In particular we look at:

• the historical development of human rights;
• the UDHR, its drafting, influences and importance in the development of promoting and protecting human rights internationally;

• various international and regional human rights documents, such as the two international covenants on political and civil rights and on economic, social and cultural rights and the African Charter on Human and Political rights;
• ratifying international and regional human rights documents;
• rights and conflict situations.

Note

As this section is only intended to be an introduction to human rights, we have not included very much detail. In each section we try to provide you with a number of references, including on-line references. In addition we have included a general resource section where you will find a number of useful references to help you with the course you are about to do. You are encouraged to read these additional materials to build your own knowledge of human rights.

At the end of this chapter you will be able to:

• outline the development of international human rights;
• identify important milestones in the development of human rights;
• explain the importance of the UDHR and its influences on the development of human rights systems in various countries;

You will also be able to:

• identify which articles from the UDHR apply in different situations;
• explain the meaning and importance of human rights treaties and covenants;
• define the meaning of ratifying human rights documents;

You will also be able to:

• explain the importance of the international covenants;
• identify which articles in the covenants apply in different situations;
• compare and contrast civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights;

You will also be able to:

• list important international and regional human rights treaties and covenants;
• identify which covenants or treaties apply in specific situations;
• identify which covenants apply in situations of conflict (war, insurgency, etc).

For your convenience, we include a summary along with all other documents that we refer to in this chapter. We recommend that you print this document now.

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