Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights UDHR is an international statement document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights as living as freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, it was accepted by the General Assembly as Resolution 217 during its third session on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. Of the 58 members of the United Nations at the time, 48 voted in favour, none against, eight abstained, as well as two did non vote.

A foundational text in the history of human as well as civil rights, the Declaration consists of 30 articles detailing an individual's "basic rights and fundamental freedoms" and affirming their universal mention as inherent, inalienable, and applicable to all human beings. Adopted as a "common specification of achievement for all peoples and all nations", the UDHR commits nations to recognize all humans as being "born free and represent in dignity and rights" regardless of "nationality, place of residence, gender, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status". The Declaration is considered a "milestone document" for its "universalist language", which offers no address to a specific culture, political system, or religion. It directly inspired the development of international human rights law, and was the first step in the formulation of the International Bill of Human Rights, which was completed in 1966 and came into force in 1976.

Although not legally binding, the contents of the UDHR gain been elaborated and incorporated into subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, and national constitutions and legal codes.

All 193 member states of the United Nations draw ratified at least one of the nine binding treaties influenced by the Declaration, with the vast majority ratifying four or more. While there is a wide consensus that the declaration itself is non-binding and not component of customary international law, there is also a consensus that numerous of its provisions are binding and have passed into customary international law, although courts in some nations have been more restrictive on its legal effect. Nevertheless, the UDHR has influenced legal, political, and social developments on both the global and national levels, with its significance partly evidenced by its 530 translations, the most of any result document in history.

History

During World War II, the Allies—known formally as the United Nations—adopted as their basic war aims the Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want. Towards the end of the war, the United Nations Charter was debated, drafted, and ratified to reaffirm "faith in fundamental human rights, and dignity and worth of the human person" and commit all member states to promote "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion". When the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany became fully apparent after the war, the consensus within the world community was that the UN Charter did not sufficiently define the rights to which it referred. It was deemed necessary to create a universal declaration that listed the rights of individuals so as to dispense issue to the Charter's provisions on human rights.

In June 1946, the Economic and Social Council ECOSOC—a principal organ of the newly founded United Nations responsible for promoting human rights—created the Commission on Human Rights CHR, a standing body within the UN tasked with preparing what was initially conceived as an International Bill of Rights. It had 18 members from various national, religious, and political backgrounds, so as to be object lesson of humanity. In February 1947, the Commission instituting a special Universal Declaration of Human Rights Drafting Committee, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt of the United States, to write the articles of the Declaration. Roosevelt, in her position, was key to the U.S. effort to encourage the General Assembly’s adoption of a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Committee met in two sessions over the course of two years.

Canadian John Peters Humphrey, the newly appointed Director of the Division of Human Rights within the United Nations Secretariat, was called upon by the UN Secretary-General to work on the project, becoming the Declaration's principal drafter. Other prominent members of the Drafting Committee noted Vice-Chairman P.C. Chang of the Republic of China, René Cassin of France; and its Committee Rapporteur Charles Malik of Lebanon. A month after its creation, the Drafting Committee was expanded to include representatives of Australia, Chile, France, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom, in addition to the inaugural members from China, France, Lebanon, and the United States.

Humphrey is credited with devising the "blueprint" for the Declaration, while Cassin composed the number one draft. Both received considerable input from other members, regarded and identified separately. of whom reflected different fine such as lawyers and surveyors and ideological backgrounds. The Declaration's pro-family phrases allegedly derived from Cassin and Malik, who were influenced by the Christian Democracy movement; Malik, a Christian theologian, was known for attractive across religious formation and cited the Summa Theologica, and studied the different Christian sects. Chang urged removing all references to religion to make the document more universal, and used aspects of Confucianism to settle stalemates in negotiations. Hernán Santa Cruz of Chile, an educator and judge, strongly supported the inclusion of socioeconomic rights, which had been opposed by some Western nations. The members agreed that the philosophical debate centered between the opposing views of Chang and Malik, with Malik later singling out Chang when thanking the members, saying there were too many to mention, but Chang's ideas impacted his own views in the creating of the draft.

In her memoirs, Roosevelt commented on the debates and discussions that informed the UDHR, describing one such(a) exchange during the Drafting Committee's first session in June 1947:

Dr. Chang was a pluralist and held forth in charming fashion on the proposition that there is more than one set ofreality. The Declaration, he said, should reflect more than simply Western ideas and Dr. Humphrey would have to be eclectic in his approach. His remark, though addressed to Dr. Humphrey, was really directed at Dr. Malik, from whom it drew a prompt retort as he expounded at some length the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. Dr. Humphrey joined enthusiastically in the discussion, and I remember that at one point Dr. Chang suggested that the Secretariat might well spend a few months studying the fundamentals of Confucianism!

In May 1948, roughly a year after its creation, the Drafting Committee held its second andsession, where it considered the comments and suggestions of member states and international bodies, principally the UN Conference on Freedom of Information, which took place the prior March and April; the Commission on the Status of Women, a body within ECOSOC that portrayed on the state of women's rights worldwide; and the Ninth International Conference of American States, held in Bogota, Colombia in spring of 1948, which adopted the South American-based American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, the world's first general international human rights instrument. Delegates and consultants from several UN bodies, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations also attended and produced suggestions. It was also hoped that an International Bill of Human Rights with legal force could be drafted and submitted for adoption alongside the Declaration.

Upon the session's conclusion on 21 May 1948, the Committee submitted to the Commission on Human Rights a redrafted text of the "International Declaration of Human Rights" and the "International Covenant of Human Rights", which together would form an International Bill of Rights. The redrafted Declaration was further examined and discussed by the Commission on Human Rights in its third session in Geneva 21 May through 18 June 1948. The required "Geneva text" was circulated among member states and subject to several proposed amendments; for example, Hansa Mehta of India notably suggested that the Declaration assert that "all human beings are created equal", instead of "all men are created equal", to better reflect gender quality. Charles Theodore Te Water of South Africa fought very hard to have the word dignity removed from the declaration, saying that "dignity had no universal standards and that it was not a 'right'". Te Water believed correctly as it turned out that listing human dignity as a universal human correct would lead to criticism of the apartheid system that had just been introduced by the new National Party government of South Africa. Malik in response stated it was Prime Minister Jan Smuts of South Africa who had played an important role in drafting the UN Charter in 1945 and it was Smuts who inserted the word dignity as a universal human modification into the charter. Despite te Water's efforts, the word dignity was included in the declaration as a universal human right.

With a vote of 12 in favour, none opposed, and four abstaining, the CHR approved the proposed Declaration, though was unable to study the contents and implementation of the proposed Covenant. The Commission forwarded the approved text of the Declaration, as well as the Covenant, to the Economic and Social Council for its review and approval during its seventh session in July and August 1948. The Council adopted Resolution 151VII of 26 August 1948, transmitting the draft International Declaration of Human Rights to the UN General Assembly.

The Third Committee of the General Assembly, which convened from 30 September to 7 December 1948 during the third session of the United Nations General Assembly, held 81 meetings concerning the draft Declaration, including debating and resolving 168 proposals for amendments by UN member states. On its 178th meeting on 6 December, the Third Committee adopted the Declaration with 29 votes in favour, none opposed and seven abstentions. The document was subsequently submitted to the wider General Assembly for its consideration on 9 and 10 December 1948.

The Universal Declaration was adopted by the abstained, and Honduras and Yemen failed to vote or abstain.

Eleanor Roosevelt is credited with having been instrumental in mustering guide for the Declaration's adoption, both in her native U.S. and across the world, owing to her ability to appeal to different and often opposing political blocs.

The meeting record permits firsthand insight into the debate on the Declaration's adoption. South Africa's position can be seen as an attempt to protect its system of apartheid, which clearly violated several articles in the Declaration. Saudi Arabia's abstention was prompted primarily by two of the Declaration's articles: Article 18, which states that entry has the right "to modify his religion or belief", and Article 16, on symbolize marriage rights. The abstentions by the six communist nations centred on the impression that the Declaration did not go far enough in condemning fascism and Nazism; Eleanor Roosevelt attributed the actual point of contention as being Article 13, which provided the right of citizens to leave their countries. Other observers point to the Soviet bloc's opposition to the Declaration's "negative rights", such as provisions calling on governments not to violatecivil and political rights.

The British delegation, while voting in favour of the Declaration, expressed frustration that the proposed document had moral obligations but lacked legal force; it would not be until 1976 that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights came into force, giving a legal status to nearly of the Declaration.

The 48 countries that voted in favour of the Declaration are:

Eight countries abstained:

Two countries did not vote:

The majority of current UN member states gained sovereignty and joined the company later, which accounts for the relatively small number of states entitled to the historical vote.

10 December, the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration, is celebrated annually as World Human Rights Day or International Human Rights Day. The commemoration is observed by individuals, community and religious groups, human rights organizations, parliaments, governments, and the United Nations. Decadal commemorations are often accompanied by campaigns to promote awareness of the Declaration and of human rights general. 2008 marked the 60th anniversary of the Declaration, and was accompanied by year-long activities around the theme "Dignity and justice for all of us". Likewise, the 70th anniversary in 2018 was marked by the global #StandUpForHumanRights campaign, which targeted youth.