Can Utilitarianism Ground Human Rights?

Appendix 1

Practical Ethics

Listed below are 11 key human rights declarations and conventions that served as important marking points in the theoretical and socio-political development of human rights thinking. I have added some brief notes and references to each. The first reference is to an online source for the content of the document while the second reference is to a brief online history of its development.

1. Magna Carta (1215 – England)

medieval Latin for 'Great Charter of Freedoms'
settled dispute between King John of England and rebel barons
reaction against King's arbitrary demands, extrajudicial punishments and debilitating taxes
established the right to due legal process

Text:: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/magna-carta/translation.html
History:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta

2. Bill of Rights (1689 – England)

King James II of England dethroned
William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange) and wife, Mary, proclaimed King and Queen of England, France and Ireland
reaction against the King's cruel punishments, abuse of courts and parliamentary representation
model for the later Bill of Rights
still cited in legal proceedings in United Kingdom and broader Commonwealth

Text:: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/aep/WillandMarSess2/1/2
History:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689

3. U.S. Declaration of Independence (1776)

reaction against colonialist Great Britain's excessive taxes and punishments, judicial overreach, lack of political representation
played a key role in the later abolition of slavery

Text:: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
History:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence

4. U.S. Bill of Rights (1791)

constitute the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution
guarantees personal freedoms and rights, limitations on federal government's judicial powers and the deferring of non-declared powers to states

Text:: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript
History:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights

5. Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789 – France)

reaction to King Louis XVI with rising social and economic inequality, ballooning government debt, economic depression, unemployment, high food prices, regressive tax system
in 1793, the Assembly condemned King Louis XVI to death for 'conspiracy against public liberty and general safety'

Text:: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp
History:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_the_Rights_of_Man_and_of_the_Citizen

6. American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948)

first general international human rights instrument
United Nations adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights eight months later

Text:: http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/oasinstr/zoas2dec.htm
History:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Declaration_of_the_Rights_and_Duties_of_Man

7. U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

adopted by the General Assembly as UN Resolution A/RES/217(III)[A]
48 voted in favour, none against, 8 abstained
reaction to atrocities committed by the Nazis
adopted universalist language

Text:: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
History:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights

8. European Convention on Human Rights (1950)

signed by Members of the Council of Europe
legally binding enactment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Text:: https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/convention_eng
History:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Convention_on_Human_Rights

9 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI)
legally binding enactment of Universal Declaration of Human Rights