Freeman, Human Rights. 49-51

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drafting of the International Plan of Action for the Decade. Mary Robinson, the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said "the plan focused on stimulating and supporting national and local activities and initiatives and is built upon the idea of partnership

between

governments,

international

organizations,

non-government

organizations, professional associations, individual and large segments of civil society. It also reaffirmed that education in and for human rights are a right in itself that is the right of all to learn about the rights and dignity of all and about means to ensure their respect. 17 1.2. EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA Since the days of the lndus Valley Civilization, Indian culture has been the product of a synthesis of diverse cultures and religions that came into contact with the enormous Indian sub continent over a very long stretch of time. As Jawaharlal Nehru notes, there is "an unbroken continuity between the most modern and the most ancient phases of Hindu thought extending over three thousand years."18 The rights of man have been the concern of all civilizations from time immemorial. "The concept of the rights of man and other fundamental rights was not unknown to the people of earlier periods."'19 The Babylonian Laws and the Assyrian laws in the Middle East, the "Dharma" of the Vedic period in India and the jurisprudence of Lao-Tze and Confucius in China, have championed human rights throughout the history of human civilization.

The Indian concept perceives the individual, the society and the universe as an organic whole. Everyone is a child of God and all fellow beings are related to one another and belong to a universal family. In this context, Mahatma Gandhi remarks, "I do not want to think in terms of the whole world. My patriotism includes the good of mankind in general. Therefore my service to India includes the services of humanity."20

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Digumarti Bhaskara Rao. UN Decade for Human Rights Education. 66. Jawaharlar Nehru. The Discovery of lndia. 88. 19 Attar Chand, Politics of Human Rights and Civil Liberties. Delhi: UDH Publishers, 1985. p45. 20 Jawaharlal Nehru. The Discovery of lndia. 420 18

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1.2.1. Origin and Development of Human Rights in India The Buddhist doctrine of non-violence in deed and thought says Nagendra Singh: "is a humanitarian doctrine par excellence, dating back to the third century B.C.”21 Jainism too contained similar doctrines. According to the Gita, "he who has no ill will to any being, who is friendly and compassionate, who is free from egoism and self sense and who is even-minded in pain and pleasure and patient" is dear to God. It also says that divinity in humans is represented by the virtues of non-violence, truth, freedom from anger, renunciation, and aversion to fault-finding, compassion to living being, freedom from covetousness, gentleness, modesty and steadiness-the qualities that a good human being ought to have.22 The historical account of ancient Bharat proves beyond doubt that human rights were as muck manifest in the ancient Hindu and Islamic civilizations as in the European Christian civilizations. Ashoka, the prophet Mohammed and Akbar cannot be excluded from the geneology of human rights.23 1.2.1.1. Ancient Hindu Law of Human Rights. Scholars who have spent long time in lucubration on the Hindu "Dharmasastras" and the "Arthasastras" and other legal treatises of the past have discovered an amazing system, which, interalia, regulates the duties of Kings, judges, subjects and judicial as well as legal procedures. The central concept is Dharma, the functional focus of which is social order. The message is "Dharma" as the supreme value, which binds kings and citizens, men and women. Human rights gain meaning only when there is an independent judiciary to enforce rights. Here, the Dharmasastras are clear and categoric.24

The independence of the judiciary was one of the outstanding features of the Hindu judicial system. Even during the days of Hindu monarchy, the administration of justice

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Nagendra Singh, Enfor-ement of Human Rights. Calcutta: Eastern Law House Pvt. Ltd, 1986. p

7. 22

S. Radhakrishnan (trans.) The Bhagavadgita. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1958. p 276. Yogesh K. Tyagi, "Third World Response to Human Rights," Indian Journal of International Law, Vol .21, No.1 (January -March 1981): 120-121. 24 V.R. Krisha lyer, The Dialectics and Dynamics of Human Rights in India: Yesterday Today and Tomorrow, Tagore Law Lectures (New Delhi: Eastern Law House, 1999) 115.

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