In the 19thcentury a special exception was made for humanitarian intervention to prevent human rights abuses. Even before the United Nations was created, some treaties had been signed regarding the treatment of minorities. Although the Covenant of the League of Nations did not have any provision in this regard, the execution of these treaties was put under the guarantee of the League. Moreover, these treaties could not be modified without the consent of the League Council. In some cases, clauses included to bring the violation of treaty obligations before special tribunals. These treaties, however, were limited in their objectives and related to certain minorities. They did not create general obligations to respect fundamental human rights. The minority rights covered under these treaties were: the protection of life and liberty; free exercise of religion without discrimination on grounds of language, race or religion; equality before the law; and the freedom of organization for religious and educational purposes. These rights were mainly civil and political in nature. However, this protection was not extended to the rights of the individual.