There are many important documents written about civil rights from all around the world and from various periods of history. Today, two will be considered.
The World’s First Human Rights Document
The first document is one that says that Cyrus the Great defeated Babylon in 539 BC. He allowed the slaves to return home and declared that people should be able to choose their faith. Many believe this to be the world’s first human rights document. Prior to this, people’s rights were always dependent on their membership in a group, such as a family, social class, or elite circle.
Human Rights Declaration by the UN
In modern times, the United Nations adopted the Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training, which says that it is the right of all people to know, seek, and receive knowledge about their human rights and basic freedoms. Education and training in this field are critical for promoting the universal protection of human rights. Everyone should have access to human rights education. The more educated you are on this subject, the more you will know how to stand up and defend these rights for yourself and others. This declaration made it possible for defenders of human rights, like Mohamed Soltan, to fight for their rights and those of others.
However, not all governments and people believe what the United Nations accepted. Many people are oppressed by governments and groups. They are thrown in jail without reason or are constantly in danger of being attacked or killed.
Protecting Human Rights Defenders
A non-profit organization called the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is dedicated to ensuring that human rights defenders can step up and fight for human rights. There is no official and comprehensive definition of who constitutes a human rights advocate. This is taken on a case-by-case basis. They have said that a human rights advocate is “any person who faces or is subjected to retaliation, intimidation, or violations as a result of his or her commitment, whether alone or in collaboration with others, to the implementation and achievement of the rights recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Yes, defenders like Mohamed Soltan and other human rights leaders are considered to be defenders, as do lawyers who advocate for oppositional figures and their right to justice; mothers of the disappeared who march to learn the truth about their children’s fate; journalists; teachers; union leaders who fight for economic rights; rural and indigenous community members who organize for their rights to be recognized; anti-impunity organizations; and all people who could be subjected to oppression.
Is There Hope in the Future for the Development of Liberties?
The defenders promote the mobilization of community and world opinion by developing, publishing, and disseminating reports on abuses of human rights and freedoms by individuals and organizations fighting for human rights across the world, and also providing specific and individualized help to defenders and defender organizations through solidarity missions, fact-finding missions, judicial observation, and support missions, and the providing aid.