The World War II Era and Human Rights Education

Author： Waters Stewart Russell III William

Publisher： National Council for the Social Studies

ISSN： 0037-7724

Source： Social Education, Vol.76, Iss.6, 2012-11, pp. : 301-305

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Abstract

International revulsion at the violation of human rights during World War II helped spark a global movement to define and protect individual human rights. Starting with the creation of war crimes tribunals after the war, this newfound awareness stimulated a concerted international effort to establish human rights for all, both in periods of war and peace. These endeavors resulted in a historic milestone when the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. In the time that has elapsed since then, human rights have become an important part of political debate in many countries, and a significant number of non-governmental organizations have been established to promote and protect them. The international community has taken some unprecedented steps to deter violations of human rights, and punish perpetrators, notably through the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002 and its subsequent proceedings against persons accused of war crimes.