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term 'man' with 'person' in the Reform Bill of 1867 was rejected even though
this Bill acknowledged the wealthy female property owners' rights to vote
in British jurisdiction. Mill's (1869) essay, 'The Subjection of Women', sup-
ported further women's rights but was met with ridicule. Likewise, chil-
dren's rights were mentioned in Britain as early as 1798 by Thomas Spence
(Spence, 2001; Thomas Spence.co.uk, n.d.), yet traditionally heads of the
household exercised authority over children. Only in the 20th century were
children's rights and legal status seriously reviewed (Medina, n.d.). Slavery
and human trafficking issues are continuing challenges around the world
even today.
The modern concept of human rights largely evolved as a result of
attempts to expand domestic protection for individual rights within inter-
national arenas, including abolishing slavery. Although ineffective, the
Spanish government issued the New Law (
Leyes Nuevas
) to protect indige-
nous people of the Americas from exploitation by Spanish conquistadors in
1542; the British Empire Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 continued this tradi-
tion, and French followed suit in 1848, while slavery was banished in the
United States in 1865. Many other countries abolished slavery in the 19th
and 20th centuries, yet human trafficking and slavery have continued con-
spicuously to date. Early international/intercontinental efforts to secure
protection for human rights actually started with the formation of the
League of Nations in 1919. Article 23(a), (b) and (c) of the 1919 Covenant of
the League of Nations, which established this international body, entreated
state parties to:
(a) . . . endeavour to secure and maintain fair and humane conditions of
labour for men, women, and children, both in their own countries and
in all countries to which their commercial and industrial relations
extend, . . . ; (b) undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabit-
ants of territories under their control; (c) . . . entrust the League with the
general supervision over the execution of agreements with regards to the
traffic in women and children, . . . (cited in Ghandhi, 2006: 2)
Critically viewed, Article 23(a), (b) and (c) did not grant rights and liberties
to individual citizens from states in the League per se; however, they did
impose obligations on state parties under the Covenant to secure protection
for individual rights. In 1926, the Slavery Convention was adopted to prevent
slavery. Similarly, the Convention Concerning Forced Labour was also
adopted in 1930 to prevent forced/compulsory labour. These two latter docu-
ments actually granted rights to individuals and imposed obligations on state
parties to secure protection for individual rights.
The flagrant violation of human rights and widespread atrocities during
World War II raised global consciousness of the need for protection of human
rights. When world leaders finally decided to establish the United Nations
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