Evolution of Human Rights from Ancient Times till 20th Century

The belief that everyone, by virtue of her or his humanity, is entitled to certain human rights is fairly new. 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 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed in 1948, provided a framework for a series of international human right conventions. Human Rights involve both rights and obligations. State shoulder responsibilities and duties under International law to respect, to protect and to fulfill human rights. The main aim of the study is to explore the historical development of Human Rights and analyze the various instruments. The data for this study was collected from several articles, books and related documents regarding Human Rights.