TIMELINE of INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS since 1948, organized by Adoption* date
1948- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted, 1948) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/UDHRIndex.aspx
1948- Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (adopted, 1948; entry into force, 1951) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CrimeOfGenocide.aspx
1965- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) (adopted, 1965; entry into force, 1969) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CERD.aspx
1966- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (adopted, 1966; entry into force, 1976) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx
- 1966- First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR (adopted, 1966; entry into force, 1976). Protocol relates to enabling the UN’s Human Rights Committee to hear about alleged civil and political rights from such victims. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/OPCCPR1.aspx
- 1989- Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR (adopted, 1989; entry into force,1991). Protocol relates to eliminating the death penalty. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/2ndOPCCPR.aspx
1966- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) (adopted 1966, entry into force, 1976) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx
1977- Protocol II: Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (adopted 1977, entry into force, 1978) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ProtocolII.aspx
1977- Protocol I: Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (adopted 1977, entry into force, 1979) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ProtocolI.aspx
1979- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (adopted, 1979; entry into force, 1981) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CEDAW.aspx
1982- World Charter for Nature (adopted 1982) http://www.un-documents.net/wcn.htm
1984- Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) (adopted, 1984; entry into force, 1987) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx
1989- Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (adopted, 1989; entry into force, 1990) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx
- 2000- Optional Protocol to the CRC (adopted, 2000; entry into force, 2002). Protocol relates to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/OPSCCRC.aspx
- 2000- Optional Protocol to the CRC (adopted, 2000; entry into force, 2002). Protocol relates to the involvement of children in armed conflict. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/OPACCRC.aspx
1998- Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (adopted, 1998; entry into force, 2002) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/InternationalCriminalCourt.aspx
1990- International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (ICRMW) (adopted, 1990; entry into force, 2003) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CMW.aspx
*What does adoption mean?
“Adoption” refers to the culmination of the process through which an instrument’s content is established.
“Adoption” is the formal act by which the form and content of a proposed treaty text are established. As a general rule, the adoption of the text of a treaty takes place through the expression of the consent of the states participating in the treaty-making process. Treaties that are negotiated within an international organization will usually be adopted by a resolution of a representative organ of the organization whose membership more or less corresponds to the potential participation in the treaty in question.
(Art.9, Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties 1969.)
Adoption is different from if and when a particular country agrees to be bound by any given instrument. To see if a particular instrument has been adopted by a particular country, the OHCHR has these resources to search by country and/or instrument (treaty):
- https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/Pages/HumanRightsintheWorld.aspx
- https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=62&Lang=EN
- https://indicators.ohchr.org/
It was through the United Nations that Eleanor Roosevelt worked with others to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted on December 10, 1948.
The United Nations has made it clear that it intends to uphold human rights and to protect the dignity of the human personality. In the preamble to the Charter the keynote is set when it declares: “We the people of the United Nations determined…to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and … to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” This reflects the basic premise of the Charter that the peace and security of mankind are dependent on mutual respect for the rights and freedoms of all.
(Eleanor Roosevelt, September 28, 1948 speech.)
Years later (1993), the United Nations established the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) (OHCHR)as the “leading UN entity on human rights” to “represent the world’s commitment to the promotion and protection of the full range of human rights and freedoms set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
The OHCHR website provides a wealth of information.
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