The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project is a university-chartered research center associated with the Department of History of The George Washington University |
Human Rights Timeline: |
1945-1949 CEIn the trials at Nuremberg, the Allied powers prosecute Nazi leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is the first criminal trial in history to prosecute crimes committed by individuals during wartime. 1946-1948 CEThe Tokyo War Crime Trials take place under the Direction of General Douglas MacArthur. As in Nuremberg, Japanese leaders were tried for "crimes against peace" and military officials are tried for "conventional war crimes" and "crimes against humanity." 1946 CEThe Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN, charged with investigating social and cultural topics, establishes the Commission of Human Rights. The commission's initial objective was to draft an international statement defining human rights. The Commission on the Status of Women is established by ECOSOC (where it was originally a sub-commission of the Commission on Human Rights.)
Following the Nuremberg trials, an international conference is held in Paris to establish an international criminal code. Out of this meeting, the International Criminal Court is born. U.S. President Harry S. Truman creates The President's Commission on Civil Rights. 1947 CEIndia receives its independence after years of non-violent protests led by Mahatma Gandhi 1948 CEThe ILO passes the Convention on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize. The Organization of American States adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The UN adopts the Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the primary international articulation of the fundamental and inalienable rights of all human beings and the first comprehensive agreement among nations with regards to the specific rights and freedom of all human beings. |