“N EVER BEFORE IN HISTORY HAS THERE BEEN WHAT IS NOW DESCRIBED AS SUCH A “UNIVERSAL

CULTURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS” IN WHICH THE RIGHTS OF SO MANY MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN ARE GIVEN SO
MUCH ATTENTION IN SO MANY DIVERSE PLACES UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF THE WORLD AND IN WHICH
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REFERS TO HUMAN RIGHTS AS THE COMMON LANGUAGE OF HUMANITY.”

-PAUL GORDON LAUREN

COURSE CONTENT:
 Historical Origin of Human Rights
 Human Rights Today: A Global Context
 History of Human Rights in the Philippines
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
After studying this CHAPTER, the student should be able to:
• Understand the historical origin of Human Rights
• Appreciate the development of Human Rights in a Global perspective
• Recognize the historical development of human rights in the Philippines
 HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
HUMAN RIGHTS
The belief that everyone, is entitled to certain human rights. Its
roots, however, lie in earlier tradition and documents of many
cultures; it took the catalyst of World War II to propel human rights
onto the global stage and into the global conscience.
The origin of human rights may be found both in Greek philosophy
and the various world religions.
Before the Age of Enlightenment
Cyrus the Great (576 or 590 BC-530 BC) issued the Cyrus Cylinder
which declared that citizens of the empire would be allowed to
practice their religious beliefs freely and also abolished slavery.
The Magna Charta Libertatum of 1215, the Golden Bull of Hungary
(1222), the Danish Erik Klipping’s Handfaestning of 1282, the
Joyeuse Entree of 1356 in Brabant (Brussels), the Union of Utrecht
of 1579 (The Netherlands) and the English Bill of Rights of 1689.
These documents specified rights which could be claimed in the light
of particular circumstances (e.g., threats to the freedom of religion).
Middle Age
In the centuries of Middle Ages the concept of liberty became
gradually separated from status and came to be seen not as a
privilege but as rights of all human beings.
Francisco de Vitoria (1486-1546) and Bartolome de las Casas (1474
1566) – Spanish theologists and jurists who laid the (doctrinal)
foundation for the recognition of freedom and dignity of all humans
by defending the personal rights of indigenous people.
Age of Enlightenment
Decisive in the development of human rights concepts.
John Locke (1632-1704) – developed a comprehensive concept of
natural rights; his rights consisting of life , liberty and property.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) – elaborated the concept of
natural rights which sovereign derived his powers and the citizens
their rights from a social contract.
The term human rights appeared for the first time in the French
Declaration des Droits de l’ Homme et du Citoyen (1789).
18th and 19th century
Several constitutions drafted in Europe around 1800 contained
classic rights related to freedom of individual (taking into account
the principle of equality contained in the French Declaration of
1789) also included articles which assigned responsibilities to the
government in the fields of employment, welfare, public health and
education. Social right were also included in the Mexican
Constitution of 1917, the Constitution of the Soviet Union of 1918
and the German Constitution of 1919.
In the 19th century, in Europe, disputes relating to protection of the
rights of minorities were frequent. The conflict led to several
humanitarian interventions and calls for international protection
arrangements. One of the first arrangements was the Treaty of
Berlin of 1878, which accorded special legal status to some
religious groups. It also served as a model for the Minorities
System that was subsequently established within the League of
Nations.
At the end of the 19th century, the need for international standards on
human rights was felt when industrial countries began to introduce
labor legislation which raised the cost of labor that had a worsening
effect to their competitive position to countries with no labor laws.
The Bern Convention of 1906 prohibiting night-shift work by women
can be seen as the first multilateral convention meant to safeguard
social rights. The International Labor Organization (ILO) founded in
1919 later drawn many more labor conventions. Social rights were
embodied in international regulations.
The atrocities of World War II put an end to the traditional view
that states have full liberty to decide the treatment of their own
citizens.
The signing of Charter of the United Nations (UN) on 26 June
1945 brought human rights within the sphere of international law.
All UN member countries agreed to take measures to protect
human rights. It contains a number of articles specifically referring
to human rights.
 Less than two years later, the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR)
that was established in 1946, submitted a draft Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) to the General Assembly (UNGA). It was adopted in
Paris on 10 December 1948 and this day was later designated Human Rights
Day.
 During 1950s and 1960s, more and more countries joined the UN and
formally accepted the obligations contained in the UN Charter and therefore
subscribed to the principles and ideals laid in the UDHR during the first
World Conference on Human Rights in the Proclamation of Teheran (1968)
and repeated in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted
during the second World Conference on Human Rights (1993).
20th Century
The term “human rights” has replaced earlier expressions such as “natural
right” (lex naturalis) in classical Greek and Roman thought, “natural law”
(jus naturale) and the “law of nations” (jus gentium) in Roman law and
during the Middle Ages, and, since the modern era and the French and
American revolutions, the “laws of nature” and the “Rights of Man.” The
origin of “natural rights” may be traced to the Greeks’ distinction between
“nature” (physis) and “convention” (nomos). The Greeks contrasted
animals and human insofar as the habits of animals were uniform,
whereas the practices of humans differed according to convention.
 HUMAN RIGHTS
TODAY: A GLOBAL
CONTEXT
Contemporary international human rights law and the establishment
of the United Nations (UN) have important historical antecedents.
Efforts in the 19th century to prohibit the slave trade and to limit the
horrors of war are prime examples. In 1919, countries established
the International Labor Organization (ILO) to oversee treaties
protecting workers with respect to their rights, including their health
and safety.
Concern over the protection of certain minority groups was raised
by the League of Nations at the end of the First World War.
However, this organization for international peace and cooperation,
created by the victorious European allies, never achieved its goals.
The League floundered because the United States refused to join
and because the League failed to prevent Japan’s invasion of China
and Manchuria (1931) and Italy’s attack on Ethiopia (1935). It
finally died with onset of the Second World War (1939).
The idea of human rights emerged stronger after World War II. The
extermination by Nazi Germany of over six million Jews, Sinti and
Romani (gypsies), homosexuals, and persons with disabilities
horrified the world. Trials were held in Nuremberg and Tokyo after
World War II, and officials from the defeated countries were
punished for committing war crimes, “crimes against peace,” and
‘crimes against humanity.”
Governments then committed themselves to establishing the United
Nations, with the primary goal of bolstering international peace and
preventing conflict. People wanted to ensure that never again would
anyone be unjustly denied life, freedom, food, shelter, and
nationality.
The essence of these emerging human rights principles was captured
in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union
Address when he spoke of a world founded on four essential
freedoms: freedom of speech and religion and freedom from want
and fear. The calls came from across the globe for human rights
standards to protect citizens from abuses by their governments,
standards against which nations could be held accountable for the
treatment of those living within their borders.
 HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN
THE PHILIPPINES
Human Rights in Philippines, or the absence of these rights, are better
understood through the prism of colonialism. Over the last 400 years,
the Filipino people have suffered under first 330 years of Spanish
colonialism and then a further 45 years of American rule. Under the
Spanish period, many nationalists were killed simply for advocating
independence.
The Spanish period was followed by a particularly brutal period of
“pacification” when hundreds of thousands of Filipinos were killed
resisting integration into the new American Empire. Following
“independence” from the U.S. in 1945, the Philippines served as a
testing ground for counter-insurgency operation. Throughout the
1950s, U.S. advisors assisted the now independent Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP) with counter-insurgency operations.
 Executive Order (EO) No. 27
- Issued by former President Corazon C. Aquino
- Ordering the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (MECS) (DepEd
today) to include human rights courses in the curriculums of all levels of
education and training in all schools. And to initiate and maintain regular
programs and special projects, including informal education and other means,
to promote information and discussion on, and respects for, human rights.
- Ordered the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to include in the qualifying
examinations for government service some basic knowledge of human rights.
 1987 Constitution
- Upholds the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human
rights (Article II, Sec. 11). It also requires educational institutions to promote respect
for human rights (Article XIV, Sec. 3[b].
 Memorandum Order No. 20 along with EO No. 27
- Instructed the MND, NAFP and INP to make the study of human rights an integral
and indispensable part of the education and training of all police, military, and other
law-enforcement personnel, especially those in charge of detention and of prisoners.
Completion of human rights courses is a prerequisite for such personnel’s continuance
in office. The then Presidential Committee on Human Rights was tasked to assist in
developing appropriate study courses.
 Proclamation No. 177
- as issued by President Corazon Aquino, declaring 3-10 December of every year as
Human Rights Week.
 The Philippines has ratified a number of international instruments on human rights
including:
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• Convention on the Rights of the Child
• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and
• Convention Against Torture
END OF CHAPTER I