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HUMAN RIGHTS Medical Humanities II 2015-2016 Prof HUMAN RIGHTS Medical humanities II 2015-2016 Prof. Marija Definis-Gojanović, MD, Ph.D. Human rights • "fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." - universal (applicable everywhere), - egalitarian (the same for everyone) - natural / legal - in national / international law Human rights • Are guaranteed by international standards; • Are legally protected; • Focus on the dignity of the human being; • Protect individuals and groups; • Oblige states and state actors; • Cannot be waived or taken away; • Are interdependent and interrelated; • Are universal. Human rights • Human rights movement developed in the aftermath of the Second World War and the atrocities of The Holocaust, culminating in the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. • The ancient world did not possess the concept of universal human rights ("elaborate systems of duties, conceptions of justice, political legitimacy, and human flourishing that sought to realize human dignity, or well-being entirely independent of human rights“). History of concept • In 539 B.C., the armies of Cyrus the Great, the first king of ancient Persia: - conquered the city of Babylon - he freed the slaves, declared that all people had the right to choose their own religion, and established racial equality, - recorded these on a baked-clay cylinder in the Akkadian language - has now been recognized as the world’s first charter of human rights, - UN! History of concept • The modern concept - developed during the early Modern period. • Can be traced to Renaissance Europe and the Protestant Reformation (alongside the disappearance of the feudal authoritarianism and religious conservativism). • The most commonly held view: - concept of human rights evolved in the West, and - while earlier cultures had important ethical concepts, they generally lacked a concept of human rights (no word for "right" in any language before 1400). MEDIEVAL PERIOD Magna Carta (Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England) • not charter of human rights, foundation constituted a form of limited political and legal agreement to address specific political circumstances • originally issued in Latin in 1215, translated into French in 1219, and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions Magna Carta (Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England) • required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties (e.g., the right of the church to be free from governmental interference, the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be protected from excessive taxes) • led to the rule of constitutional law in the English speaking world • was important in the colonization of American colonies and used as England's legal system Statute of Kalisz • One of the oldest records of human rights (1264) • Gave privileges to the Jewish minority in the Kingdom of Poland such as protection from discrimination and hate speech. MODERN PERIOD • The basis of most modern legal interpretations of human rights: recent European history The Twelve Articles (1525) • were part of the peasants' demands of the Swabian League during the German Peasants War • considered to be the first record of human rights in Europe Petition of Right, 1628 • English Parliament sent to Charles I a statement of civil liberties • was based upon earlier statutes and charters and asserted four principles: (1) No taxes may be levied without consent of Parliament, (2) No subject may be imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation of the right of habeas corpus), (3) No soldiers may be quartered upon the citizenry, and (4) Martial law may not be used in time of peace. History of concept • Two major revolutions occurred during the 18th century: - in the United States (1776), leading to the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence and - in France (1789), leading to the adoption of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, both of which established certain legal rights. United States Declaration of Independence, 1776 • Its primary author, Thomas Jefferson, wrote the Declaration as a formal explanation of why Congress had voted to declare independence from Great Britain, and as a statement announcing that the thirteen American Colonies were no longer a part of the British Empire. • Philosophically, the Declaration stressed two themes: individual rights and the right of revolution. The Constitution of the United States of America (1787) and Bill of Rights (1791) • Constitution of the United States of America is the fundamental law of the US federal system of government and the landmark document of the Western world. It is the oldest written national constitution in use. • The first ten amendments to the Constitution—the Bill of Rights—limited the powers of the federal government and protected the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors in American territory. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) • 6 weeks after the storming of the Bastille, and 3 weeks after the abolition of feudalism, the Declaration was adopted by the National Constituent Assembly as the first step toward writing a constitution for the Republic of France. • proclaims that all citizens are to be guaranteed the rights of “liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.” “...the exercise of the natural rights of each man has only those borders which assure other members of the society the enjoyment of these same rights.” The First Geneva Convention (1864) • provided for care to wounded soldiers • sixteen European countries and several American states attended a conference in Geneva, at the invitation of the Swiss Federal Council • main principles provided for the obligation to extend care without discrimination to wounded and sick military personnel and respect for and marking of medical personnel transports and equipment with the distinctive sign of the red cross on a white background History of concept • In the 19th century, human rights became a central concern over the issue of slavery • The abolition of slavery was achieved in the British Empire by the Slave Trade Act 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 History of concept • In the United States, all the northern states had abolished the institution of slavery between 1777 and 1804 • one of the reasons for the southern states‘ secession and the American Civil War. During the period immediately following the war, several amendments to the United States Constitution were made: 13th - banning slavery, 14th - assuring full citizenship and civil rights to all people born in the United States, and 15th – guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote. History of concept • 20th century in Europe and North America: - labour unions brought about laws granting workers the right to strike, establishing minimum work conditions and forbidding or regulating child labor - women's rights movement succeeded in gaining for many women the right to vote History of concept - national liberation movements in many countries succeeded in driving out colonial powers - one of the most influential was Mahatma Gandhi’s movement to free his native India from British rule - Movements by long-oppressed racial and religious minorities succeeded in many parts of the world, among them the African American Civil Rights Movement. History of concept • The establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the 1864 Lieber Code and the first of the Geneva Conventions in 1864 laid the foundations of International humanitarian law, to be further developed following the two World wars. MODERN HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS • The League of Nations, 1919 - negotiations over the Treaty of Versailles following the end of World War I (goals: disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation and diplomacy, and improving global welfare...) • At the 1945 Yalta Conference, the Allied Powers agreed to create a new body to supplant the League's role; this was to be the United Nations.. Classification of human rights 1. Civil and political rights /1st generation/ - Universal Declaration of Human rights (UDHR, art. 3-21) - International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) /Western cultures/ 2. Economic, social and cultural rights /2nd generation/ - Universal Declaration of Human rights (UDHR, art. 22-28) - International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights (ICESCR) /ex Soviet block and Asian countries/ 3. Right to piece, clean environment... /3rd generation/ The UDHR included both economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights because it was based on the principle that the different rights could only successfully exist in combination. In the aftermath of the atrocities of World War II, there was increased concern for the social and legal protection of human rights as fundamental freedoms. United Nations Charter provided a basis for a comprehensive system of international law and practice for the protection of human rights. Since then, international human rights law has been characterized by a linked system of conventions, treaties, organizations, and political bodies, rather than any single entity or set of laws. International protection United Nations Charter Article 1(3) states that one of the purposes of the UN is: "to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting
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