By:
REHAN RAUF ADVOCATE
M.A. (Political Science)
M.A (History)
P.G.D.E.L., LL.B (Punjab University)
E-mail: DJREHAN103FM@YAHOO.COM
1. PRELIMINARY NOTE
Human rights are sometimes called fundamental rights or basic or natural Rights. Fundamental or basic rights are those, which must not be taken away by any legislature, or any act of government and which are often set out in Constitution. Human rights refer to the “basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.” Examples of rights and freedoms which are often thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education.
The Magna Charta or “Great Charter” was one of England’s first documents containing commitments by a sovereign to his people to respect certain legal rights. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”
2. Views of philosophers about human rights
- J, E.S Fawcett, The law of nations (London, 1968) P, 151
“Human Rights are common rights, for they are rights which men or women in the world should share”
- Lauterpacht. International law and human rights, P. 152
“Human Rights are not created by any legislation, they assume the position of natural rights”
- MC Dougal. Human rights in the United Nations, Vol.56 (1964), P.604
“International concern with human rights is not a modern innovation. It is in fact, heir to all great historic movements for man’s freedom”.
- 3. HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
This history of human rights covers thousands of years and draws upon religious, cultural, philosophical and legal developments throughout recorded history. Several ancient documents and later religions and philosophies included a variety of concepts that may be considered to be human rights. Notable among such documents are the Cyrus cylinder of 539 BC, a declaration of intentions by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great after his conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire; the Edicts of Ashoka issued by Ashoka the Great of India between 272-231 BC; and
- The Constitution of Medina of 622 AD, drafted by Muhammad to mark a formal agreement between all of the significant tribes and families of Yathrib (later known as Medina), including Muslims, Jews and Pagans.
- The English Magna Charta of 1215 is particularly significant in the history of English law, and is hence significant in international law and constitutional law today.
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789
Much of modern human rights law and the basis of most modern interpretations of human rights can be traced back to relatively recent history. The British Bill of Rights (or “An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown”) of 1689 made illegal a range of oppressive governmental actions in the United Kingdom. Two major revolutions occurred during the 18th century, in the United States (1776) and in France (1789), leading to the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen respectively, both of which established certain rights. Additionally, the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776 set up a number of fundamental rights and freedoms.



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