ABSTRACT
International concern for what we nowadays call human rights,1 in the sense of fundamental and inalienable rights essential to the human being, is nothing new. The early Spanish school of international law (i.e. Vitoria and Suarez) was heavily engaged in the discussion on which rights are to be accorded to every human being under any circumstances, with particular reference to the treatment of the native inhabitants of America by the Spanish colonizers.2 In state practice, as early as 1815 the United Kingdom tried to persuade states to make treaties for the suppression of the slave trade.3 During the following century treaties were made to protect indi viduals against various forms of injustice. A big step forward came with the peace treaties of 1919, which provided guarantees of fair treatment for the inhabitants of mandated territories4 and for certain national minorities in Eastern and Central Europe, and which set up the International Labour Organization to promote improvements in working conditions throughout the world.5
