3. Section 1
The first international measures for the
protection of human rights
4. 1. The abolition of slavery.
The first international texts relating to what we
should now call a human rights problem were
formulated at the beginning of the nineteenth
century.
The problem arising in this era was slavery.
Shocking as it now seems, the institution of
slavery was generally legal under national law
at the end of the eighteenth century ; it
remained legal in the United States until 1863.
5. At the turn of the century a humanitarian
movement, largely inspired by Wilberforce, sought
to prohibit it internationally. Since it was not
possible to secure the immediate liberation of
slaves in legal servitude in other countries, the first
step was to secure the abolition of the slave trade,
so as to prevent any increase in the number of
slaves. The slave trade was prohibited in the
British colonies in 1807.
The institution of slavery was also abolished in
France, and by the Treaty of Paris of 1814 the
British and French governments agreed to
cooperate in the suppression of the traffic in slaves.
This undertaking was generalized and
accompanied by a solemn condemnation of the
practice by the major European States at the
Congress of Vienna in 1815
6. There were more developments after the
Second World War. Article 4 of the Universal
Declaration reads: “No one shall be held in
slavery or servitude slavery and the slave
trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.“
7. 2. Humanitarian Law
The second development by which international law
began to be concerned with human rights - or, as some
would prefer to say, a closely related subject - was the
evolution of humanitarian law.
International humanitarian law is based in the Geneva
Conventions, and represents a set of rules that seeks
to save lives and alleviate suffering of combatants and
noncombatants during armed conflict. The goal is to
protect life and human dignity during armed conflict and
to prevent or reduce the suffering and destruction
caused by war.
The Red Cross and the red crescent have historically
played a critical role in the development of international
humanitarian law.
8. 3. The protection of minorities
The third development where by international law
came to be concerned with the rights of
individuals relates to the protection of minorities.
The arrangements for protecting the new
minorities took three main forms:
First, there were five special treaties on minorities
with the allied or newly created States.
Secondly, chapters on the rights of the minorities
within their borders were included in the peace
treaties with the ex-enemy States.
Thirdly, certain States made declarations before
the Council of the League of Nations as a condition
of their admission to the League.
9. Generally speaking, the various arrangements for the
protection of the rights of minorities provided for
equality before the law in regard to civil and political
rights, freedom of religion, the right of members of the
minorities to use their own language, and the right to
maintain their own religious and educational
establishments.
It was also usual to provide for teaching in the
language of the minority in State schools in districts
where the minority constituted a considerable
proportion of the population.
Moreover, it was recognized that these various
provisions protecting the rights of minorities
constituted “obligations of international concern”,
which were placed under the guarantee of the League
of Nations and could not be modified without the
consent of the Council of the League.
10. Section2
The International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly .
It commits its parties to respect the civil and political rights of
individuals, including the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of
speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights and rights to due process
and a fair trial. As of December 2010, the Covenant had 72 signatories and
167 parties [
The ICCPR is part of the International Bill of Human Rights, along with
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The ICCPR is monitored by the Human Rights Committee (a separate
body to the Human Rights Council, which reviews regular reports of
States parties on how the rights are being implemented. States must
report initially one year after acceding to the Covenant and then
whenever the Committee requests (usually every four years). The
Committee meets in Geneva or New York and normally holds three sessions per year
11. 1-The charter
As it is well known, the Charter of the United
Nations contains a number of references to the
promotion of human rights.
The first is in the Preamble, which reads:
"We the peoples of the United Nations,
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 . . .have
resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish
these aims."
12. Then, among the purposes of the United Nations set out in Article
I , is “to co-operate. . . in promoting respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all”.
The most important provisions’ are probably those contained in
Articles 55 and 56 of the Charter.
Article 55 provides that the United Nations shall promote
“universal respect for, all without distinction as to race, sex,
language or religion”; while in Article 56 “all members pledge
themselves to take joint and separate action in co-operation with
the Organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in
Article 55”.
Other references in the Charter are in Article 13, which authorizes
the general assembly to make studies and recommendations about
human rights, Article 62, which contains a somewhat similar
provision relating to the economic and social council, article 68 ,
which requires the council to set up a commissions in the
economic and social fields and for the promotion of human rights
and article 76 , which makes the promotion of human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all ,one of the basic objectives of the
trusteeship system.
13. •
2- the protection of
rights in the covenant
Part III of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights sets out the
rights which the Covenant is designed to protect. They are as
follows:
article 6 – the right to life
7- Freedom from torture and inhuman treatment.
8- Freedom from slavery and forced labor
9- The right to liberty and security.
10- The right of detained persons to be treated with humanity.
11- Freedom from imprisonment for debt.
12- Freedom of movement and of choice of residence.
13- Freedom of aliens from arbitrary expulsion.
14- The right to a fair trial.
15- Protection against retroactivity of the criminal law.
16- The right to recognition as a person before the law.
17- The right to privacy.
18- Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
14. 19- Freedom of opinion and of expression.
20- Prohibition of propaganda for war and of
incitement to national, racial or religious hatred.
21- The right of assembly.
22- Freedom of association.
23- The right to marry and found a family.
24- The right of the child.
25- political rights.
26- Equality before the law.
27- The rights of minorities.
This is an extensive list.
The number of rights Included is greater than in
the Universal Declaration or the European
Convention.
15. It may be observed that the rights set out in the
Covenant are generally defined in greater detail and
include the following which were not contained in the
Universal Declaration of human rights:
10- The right of detained persons to be treated with
humanity.
11- Freedom from imprisonment for debt.
20- Prohibition of propaganda for war and of
incitement to national, racial or religious hatred.
24- The right of the child.
27- The rights of minorities
On the other hand , the right of property , which was
included in article 17 of the universal declaration ,is not
included in either covenant .
This was it proved impossible to reach agreement
between countries of widely different political
philosophies on a definition of this right.
