Game of Human Rights Milestones

[John Doe]

If you praise Stannis for rewarding Davos based on merit, then you would have to praise Joffrey for doing the same with Janos Slynt.

 

Janos was bribed and shortly after dismissed. He would have never set a foot in Harrenhal.

 

[Sullen]

Janos was bribed and shortly after dismissed. He would have never set a foot in Harrenhal.

 

He was convinced to serve the "rightful King", whether or not he expected compensation doesn't matter.

As for him being dismissed, Joff is not to blame here, Tyrion dismissed him without the approval of the King, the official Hand, or the Queen.

[TimJames]

If you praise Stannis for rewarding Davos based on merit, then you would have to praise Joffrey for doing the same with Janos Slynt.

Also, Theon punished rapists within his own men as well, he'd have to be praised too.

Essentially, I think number 16, 18, and 19 are nothing extraordinary.

EDIT: Also, Renly allowing a woman in his Kingsguard is worthy of mention.

I added 16,18, and 19 because for the context of the setting it is quite extraordinary. Very few, if any, military leaders do that. Most just see post-battle raping sprees as an unavoidable part of life and shrug it off as "boys will be boys". 

I excluded Theon because the punishment he gave was weak. If he executed or gelded the rapist, then it would have made the list. 

However, I agree with the other things you said (Joffery promoting based on merit and Renly giving a woman a prestigious position).

[Artos Cold]

The World of Ice and Fire has human rights ideals that can be at best described as "backwards" or "wack-ass". However, there are milestones. 

Now, for an event to qualify, it must be one of the following:

• An step in the right direction (even if it still needs work, or works in theory but less-so in practice, progress is still progress).
• A new or rare policy (what seems obvious to us wouldn't seem that way to Westerosi People).
• A precedence setter (no isolated incidents).

I won't bother dating them with years, but will instead just go by relative dating (A came before B, which came before C, ...).

1. The culture of The First Men takes shape, forbidding the practices of murdering guests, murdering relatives, committing rape, or practicing incest.
2. The Night's Watch is Established, giving prisoners a form of life imprisonment as an alternative to The Death Penalty.
3. The Andals invade Westeros, bringing with them the idea that military officers should obey a code of conduct which forbids the murder or rape of non-combatants.
4. Andal Septons convert The Sistermen to The Faith of The Seven, causing them to abandon the inhumane practice of drowning deformed babies.
5. Eventually, both The Andals and The First men begin to desdain slavery as well as thralldom. This aversion becomes so entrenched that it becomes part of both The Faith of The Seven and The Faith of The Old Gods. Eventually, it reached the point that selling another human into slavery became a crime punishable by death.
6. Rhoynar Refugees settle in Dorne. They bring to that region increased acceptance of homosexuality, lessened discrimination against bastards, and gender-equal inheritance laws. Unfortunatly, these do not spread to the rest of Westeros.
7. King Harmund III Hoare of The Iron Isles converts to The Faith of The Seven. He makes thralldom, sexual slavery, and piracy all illegal in The Iron Islands. Sadly, the terrorist Shrike would mutilate Harmund III and reverse all of his progressive reforms.
8. King Ageon I "the Conqueror" Targaryen accepts the surrenders of House Lannister, House Stark, and House Arryn. This is despite the fact that all three houses opposed them in war. He also allows Freedom of Religion in Westeros, dicriminating against none of the three major faiths in Westeros.
9. Queen Rhaella Targaryen makes it illegal for a man to beat his wife to death, stating that any man who hits his wife more than six times has broken the law.
10. King Jaehaerys I Targaryen ended the persicution of The Andal Clergy which had been constant under King Maegor "the Cruel". He also required court cases to be in secular (therefore not religiously biased) courts, granted rights to The Smallfolk, and created a unified legal code.
11. At the same time, his wife Queen Alyssane "the Good" Targaryen ended the barbaric Right of First Night and made practicing it a crime punishable by death.
12. King Baelor I "the Blessed" Targaryen preformed many acts of philanthrophy, giving food to the hungry and destitute of The Seven Kingdoms. He also banned prostitution in Kings Landing during his reign. This is being counted as a positive act because the vast majority of the prostitutes " take who they can get and do whatever they have to in order to survive, often living miserable lives.". In addition to this, King Baelor also made a goodwill visit to Dorne to help strengthen relations there.
13. Daeron II "the Good" Targaryen brings Dorne into The Seven Kingdoms via peaceful diplomacy, both ensuring that Dorne can keep it's gender-equal inheritance laws and that nobody has to die in a war in another Dornish War.
14. Ageon V passed laws to reduce the power of The Nobility as well as to grant freedoms and liberties to The Smallfolk. He even allowed his son Prince Duncan Targaryen to marry a peasant girl.
15. King Robert I Baratheon pardoned Jamie for the slaying of King Aerys II Targaryen, allowing him to keep his lands and title. This set the precedence that knights bound by oath did not have to obey orders that they know to be immoral or unethical.
16. Lord Stannis Baratheon grants a knighthood and a title of nobility to the lowborn smuggler Davos Seaworth, rewarding merit instead of mere birth.
17. During The War of Five Kings, The Brotherhood Without Banners gives all of their prisoners fair trials rather then just executing them. They also hold tribunals, charging members of The Brave Companions with (and executing them for) Crimes Against Humanity.
18. Stannis Baratheon punishes his own soldiers after catching them raping enemy women, making him one of the few military leaders to demand his soldiers show restraint towards enemy POWs and civilians.
19. Randyll Tarly punishes his own soldiers after catching them raping enemy women, making him one of the few military leaders to demand his soldiers show restraint towards enemy POWs and civilians.
20. The High Septon arrests both Margaery Tyrell and Cersei Lannister on accusations of treason. This marks the first known instance in which members of The Royal Family were legally held accountable for any crime, thereby marking the first known instance in which royalty was subject to law.
21. Lord Commander Jon Snow and King Stannis Baratheon allow Wildling Refugees to move south of The Wall and thereby escape certain death. This is despite the fact that said wildlings were enemies just a few months prior.
22. *will add more*

 

Let me know if you object to any of these, or if you want to add more.

17. I wouldnt call them "fair", since they seem to believe in collective punishment, based on Sandor's trial. 

[TimJames]

17. I wouldnt call them "fair", since they seem to believe in collective punishment, based on Sandor's trial. 

Sandor was only tried for Mycah's death. If Arya had not been there, or if Mycah had been killed by Merlyn Trant, then they would have let Sandor go about his merry way.

[TimJames]

so you won't add dany to the list is that it or u didnt see it ...or you could have said except dany ...then y ask for the progress when its said in the text that it was a progress by the memeber of a slaver family (hizdar points that she had changed amd its a slow process but nevertheless a progressprogress while going to the pit  ) ... And there are characters who punish their army for raping as well dany and randyl tarly ....the whole point of buying unsullied was they won't rape and pillage...

Truth be told, I started out focused primarily on Westeros. 

For example, I also left out Braavos's abolitionist policies and Valyria's democracy.

Though after further thought, I will be sure to add Essos milestones as later on.

[John Doe]

He was convinced to serve the "rightful King", whether or not he expected compensation doesn't matter.

As for him being dismissed, Joff is not to blame here, Tyrion dismissed him without the approval of the King, the official Hand, or the Queen.

Rewarding him wasn't Joffrys idea either.

[Artos Cold]

Sandor was only tried for Mycah's death. If Arya had not been there, or if Mycah had been killed by Merlyn Trant, then they would have let Sandor go about his merry way.

Didnt they resite all the people Gregor had killed?

[khal drogon]

Whether or not he intended to set such a precedence is irrelevent. He knew Jamie broke his Kingsguard oath, yet decided to let Jamie stay on The Kingsguard because Aerys was an evil murderous king. 

If Robert did not intend it why are you giving him credit? And no such precedence was set as you claim. Jaime was reviled as the Kingslayer in the realm and the main offender was Robert himself. 

And do you really think having Jaime in the KG is a reward for what he did? He was more of a hostage to keep Tywin in check.

[TimJames]

Didnt they resite all the people Gregor had killed?

After which Sandor explained how he had a hand in none of that, and berated them for assuming such. They didn't say anything until Sandor brought up Mycah, and even then they let Sandor go after the trial was done.

[A spoon of knife and fork]

16. No... Robert had no idea that Aerys had ordered Jaime to do anything unethical.  Jaime never explained to anyone what happened, so no "precedent" was set for anyone to follow.  Robert pardoned Jaime for killing Aerys simply because he wanted Aerys dead - same reason he let Gregor and Lorch off the hook.  The precedents set as far as human rights were awful.  In Jaimes case, the precedent set as far as anyone knew was you can get away with killing the guy you're sworn to protect if there's someone bloodthirsty waiting to take his place. 

[SeanF]

The World of Ice and Fire has human rights ideals that can be at best described as "backwards" or "wack-ass". However, there are milestones.

Now, for an event to qualify, it must be one of the following:

• An step in the right direction (even if it still needs work, or works in theory but less-so in practice, progress is still progress).
• A new or rare policy (what seems obvious to us wouldn't seem that way to Westerosi People).
• A precedence setter (no isolated incidents).

I won't bother dating them with years, but will instead just go by relative dating (A came before B, which came before C, ...).

1. The culture of The First Men takes shape, forbidding the practices of murdering guests, murdering relatives, committing rape, or practicing incest.
2. The Night's Watch is Established, giving prisoners a form of life imprisonment as an alternative to The Death Penalty.
3. The Andals invade Westeros, bringing with them the idea that military officers should obey a code of conduct which forbids the murder or rape of non-combatants.
4. Andal Septons convert The Sistermen to The Faith of The Seven, causing them to abandon the inhumane practice of drowning deformed babies.
5. Eventually, both The Andals and The First men begin to desdain slavery as well as thralldom. This aversion becomes so entrenched that it becomes part of both The Faith of The Seven and The Faith of The Old Gods. Eventually, it reached the point that selling another human into slavery became a crime punishable by death.
6. Rhoynar Refugees settle in Dorne. They bring to that region increased acceptance of homosexuality, lessened discrimination against bastards, and gender-equal inheritance laws. Unfortunatly, these do not spread to the rest of Westeros.
7. King Harmund III Hoare of The Iron Isles converts to The Faith of The Seven. He makes thralldom, sexual slavery, and piracy all illegal in The Iron Islands. Sadly, the terrorist Shrike would mutilate Harmund III and reverse all of his progressive reforms.
8. King Ageon I "the Conqueror" Targaryen accepts the surrenders of House Lannister, House Stark, and House Arryn. This is despite the fact that all three houses opposed them in war. He also allows Freedom of Religion in Westeros, dicriminating against none of the three major faiths in Westeros.
9. Queen Rhaella Targaryen makes it illegal for a man to beat his wife to death, stating that any man who hits his wife more than six times has broken the law.
10. King Jaehaerys I Targaryen ended the persicution of The Andal Clergy which had been constant under King Maegor "the Cruel". He also required court cases to be in secular (therefore not religiously biased) courts, granted rights to The Smallfolk, and created a unified legal code.
11. At the same time, his wife Queen Alyssane "the Good" Targaryen ended the barbaric Right of First Night and made practicing it a crime punishable by death.
12. King Baelor I "the Blessed" Targaryen preformed many acts of philanthrophy, giving food to the hungry and destitute of The Seven Kingdoms. He also banned prostitution in Kings Landing during his reign. This is being counted as a positive act because the vast majority of the prostitutes " take who they can get and do whatever they have to in order to survive, often living miserable lives.". In addition to this, King Baelor also made a goodwill visit to Dorne to help strengthen relations there.
13. Daeron II "the Good" Targaryen brings Dorne into The Seven Kingdoms via peaceful diplomacy, both ensuring that Dorne can keep it's gender-equal inheritance laws and that nobody has to die in a war in another Dornish War.
14. Ageon V passed laws to reduce the power of The Nobility as well as to grant freedoms and liberties to The Smallfolk. He even allowed his son Prince Duncan Targaryen to marry a peasant girl.
15. Lord Paramount Quellon Greyjoy fought against slavers and corsairs, thereby reducing slavery on The High Seas. Later on, he passed progressive reforms which mirror those passed by Harmund III Hoare centuries prior. He outlawed thralldom as well as reaving, and greatly discouraged the sex-slavery known as Salt-Wives. In addition to this, he brought Maesters to The Iron Islands to increase education. Sadly, his son Balon Greyjoy would reverse practically all of his reforms.
16. King Robert I Baratheon pardoned Jamie for the slaying of King Aerys II Targaryen, allowing him to keep his lands and title. This set the precedence that knights bound by oath did not have to obey orders that they know to be immoral or unethical.
17. Lord Stannis Baratheon grants a knighthood and a title of nobility to the lowborn smuggler Davos Seaworth, rewarding merit instead of mere birth.
18. Joffery Baratheon promotes Sandor Clegane to a position of Kingsguard due to exceptional loyalty. He also awards the lowborn Janos Slynt a title of nobility and a landed title as reward for siding with him during a sucession dispute. In doing this, Joffery rewarded merit rather than mere birth.
19. Renly Baratheon gave Brienne Tarth a place on his Kingsguard, making him the first king to have a woman on his kingsguard.
20. During The War of Five Kings, The Brotherhood Without Banners gives all of their prisoners fair trials rather then just executing them. They also hold tribunals, charging members of The Brave Companions with (and executing them for) Crimes Against Humanity.
21. Stannis Baratheon punishes his own soldiers after catching them raping enemy women, making him one of the few military leaders to demand his soldiers show restraint towards enemy POWs and civilians.
22. Randyll Tarly punishes his own soldiers after catching them raping enemy women, making him one of the few military leaders to demand his soldiers show restraint towards enemy POWs and civilians.
23. The High Septon arrests both Margaery Tyrell and Cersei Lannister on accusations of treason. This marks the first known instance in which members of The Royal Family were legally held accountable for any crime, thereby marking the first known instance in which royalty was subject to law.
24. Lord Commander Jon Snow and King Stannis Baratheon allow Wildling Refugees to move south of The Wall and thereby escape certain death. This is despite the fact that said wildlings were enemies just a few months prior.
25. *will add more*

Let me know if you object to any of these, or if you want to add more.

Several of these are simply instances of rewarding people who've done you a favour, rather than encouraging ethical behaviour (eg Robert and Jaime, Joffrey and Janos Slynt, Joffrey and Sandor).

But, abolishing slavery, ending the right to the first night, Dornish inheritance customs, and permitting religious freedom are definite milestones.

As in real life, the same person can be enlightened in some ways, backward in others. Dany frees slaves; Stannis promotes on merit; both impose restraint on their soldiers. But both of them employ torturers, and devise cruel deaths for their enemies.

[khal drogon]

 

Several of these are simply instances of rewarding people who've done you a favour, rather than encouraging ethical behaviour (eg Robert and Jaime, Joffrey and Janos Slynt, Joffrey and Sandor).

 

But, abolishing slavery, ending the right to the first night, Dornish inheritance customs, and permitting religious freedom are definite milestones.

 

As in real life, the same person can be enlightened in some ways, backward in others. Dany frees slaves; Stannis promotes on merit; both impose restraint on their soldiers. But both of them employ torturers, and devise cruel deaths for their enemies.

I think Stannis-Davos should be in your list. Who else had Stannis promoted based on merit to say 'He promotes people on merit'? Davos was promoted because of his unshakable loyalty than his merits.

[SeanF]

I think Stannis-Davos should be in your list. Who else had Stannis promoted based on merit to say 'He promotes people on merit'? Davos was promoted because of his unshakable loyalty than his merits.

Ser Clayton Suggs is another, a thug from Flea Bottom, who Stannis gives a knighthood. Suggs is nasty, but at least possesses courage.

[Antares8]

I'm not quite certain if Joffrey putting Clegane on the Kingsguard was as revolutionary/progressive as you thought. Dunk was a peasant from Flea Bottom, and he ended up as its Lord Commander. The Cleganes are a knightly family--very minor nobility, yes, but still much higher-born than good old Dunk. Also, the way I read that scene was that Cersei wanted Jaime to be LC, so she had Joffrey kick Selmy off the Kingsguard and then they added Sandor just because he was already Joffrey's sworn shield, so why not make it official?

One rights milestone that you left out were the Great Councils which chose kings on a couple occasions. I suppose that the ironborn kingsmoot also sort of counts, though it's so weird to imagine the ironborn having ANY human rights when they're explicitly proud to be rapists and thieves.... 

If you're doing Essosi history, then you'd have to include like 75% of what Dany's doing.

[John Doe]

In Jaimes case, the precedent set as far as anyone knew was you can get away with killing the guy you're sworn to protect if there's someone bloodthirsty waiting to take his place. 

In my book killing a tyrant is not worse than blind obedience as far human rights are concerned.

[TimJames]

 

Several of these are simply instances of rewarding people who've done you a favour, rather than encouraging ethical behaviour (eg Robert and Jaime, Joffrey and Janos Slynt, Joffrey and Sandor).

 

But, abolishing slavery, ending the right to the first night, Dornish inheritance customs, and permitting religious freedom are definite milestones.

 

As in real life, the same person can be enlightened in some ways, backward in others. Dany frees slaves; Stannis promotes on merit; both impose restraint on their soldiers. But both of them employ torturers, and devise cruel deaths for their enemies.

The reason I included Joffery rewarding Janos is that it's an instance of him not withholding a deserved reward from a lowborn person. I included Joffery promoting Sandor because The Hound was the first non-knight on The Kingsguard (meaning there is now a precedent of non-knightly warriors being elevated to that position).

I included Jamie's Pardon because Jamie refused to blindly obey a Mad Tyrant yet was not punished. This does set a precedent that it is acceptable to break an oath of loyalty if it binds you to an Evil Murderer.