Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Before and during World War I, various Jewish bodies struggled to protect the religious and civil rights of Jews in eastern Europe. At the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919, they obtained the agreement of the principal allied powers that special treaties should be made with the successor states of the Austro-Hungarian and Czarist empires and the enlarged states of south-eastern Europe. Later a project to include an article in the covenant of the League of Nations concerning minority rights came to nothing. However, treaties were concluded with Poland, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Lithuania, and Latvia. In addition, it was agreed that any member of the Council of the League of Nations had the right to bring an infringement of minority rights to the attention of the Council. The United Nations Charter encourages respect for human rights without distinction on grounds of race, religion, or language. See also Civil rights. ... log in or subscribe to read full text