By: Khalid Zia
Once a wise man said that human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. Every step towards the goal of justice and progress requires suffering, struggle, sacrifice; passionate concern, and tireless exertion. The same can be said about human rights and their evolution. Today, multiple conventions, institutions, and the domestic statutes for human rights owe their existence to the struggles spanning over centuries. An excursion into the historical evolution of human rights may help us to reflect on some key achievements of human civilization particularly in the sphere of human rights. However, it does not mean that human beings have fully realized the true essence of humanity. Still, a lot remains to be done but the evolution to date is worth reflecting.
In 539 BC the first king of ancient Persia named Cyrus conquered the city of Babylon. He did not commit atrocities after he had conquered the city. This was unusual and contrary to the common practices of that time. He freed the slaves, gave people the right to choose their religion, and established racial equality. These decrees were found recorded on a clay cylinder in the Akkadian language. The “Cyrus Cylinder” an ancient record has now been reorganized as the world’s first charter of human rights. It was translated into all six official languages of the UN and its provisions parallel the first four articles of the UDHR. From Babylon, the idea of human rights spread quickly to India, Greece, and eventually Rome. There, in Rome, the concept of natural law arose in observation of the fact that people tended to follow certain unwritten laws in the course of life, and Roman law was based on rational ideas derived from the nature of things.
Magna Carta was the next important event that served as a precursor to future developments in human rights. Magna Carta is also known as the grand treaty was signed when King John of England was forced to yield some powers to his subjects. It was a crucial point in the struggle to establish freedom. Nearly four centuries after the Magna Carta “Petition of rights” a statement of civil liberties was sent to Charles I. Petition of rights asserted the following principles. (a) No subject be imprisoned without cause(Right to Habeas Corpus) (b) No soldier be quartered on citizenry (c)No implementation of Martial law in peacetime. Subsequently, the US declaration of independence was the next key event that furthered the concept of human rights. The US declaration of independence consisted of two main themes. One was the individual rights and the other was the right to revolution. It also influenced the French revolution. Following the Independence of the US, the bill of rights was introduced in 1791 which provided for the protection of the rights of the citizens, residents, and visitors in American territory. Moreover, it offered freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of assembly. Before the declaration of rights “French Declaration of the Rights of man and the Citizens” was adopted in 1789. It set the tone for freedom from oppression and expression of the general will. It is pertinent to mention here that this journey was not an easy one. Each of these developments had to face great trials and tribulations. In those times the Church and Monarchy nexus posed the greatest challenge for the forces of reason and human rights. The march of History continued. In 1864 the first Geneva conference was held for the adoption of convention related to the treatment of the wounded soldiers in combat. Red Cross was also established. The main principles laid down in the first Geneva convention were maintained and extended by the later Geneva conventions. These conventions provided certain rights for the care of wounded and sick military personnel.
The twentieth century witnessed two horrendous events named World War I, and World War II. These wars truly set the trajectory of human rights for the years that followed these two wars. League of Nations was established after World War I.It sought to prevent war through disarmament, collective security, and peaceful settlement of disputes.ILO was also founded under the league of nations to advance social and economic justice to regulate international labor standards. Owing to the differences between great powers League of Nations failed. This was one of the factors that led to World War II. The unprecedented scourge unleashed by World War II led to the establishment of the UN. Under the UN Human Rights Commission was founded which later on drafted UDHR(Universal Declaration of Human Rights) also known as international Magna Carta. It is one of the revolutionary documents in the history of human rights. It has inspired several other human rights laws and treaties all over the world. Thirty articles related to human rights were codified in a single document for the first time in human history. The UN pledged to work together to promote these laws. As a result, these laws were made part of the constitutions of many democratic states. Down the twentieth century, several other important conventions on human rights were enacted and ratified by several states. These include ICESCR, ICCPR, and CEDAW. Several regional commissions of human rights were also established after 1950.
The historical journey of the evolution of human rights has never been easy. It took revolutions, blood, unprecedented wars, and the long struggle against totalitarian oppression to get the above-mentioned documents and statutes codified. In practice, there remains a lot of unaccomplished work. Poverty, economic injustice, political oppression, and conflicts still exist in many parts of the world. Leaders of the world should put more effort into human betterment until the real essence of humanity gets realized. Indeed, mutual cooperation and faith in shared future are the ways forward.
The writer is associated with The School of Politics and International relations Quaid e Azam University can be reached at [email protected]