Magna Carta
Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” signed by the King John of England in 1215, was a turning
point in human rights. The Magna Carta, or “Great Charter,” was arguably the most significant
early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today
in the English-speaking world.
In 1215, after King John of England violated a number of ancient laws and customs by which
England had been governed, his subjects forced him to sign the Magna Carta, which
enumerates what later came to be thought of as human rights.
The Magna Carta contained some 63 articles that were divided into various sections, with the
most famous stating that everyone should have access to courts regardless of wealth or
background.
No-one will be imprisoned or punished without first going through the proper legal
system
Article 39 of the Magna Carta famously states "No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned
or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor will we send upon him
except upon the lawful judgment of his peers or the law of the land.
To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice
From these first steps of the Magna Carta, the path to Universal Human Rights continued with
the first Bill of Rights in history, which Britain passed in 1689 and established the civil and
political rights of all men, not just the lords and barons.
Geneva Convention of 1864
In 1864, sixteen European countries and several American states attended a conference in
Geneva, at the invitation of the Swiss Federal Council, on the initiative of the Geneva
Committee. The diplomatic conference was held for the purpose of adopting a convention for
the treatment of wounded soldiers in combat.
The main principles laid down in the Convention and maintained by the later Geneva
Conventions provided for the obligation.
To extend care without discrimination to wounded and sick military personnel and
marking of medical personnel transports and equipments with the distinctive sign of the
red cross on a white background.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (text) is a declaration adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris.
The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the
first global expression of what many people believe to be the rights to which all human beings
are inherently entitled.
Article 1 Right to Equality
Article 2 Freedom from discrimination
Article 3 Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security
Article 4 Freedom from Slavery
Article 5 Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment
Article 6 Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law
Article 7 Right to Equality before the Law
Article 8 Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal
Article 9 Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile
Article 10 Right to Fair Public Hearing
Article 11 Right to be considered Innocent until Proven Guilty
Article 12 Freedom from Interference with Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence
Article 13 Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country
Article 14 Right to Asylum in other Countries from Persecution
Article 15 Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change it
Article 16 Right to Marriage and Family
Article 17 Right to Own Property
Article 18 Freedom of Belief and Religion
Article 19 Freedom of Opinion and Information
Article 20 Right of peaceful assembly and association
Article 21 Right to participate in Government and in Free Elections
Article 22 Right to social security
Article 23 Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions
Article 24 Right to Rest and Leisure
Article 25 Right to Adequate Living Standard
Article 26 Right to Education
Article 27 Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of Community
Article 28 Right to Social order that articulates this Document
Article 29 Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development
Article 30 Freedom from State or Personal interference in the above Rights
