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1215
1215
King John of England is forced to sign the Magna Carta by members of the English aristocracy. Although intended for the nobility, the document forced the king to respect certain rights of his subjects and imposed legal limits on his power. -
1689
English philosopher John Locke sets forth the notion of natural rights and defines them as the rights to "life, liberty and property."
The Bill of Rights is adopted in England. It establishes the rights of the representatives of the people (the "House of Commons") to limit the king's actions and even remove him from power if he should act against their interests. The Bill sets guarantees against unjust taxation and cruel and unusual punishment and for the right to religious toleration. -
1762
Jean jacques Rousseau publishes his philosophical tract The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right. In it Rousseau argues that government must heed the general will of society, and that the needs of society as a whole come before the specific needs of the individu -
1776
The USD declaration of independence , authored by Thomas Jefferson and others , is adopted by Congress. It presents the rationale for American independence from Britain on the basis that "all men are created equal" and endowed with rights that cannot be taken from them, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. -
1789
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen is adopted during the early stage of the French Revolution. This document proclaims the end of the monarchy and the rights of all citizens to liberty, property, security, and the resistance to oppression. -
1791
Containing the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, the US Bill of Rights extends citizens' rights to include freedom of speech, of the press, and to a fair trial, among others. -
1864
The first section of the Geneva Conventions, protecting the rights of sick and wounded soldiers, is adopted by European powers, This agreement would eventually be expanded to include the rights of prisoners and of all war victims. -
1899and 1907
Building on the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions codify laws and customs of war on land, set procedures for use of peaceful diplomacy and arbitration to settle international conflicts, limit the use weapons of mass killing, and provide rules for maritime warfare. -
1914
World War I begins after the Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand is murdered in June. -
1915
The Turkish genocide of Armenians begins. One to 1.5 million Armenians are killed. The governments of Russia, France, and the United Kingdom declare the massacres a "crime against humanity." -
1919
The Treaty of Versailles, drawn up to end World War I aggressions, sets the terms for world peace on the basis of democratic diplomacy, national sovereignty, and self-determination. The League of Nations—a peacekeeping international organizationis formed. Ineffective owing to lack of international support, it fails to prevent World War II 1939-1945 -
1930
Led by Gandhi, the Salt March to Dandi—a campaign of nonviolent protest against the British salt tax in colonial India—begins in March. The Salt March draws widespread attention to the independence movement in India, to the injustice of colonialism, and to nonviolence as a powerful political tool -
1939
world war 2 begins following germanys scansion of Poland -
1941
Signed by Great Britain and the United States, the Atlantic Charter creates a blueprint for the postwar peace and the basis of the mutual recognition of the rights of all nations. -
1942
The Declaration of the United Nations is signed by the Allied Powers who pledged to form a peacekeeping organization by that name, on the basis of the Atlantic Charter. -
1943
The Tehran Conference, the first of three wartime conferences between Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union, is held. The most significant development for human rights from this gathering was the agreement by the three powers to form an organization of "united nations" after the war. -
1944
At the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, the charter of the United Nations is drafted and negotiated. Its membership and structure are also debated and set. -
1945
World War II ends. The Nazi concentration camps are liberated. The United States drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
1946
The Commission on Human Rights is established by the United Nations. Eleanor Roosevelt is selected by the General Assembly to be its chairperson. The committee would later draft a declaration of human rights. -
1948
On December 9 the UN General Assembly adopts the Convention for the Punishment and Prevention of Genocide. -
1949
At the Military Tribunals at Nuremberg (and later, in Tokyo), the Allied Powers prosecute accused war criminals for crimes against humanity. -
1961
In response to a decline in international support for the UDHR, Amnesty International, an international organization devoted to the monitoring and protection of human rights, is established. -
1976
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights enter into force after sufficient UN member states sign it.