Origins of the human rights regime
When we consider the origins of human rights, we note that their conception is surrounded by confusion and oftentimes even contempt. While the foundations of contemporary human rights can be traced back to the American and French Revolutions of the 18th century and attributed to philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, it is evident that human rights, as we currently understand it, did not take hold until well after the conclusion of World War II.
In the aftermath of two world wars and countless violations of human rights, it became evident to the international community that ‘…an intimate connection existed between individual human rights and international peace and security,’ and that action of some kind would be necessary in order to prevent future atrocities and cases of infringement upon human rights (Lauren, 2007, p. 309). With the deterioration of the League of Nations during World War II, a fresh slate emerged and the United Nations Charter began to take shape, vowing that the purpose of the United Nations would be to promote and encourage ‘respect for human rights and for the fundamental freedoms for all without distinction to race sex, language or religion.’ Animosity toward the document quickly became apparent from the United States of America and Great Britain, with one British Foreign Office official writing that "Our policy is to avoid 'guarantee of human rights,' though we might not object to a declaration."
While the United Nations Charter encouraged ‘fundamental human rights, and dignity and worth of the human person,’ after the assessment of the impacts of World War II, it became apparent in the international arena that the Charter would not be an adequate means for defining specific human rights in the post-war era. In the face of American resistance to any sort of permanent human rights regime, the international community came to the consensus that a universal non-binding declaration would provide the necessary backbone for the provisions of the United Nations Charter. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was officially adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
In the atmosphere of the Cold War, it soon became evident that while the Universal Declaration provided a sound starting point for understanding human rights, more work would be necessary. Created in 1966, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rightsthe International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights which guarantee, most importantly, the right to self-determination in order for individuals to pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Lastly, the most contested generation of rights is the third generation, which can loosely be defined as collective rights. Third generation rights have been the most difficult to enact because of issues of state sovereignty and their broad nature, incorporating progressive international documents on issues ranging from the environment to cultural heritage.
Despite significant early setbacks and current resistance to the idea and implementation of a human rights regime, whether one is a foe or defender, it is an indisputable fact that human rights exist as a global phenomenon.
Sources cited:
Lauren, Paul Gordon (2007). To preserve and build on its achievements and to redress its shortcomings: The journey from the Commission on Human Rights to the Human Rights Council. Human Rights Quarterly, 29/2, 307-345.
