ABSTRACT
This chapter provides useful information on how to research human rights, using the wealth of materials available online. As for philosophy, some elements of human rights are bound up in the evolution of the rule of law; other elements find early expression in the revolution of political theory in the eighteenth century, primarily in Europe. The International Decade on the World’s Indigenous Peoples, in contrast, did not succeed in producing an agreed text on the rights of indigenous peoples, although one of the first acts of the Human Rights Council in June 2006 partially ameliorated the position: a draft convention was adopted, albeit subsequently rejected by General Assembly. For most international human rights instruments, the official languages of the organisation which has organised the drafting of the treaty will be deemed authentic. Not all international human rights are located in written treaties. Some rights may be found in customary international law.
