The term “Human Rights” in its simplest sense refers to the benefits that are conferred onto us, just by the virtue of being a human. These rights are reflective of the basic standards of life that must be made available to every individual in order to live a dignified life. These rights have been one ofthe most central aspects of International Law; leading to the emergence of new segment of International Law known as International Humanitarian Law. These rights have both influenced International Law and have, also, been influenced by International Laws.
The concept of human rights has always been prevalent, however, it was formally recognized by most of the modern-day nation states, when the United Nations (UN) was established in the year 1945. The establishment of the UN subsequently led to the establishment of the United Nations Human Rights Councils (UNHRC) in the year 2007.The most basic rationale behind the recognising of certain rights as a human right is that it was realized as a basic human freedom during some major event of curtailment of human freedom such as the World War I and World War II.
As a result, it becomes important for us to go through the evolution of Human Rights Law at least once in order to implement these rights in a manner that boosts governance and fulfils the purpose for which the International Human Rights Law was chartered out as an obligation for the UN member countries to abide by.
Human rights are nothing but the individual freedom that is inherent to every person. Various philosophical, religious and historical texts have played a key role in the process of chartering out of the currently promised human rights. The earliest mention of human rights was found in the ancient Greek and Indian civilisations.
Greek philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle did a lot of thinking and came up with their respective ideas and principles with regards to natural justice; what an ideal society must consist of, system of governance etc. Their thoughts have served as the founding stone for ideas of human freedom such as the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of movement etc.The legal system which was in existence in the ancient Greece was, largely, based on the principle of natural justice.
Thus, we can draw that ancient Greece, not only contributed towards the development of natural justice; it contributed towards the development of human rights as well. This is because the concept of human rights has been derived from the concept of natural justice. Thus, human rights has been an inherent concept in Greece. Apart from the ancient Greek civilisation, the ancient Indian civilisation, too, had the concept of human rights play an inherent part in its functioning.
The idea of governanceknown as Dharma in the subordinate, governed the civilisation and its people. Dharma had a definitive set of rules for each section of the society which included every section including the King, Queen, King’s advisors, merchants, religious scholars, soldiers etc. Thus, by providing a clear set of behavioural guidelines for each section, Dharma had, always, upheld human rights.
It ensured that every person in society behaved in a manner that did not take away the rights and benefits of any other person. Furthermore, the medieval period witnessed an increasing need to establish concepts of equality and human freedom across kingdoms. Magna Carta, which was a landmark document, both legally and politically, was signed during this period. It was a political rearrangement, agreed upon by King John of England and his barons.
It was a landmark agreement, as it guaranteed certain freedoms to the King’s subjects such as the right to a fair trial and right to protection. The medieval period witnessed the rise of theologians as well. Thomas Aquians, a famous theologian, propounded his idea of natural justice which laid a great emphasis on individual rights and freedom; thereby re-ascertaining the need to develop a law that would protect individual freedom.Another prominent period in the evolution of human rights law was the: Enlightenment period.
This period was characterised by a larger section of the society supporting the widespread ideas of right to liberty, right to individual freedom, right to dignity, freedom to make individual choices etc. Philosophers such as John Locke, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rosseau etc were the leaders who sought to spread these ideas all across the European continent. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the American Declaration of Independence were the result of the Enlightenment period.
Lastly, the 19th and 20th century developments framed the current International Human Rights Law to a great degree. Horrors of the two world wars caused deep scares to all across the globe. As a result, the governments realised that no form of governance would prove to be fruitful unless there existed international cooperation and peace.
People across countries required a basic standard of livelihood,and this standard would becomeachievable only if there existed anInternational Body to monitor and regulate the actions of governments across borders. Thus, the United Nations (UN) was formed, having 5 permanent members and a number of temporary members.
The UN serves as an intergovernmental body seeking to uphold international peace by having the protection of human rights and freedoms as its primary objective. UN chartered out certain freedoms as fundamental and ultimately in 1948 it developed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR impacted governance in the following manner:
- The UN member countries could only develop policies which ensured that the fundamental freedoms were upheld. Discriminatory policies had to either be abolished or be justified in order to be followed. For e.g. India abolished the practice of untouchability as it took away a person’s right to live a dignified life.
- Prior to the establishment of the UN, countries would focus on meeting their national interests only, however, UN mandated its member countries to ensure international cooperation by placing a greater emphasis on global needs. For e.g. during the covid-19 pandemic, countries were mandated to supply necessary items to those countries which were facing a deficit, they could not, merely, hoard those items of necessity.
- UN has, also, enabled sanctions to be imposed on countries if it was reported that the government of the concerned country had engaged itself in human rights violations. For e.g. global sanctions were imposed on Myanmar as it engaged in state sponsored violence against Rohingya Muslims.
- Further, the UN established the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process through which it monitors the human rights situations in different countries. This has improved governance as governments fear that an international level action might be taken against them. The process allows countries to raise human rights deterioration concerns at the UN. For instance, this UPR process enabled Nepal to warn India about the rising cases of crime against women in the country.
- Lastly, the UN and its subordinate bodies helped establish a system of global governance which is punitive in nature as it established the ICJ and ICC. The ICJ stands for International Court of Justice and the ICC stands for International Criminal Court (ICC). These Courts hear and resolvethose matters which are not being correctly addressed by the national institutions. Irrespective of whether a matter involves any governmental official or not, it can be referred to the International Court of Justice for resolution. For e.g. Dominic Ogwen, a former child soldier was put on an ICC trial for conducting war crimes in Uganda.
In conclusion, the International Human Rights Law has undergone an evolution process which has spanned across various periods of human history. What began as a demand for individual freedom has reached to a level where it has began demanding a basic standard of life for every person across the globe; and this demand has even transcended national borders. International Human Rights Law has evolved to such a great extent that it has shaped the governance standards by establishing several international treaties and conventions.
These treaties and conventions are aimed at protecting the innate rights and freedoms of the individuals by having in place a set of rules and regulations that all countries should adhere to. Further, the UDHR includes not only the civil and political rights of an individual but also, the economic, societal and cultural rights. As the world is becoming a smaller and much more connected place, the ambit of governance has increased to that of global governance; it is no more a concept which is concerned with the government of one nation only.
There exists a system of global governance as developed by the UN, International treaties and conventions which governs international trade, security and peace. However, the primary objective of global governance is the protection of human rights because it is the states who are the main stakeholders of the international world order and these states have time and again used their power, money and influence to curb human freedom, dissent etc. in order to further their national interest over the shared global interest.
Unlike the earlier times, state sponsored violations,nowadays, affect other nations as well since people might become refugees and migrate to other countries, posing various problems of population increase, increase in unemployment etc. in the countries that they migrate to. Thus, no form of governance can take place at the international level without having the International Human Rights Law in effect.
References
- The evolution of International Human Rights Protections in International Law: a historical and contemporary analysis by Mrs. S.V.Veerichetty.
- Global Governance and Human Rights: Assessing the impact of state behaviour by Nandini Kumari.
- Evolution and historical development of human rights at LawBhoomi.
- International Human Rights Law: Historical evolution and contemporary issues by Noaman Atique.
- The normative and institutional evolution of International Human Rights by Thomas Buergenthal.
- International Human Rights Law: evolution and challenges by thelegalquorum.
Author Name- Saniya Dave, Fourth-year law student at NMIMS Kirit P. Mehta School of Law
