Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Eleanor Roosevelt with the Spanish version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (abbreviated UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris). It consists of 30 articles which outline the view of the United Nations on the human rights guaranteed to all people. Eleanor Roosevelt, first chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) that drafted the Declaration, said, "It is not a treaty...[In the future, it] may well become the international Magna Carta..."

History

Prior to the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, several countries had proclaimed comparable declarations. Examples include the Bill of Rights in the United States, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in France.

Creation

When the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany became apparent after the Second World War, there was a general consensus within the world community that the United Nations Charter did not sufficiently define the rights it referenced. A universal declaration that specified the rights of individuals was necessary. Canadian John Peters Humphrey was called upon by the UN Secretary to work on the project and became the Declaration's principal drafter. Humphrey was assisted by Eleanor Roosevelt of the United States, Jacques Maritain and René Cassin of France, Charles Malik of Lebanon, and P. C. Chang of the Republic of China, among others. The proclamation was ratified during the General Assembly on 10 December, 1948 by a vote of 48 in favour, 0 against, with 8 abstentions (all Soviet Bloc states, South Africa and Saudi Arabia). Despite the central role played by Canadian John Humphrey, the Canadian Government at first abstained from voting on the Declaration's draft, but later voted in favor of the final draft in the General Assembly. (See [4])

Structure and legal implications

The document is laid out in the civil law tradition, including a preamble followed by thirty articles. It was conceived as a statement of objectives to be followed by governments. Generally, international lawyers believe that the Declaration forms part of customary international law and is a powerful tool in applying diplomatic and moral pressure to governments that violate any of its articles. The 1968 United Nations International Conference on Human Rights decided it "constitutes an obligation for the members of the international community" to all persons. The declaration has served as the foundation for the original two legally-binding UN human rights covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It continues to be widely cited by academics, advocates, and constitutional courts.

Praise and Criticism

Praise

• In a speech on 5 October 1995, John Paul II called the UDHR "one of the highest expressions of the human conscience of our time".
• "Taken as a whole, the Delegation of the United States believes that this a good document – even a great document – and we propose to give it our full support. [...] This Universal Declaration of Human Rights may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere."

Eleanor Roosevelt, 9 December 1948

• Statement by Marcello Spatafora on behalf of the European Union on 10 December 2003: "Over the past 55 years, humanity has made extraordinary progress in the promotion and protection of human rights thanks to the creative force generated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, undoubtedly one of the most influential documents in history. It is a remarkable document, full of idealism but also of determination to learn lessons from the past and not to repeat the same mistakes. Most importantly, it placed human rights at the centre of the framework of principles and obligations shaping relations within the international community."
• "For people of good will around the world, that document is more than just words: It's a global testament of humanity, a standard by which any humble person on Earth can stand in judgment of any government on Earth."

Ronald Reagan (March 1989, US Department of State Bulletin)

Criticism

• Predominantly Muslim countries, like Sudan, Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, frequently criticized the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for its perceived failure to take into account the cultural and religious context of non-Western countries. In 1981, the Iranian representative to the United Nations, Said Rajaie-Khorassani, articulated the position of his country regarding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by saying that the UDHR was "a secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition", which could not be implemented by Muslims without trespassing the Islamic law.

However, while a few Muslim nations have criticized the UDHR as Western (there are about 50 Muslim nations), Rudolph Peters, Professor of Islamic Law at Amsterdam University has said that of Muslim nations, there is "a greater compliance with universal human rights norms by the states that have introduced Islamic criminal law." (As opposed to these more modern Westernized Muslim states.)

Muslims nations are committed to different international human rights conventions that have been drafted and are implemented under the aegis of the United Nations. Unlike the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, these conventions are binding upon their signatories, in spite of the fact that the sanctions on violations are minimal. Nevertheless, their signatories show their commitment to human rights. The instruments relevant to this study are: the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); the 1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment (CAT); and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CDC).

"The legitimacy of modern human rights discourse is often challenged by Muslims with the argument that human rights are a Western invention based on a Western discourse that does not take into account the cultural specificity of the Muslim world or non-Western cultures in general. Yet most Muslim states have by now become signatories to human rights conventions, showing their acceptance of international human rights discourse..." It may be that by having avoided modernity Muslim nations have not needed to adopt these rhetorical universal declarations because the Muslim Ummah is so much more thorough in safeguarding the well-being of the community than the typical Western modern capitalist nation, which apparently needs to be babysat in order to play nice.

• Jeane Kirkpatrick, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, argued that certain economic rights cannot be human rights, for they must be provided by others through forceful extraction, for example taxation, and that they negate other peoples' inalienable rights. Kirkpatrick called the Declaration "a letter to Santa Claus", saying "Neither nature, experience, nor probability informs these lists of 'entitlements', which are subject to no constraints except those of the mind and appetite of their authors."

Languages

The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the "Most Translated Document" in the world, translated as of 2004 into 321 languages and dialects. Other works are more translated, however; for example, the Bible is also described in the Guinness Book of Records as "translated into 2,233 languages and dialects."

References in entertainment

The rock band U2 projected the UDHR onto an enormous screen after performing their song "Miss Sarajevo", and "Running to Stand Still" during their Vertigo tour. Their presentation also included individuals from around the world speaking selected articles of the UDHR. The full UDHR was used during the European and South American legs whilst an edited version was used for audiences in the United States.

The Australian Wave Aid concerts following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami featured a large banner containing certain articles of the UDHR.

See also

Non-binding agreements

• Cyrus Cylinder, Ancient Persia, 559-530 B.C.E.
• Declaration of Sentiments, 1848
• Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, 1990
• Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, 1993
• United Nations Millennium Declaration, 2000

National human rights law

• Cáin Adomnáin, 697
• Magna Carta, England, 1215
• English Bill of Rights and Scottish Claim of Right, 1689
• Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 1776
• United States Declaration of Independence, July 1776
• United States Bill of Rights, completed in 1789, approved in 1791
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, France 1789
• Constitution of the Soviet Union, first 1918
• Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982

International human rights law

• European Convention on Human Rights, 1950
• Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1954
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1969
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1976
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1976
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1981
• Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1990
• Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2000

Other

• Declaration on Great Apes, an as-yet unsuccessful effort to extend some human rights to great apes
• John Peters Humphrey & film PSA Histori.ca short

Further reading

• Johannes Morsink, "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting & Intent" (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999).
• Canadian Histori.ca Moment on the philosophical precedent & importance to Humanist development.

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Text of the UDHR (English)
• Official translations of the UDHR
• Librivox: Human-read audio recordings in several Languages
• Questions and answers about the Universal Declaration
• WORLD CONFERENCES ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND MILLENNIUM DECLARATION
• Text, Audio, and Video excerpt of Eleanor Roosevelt's Address to the United Nations on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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