Media and Human Rights

Human rights have been among the most widely discussed and addressed topics internationally since the end of World War II, a period marked by horrific human rights violations against individuals, communities, and the environment. The devastation was almost universal, and human sovereignty, freedom, and dignity were violated. Consequently, the first Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948, reflecting the world's awareness of the enormity of these events and acknowledging the human rights abuses that had occurred in the aftermath of two world wars. However, the issue of human rights predates this declaration by a considerable margin. The concept of rights is inherent in every human society since the dawn of creation. Perhaps the first violation of human rights in history occurred when Cain, the son of Adam, murdered his brother Abel, thus depriving him of his right to life. If we were to examine the most significant declarations of human rights witnessed by human societies, we would first list the "e;Hilf al-Fudul"e; (Pact of the Virtuous), which was established by the Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula before the advent of Islam in the house of Abdullah ibn Jud'an. During this pact, they pledged to support the oppressed until their rights were restored. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said of this pact, "e;If I were called to it, I would respond."e;Since the beginning of the 13th century CE, the date of the Magna Carta in Britain, the world has witnessed continuous leaps toward greater attention to human rights. Perhaps the most significant of these began with the promulgation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in France in 1789 CE, following the victory of the French Revolution.