2. The history of humankind, as from Prehistoric Times, up to the
Modern Age, was determined by the subordinating relationship
between privileged and lieges, between masters and slaves.
The idea of protecting the human being, regardless of race, religion
and social position, appeared only in the XVIIth century A.D.

3. ‘Human Rights’ have their
origin in the ideas of the
English philosopher
John Locke (1632- 1704).
He considered the right to
life, liberty and property
as being natural rights,
given by divinity to
every single human
being, at birth.

4. The documents that realized
the transition from a
diffusive revendication
to an explicit assignation
of rights were:
 The Declaration of
Rights, adopted by Great
Britain in 1689. The Declaration of Rights,1689
 The Declaration of
Independence of The
United States of America,
adopted in 1776.
 The Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of the
Citizen, adopted by
France during the
Revolution from 1789. The Declaration of the Rights
of Man and of the Citizen, 1789

5. The atrocities and crimes committed during the
Second World War (1939- 1945) determined
the states of the world to lay the bases of the
United Nations (24 October, 1945) with the
headquarters in New York.
The main purpose of the organization, well
established at its foundation, was to promote
the universal respect for human rights.
UN flag
UN foundation

6. On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of
the United Nations adopted the text of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
whereby the fundamental rights and liberties
of every human being are universally
acknowledged.

7. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
contains 30 articles, the rights defined by
them being disposed in 3 categories:
 Civil Rights (the right to a fair trial),
 Social Rights (the right to social protection),
 Economic Rights (the right to a fair
remuneration),
 Political Rights (the right to vote),
 Cultural Rights (the right to education).

8. The main author of The
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights was
the French jurist René
Cassin (1887-1976).
He was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in
1968 for this
accomplishment.

9. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was
afterwards completed by international conventions
which, at their own turn, proclaimed new
categories of rights:
 European Convention on Human Rights,
 The Convention relating to the Status of Refugees,
 The Convention on Elimination of all forms of
Racial Discrimination,
 The Convention on Elimination of all forms of
Discrimination against Women,
 The Convention on Children’s Rights,
 The Convention on Protection of National
Minorities.

11. The 7th grade students, helped by the history teacher,
organized a session of scientific communications where we
learnt about how the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights had appeared, the most important human rights,
the children’s rights and how they are respected in
Romania.

12. They made posters and organized an exhibition.

13. The 8th grade students made a leaflet about the human
and children’s rights and spread it in the local and
school community.
• To the Bicaz Town Hall

14. • To other local institutions

15. • In school, to our colleagues

16. • To the people met in the center of Bicaz Town

17. ‘Wherever men and women are persecuted because of
their race, religion, or political views, that place must -
at that moment - become the center of the universe.’
Elie Wiesel
Realized by the pupils of School number 1, Bicaz, Romania, for
the Comenius Project “Different cultures, common dreams”
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This presentation reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible
for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.