Human Rights Timeline

1795 BC – present

The Laws of Hammurabi1795–1750BCIraq

‘Make justice reign in the Kingdom, to enlighten the country and promote the good of the people’

Hammurabi was the first king of the Babylonian Empire and Hammurabi's Code is one of the first written codes of law in recorded history. These laws were written on a stone tablet standing over six feet tall that was found in 1901. The code is often pointed to be a primary example of even a king not being able to change fundamental laws concerning the governing of a country which was the primitive form of what is now known as a constitution.

Buddha550 – 480 BCIndia

A spiritual teacher who founded Buddhism, a path of spiritual development, open to all races and classes.

Buddhism sees all human beings as equal. Each has the potential to realize the truth by his or her own will and endeavour, and can help others to realize it. Buddhist theory holds that the "three poisons" of hatred, greed and delusion are at the root of violence in the world .It recommends a universal spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood.

Lao Tse – Founder of Daoism

500BC

China

If there is right in the Soul,

there will be beauty in the person.

If there is beauty in the person,

there will be harmony in the home.

If there is harmony in the home,

there will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation,

there will be peace in the world.

9th Sikh Guru

1621 – 1675 AD

India

He was the spiritual leader of the Hindus. He believed that all common people should have the freedom to practice their faith and the State had no right to interfere with people’s peaceful faith traditions. Given the choice to either accept Islam or face death, the Guru refused to surrender and fearlessly accepted beheading rather than abandon his commitment to a sacred principle.

Mohammed the Prophet

570 – 632 AD

Saudi Arabia

The founder of the religion of Islam. A major part of his mission was to bring peace to the world. He strived to convince people that all men and women, even if they lived in very different regions of the world, and were different from one another in colour, culture and language, were in fact blood brothers and sisters. The Prophet would exhort his followers to live in peace with their fellow men, saying, “A true believer is one with whom others feel secure,” one who returns love for hatred.

Jesus of Nazareth also known as Jesus Christ (7-2 BC/BCE – 26-36 AD/CE)Palestine

The central figure of Christianity. His teaching promoted the sanctity of human life and the value of those who had commonly been regarded as inferior: women, the poor, ethnic outsiders, children, prostitutes, the sick, prisoners, asking for freedom and justice for everyone.

Bartolomé de las Casas

Born 1473

Spain

Dominican friar who campaigned against colonialism and the exploitation and enslavement of indigenous peoples.

Beginning of the Slave Trade

1444

Portugal

Portugal begins sending African slaves to the Americas. 10 – 12 million were sold during the Slave Trade. Many millions died in transit.

Francois Dominique Toussaint

‘L’Ouverture’

(1743 – 1803) Haiti

He was the preeminent figure of the Haitian Revolution. A former slave, he became a brilliant general, defeating British, Spanish, and French troops and emancipating the slave population. His extraordinary efforts at reaching across lines of race and class set him apart from his contemporaries, and his vision of a race-blind, independent country of equals was ahead of his time.

American Declaration of Independence

1776

… declared that ‘All men are created equal’. Did not include women or slaves.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

1789

France

Olympe de Gauges

1791

France

… wrote ‘The Declaration of the Rights of Women’

Eglantyne Jebb

1876 – 1927

Britain

Founded ‘Save the Children’ and drafted the first Declaration on the Rights of the Child

All Native American Indians confined to reservations

1887

USA

Marcus Garvey

1887 – 1940

USA

He was the most influential black leader of the 1920s. He wanted to foster worldwide unity among all black people and to establish the greatness of the African heritage. Convinced that black people could not secure their rights in countries where they were a minority race, he urged a "Back to Africa" movement which throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

1869 – 1948

India

He was the champion of the poor and oppressed and struggled for India’s independence using non-violent action. His continuous dedication for a just society for all make him one of the most influential men in the field of human rights.

Eleanor Roosevelt

1884 – 1965

USA

Helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Amnesty International set up

United Kingdom

1961

African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights

1981

Banjul, Gambia

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

1989

UN Decade on Human Rights Education

1995 – 2004

Kofi Annan was Secretary General of the UN during the Decade. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.

UN Convention on rights of people with disabilities came into force 2008

Ban Ki-Moon succeeded Kofi Annan in 2007 and passed several major reforms regarding peacekeeping. He has a strong commitment to acting on climate change.