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There were many important people throughout history that contributed to the notion and understanding of human rights.These are some of the pioneers of action.

Louise Arbour
Madam Justice Louise Arbour was appointed in 1996 by the United Nations Security Council to be the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Established in 1993, the purpose of the Tribunal is to prosecute individuals who have commited major breaches of human rights agreements. Judge Arbour has witnessed the results of these crimes, having to exhume mass graves. She was able to successfully arrest and convict Jean Kambanda, then prime minister of Rwanda, for his role in the genocides in 1994.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)
Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India to Hindu parents. He was born in a time where India was a colony of the British Empire. He had an arranged marriage with Kasturbai Makani, when both of them were 13 years old. He later sailed to London to study law. He sailed to South Africa as part of his work for a Muslim legal firm, where he experiences discrimination first hand, and worked to improve the rights of immigrant Indians.It was at that time that he developed his ideology of passive resistance, satyagraha (truth force). His stirring up of local protests frequently ended up in imprisonment. When he returned to India, he joined the struggle for independence, in a way that was radically different from the violent protests around him. When the Muslims and Hindus fought, whether against the British or each other, he fasted until the fighting ended. Independence in 1947 was a tribute to the power of passive resistance and the human will. It was unfortunate that India was divided into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan which caused great outbreaks of violence. He fasted almost until his death, an act that finally brought an end to the riots. In January 1948, he was tragically killed by an assassin opposed to his belief in passive resistance, and tolerance of all people.

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
King was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America during the mid 20th century. A Baptist minister, he was an advocate of non-violent protest for black rights. He was elected leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association, which boycotted the transit system in Alabama to combat racial segregation. King also organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to publicize the need for civil rights in America. He was also instrumental in bringing forth the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

Known for his great eloquence, King was famous for his dramatic speeches. The most well known speech from King is the "I have a dream" speech, which took place during the March on Washington in August 1963. (Britannica)

Mary Robinson (1944-)
Mary Robinson (née Mary Teresa Winifred Bourke) attended Trinity College and King's Inn in Dublin, and Harvard University in the United States. Well known for supporting human rights, she was a member of the Royal Irish Academy and the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva from 1987 to 1990. Robinson was president under the Labour Party from 1990 to 1997. She left the position several terms early to serve as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights.

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)
Eleanor Roosevelt was First Lady from 1933 to 1945, wife to Franklin D. Roosevelt. During her husband's presidency, she was known for strongly advocating human rights, namely, the rights of children, women and racial minorities. From 1946 to 1951, she was the chairman of the Commission on Human Rights. It was during her term of service as the chairman that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted.

Aung San Suu Kyi (1945- )
Aung San Suu Kyi was born in Burma. Her father was the de facto prime minister of Burma, and was murdered when she was two years old. Her mother was a diplomat. She attended Univerisity of Oxford where she met her husband. After living quietly with her family, she returned to Myanmar to tend to her dying mother. Horrified by the brutal atrocities commited by the military leader Ne Win against protesters, Aung San Suu Kyi formed the National League for Democracy, advocating non violent protest for human rights. Though her party won a parliamentary majority, the military government ignored their new power. She was placed under house arrest in 1989, and it was not until 1995 that she was released. Aung San Suu Kyi won the 1991 Nobel Prize for Peace.