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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (also UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, December 10 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris), outlining the organization's view on the human rights guaranteed to all people. It was referred to by Eleanor Roosevelt as "a Magna Carta for all mankind."
Creation
After the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany became apparent after the Second World War, there was a general feeling within the world community that the United Nations Charter did not sufficiently clarify the rights it protected. Rather, a universal declaration that fully articulated rights of individuals was necessary. Canadian John Peters Humphrey was called upon by the UN Secretariat to work on the project and became the declaration's principal drafter. Humphrey was assisted by Eleanor Roosevelt of the United States, René Cassin of France, Charles Malik of Lebanon, and P. C. Chang of China, among others. The proclamation was ratified during the General Assembly on December 10, 1948 by a vote of 48-0, with 8 abstentions (The entire Soviet Bloc, South Africa and Saudi Arabia).See * under "Who are the signatories of the Declaration?" Surprisingly, despite the central role played by Canadian John Humphrey, the Canadian government abstained from voting on the Declaration's draft. The government switched its position later when the draft went to the General Assembly.//www.journal.law.mcgill.ca/abs/vol43/2schab.pdf
Structure and legal implications
The document is laid out in the civil law tradition, including a preamble followed by thirty articles. As it was conceived as a statement of objectives to be followed by governments, it is not legally binding and there were therefore no signatories. The declaration does not form part of international law, but it is a powerful tool in applying diplomatic and moral pressure to governments that violate some or all 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.
Major principles
There are a total of thirty articles outlining people's human rights, but the most important principles declared are considered to be the following:
- The right to life, liberty and security of person.
- The right to an education.
- The right to employment, paid holidays, protection against unemployment and social security.
- The right to participate fully in cultural life.
- Freedom from torture or cruel, inhumane treatment or punishment.
- Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
- Freedom of expression and opinion.
Criticism
One writer has critiqued the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as being opposite of human rights. Arguing that certain "economic rights" cannot be human rights for they must be provided by others through forceful extraction, i.e. taxation, and they negate other peoples' unalienable rights. See * Retrieved June 22, 2006. Arguing that individual rights are exactly what the document seeks to destroy. Adding to the argument that Nazi Germany and the communist Soviet Union encorporated these "economic rights" to their government and constitutions and thus ended up creating collectivist regimes responsible for the deaths of millions.Capitalists occasionally argue against the document by providing an example of North Korea ranking high with economic rights, while the United States ranking low according to the declaration, even though the United States is far more prosperous and more free than North Korea.
Trivia
The Guinness Book of Records (GBR) describes the UDHR as the "Most Translated Document" in the world, translated as of 2004 into 321 languages and dialects.See UDHR translation citation under Arts and Media - Books & Magazines at the Guinness World Records website, http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/ Retrieved September 13, 2005. Other works are more translated, however; for example, the Bible is also described in the GBR as "translated into 2,233 languages and dialects."See Bible translation citation under Arts and Media - Books & Magazines at the Guinness World Records website, http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/ Retrieved September 13, 2005. Some of the translations available on the UNHCHR website contain unrectified mistakes .
References in Entertainment
The rock band U2 projected the UDHR onto an enormous screen after performing their song Miss Sarajevo during their Vertigo 2005 world tour concerts. Their presentation also included individuals from around the world speaking selected articles of the UDHR. The Australian Wave Aid concerts following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami featured a large banner containing certain articles of the UDHR.
See also
- Cyrus Cylinder, Ancient Persia, 559-530 BC
- Magna Carta, England, 1215
- English Bill of Rights, 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, 1789
- Constitution of the Soviet Union, first 1918
- European Convention on Human Rights, 1950
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982
- Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1990
- Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, 1990
- Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2000
Further reading
- Johannes Morsink, "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting & Intent" (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999).
Notes
External links
1948 in law | Ethics | Human rights | Human rights instruments | UN General Assembly Resolutions
Universele Verklaring van Menseregte | الإعلان العالمي لحقوق الإنسان | Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos | Tekove yvypóra kuéra maymáva derecho kuaaukaha | Hadamaden josiraw dantigɛkan | Sè-kài Jîn-koân Soan-giân | Declaració Universal dels Drets Humans | Všeobecná deklarace lidských práv | Menneskerettighedserklæringen | Allgemeine Erklärung der Menschenrechte | Inimõiguste ülddeklaratsioon | Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos | Universala Deklaracio de Homaj Rajtoj | Déclaration universelle des Droits de l'Homme | Universele Ferklearring fan de Rjochten fan de Minske | Declarazion universâl dai dirits dal om | Declaración Universal dos Dereitos Humanos | 세계인권선언 | Mannréttindayfirlýsing Sameinuðu þjóðanna | Dichiarazione universale dei diritti dell'uomo | ההכרזה לכל באי עולם בדבר זכויות האדם | Lisakoli ya molongo ya makoki ya moto | Az Emberi Jogok Egyetemes Nyilatkozata | Universele Verklaring van de Rechten van de Mens | 世界人権宣言 | Menneskerettighetserklæringen | Menneskerettsfråsegna | Powszechna Deklaracja Praw Człowieka | Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos | Declaraţia Universală a Drepturilor Omului | Всеобщая декларация прав человека | Decraratzione Universale de sos Deretos de s'Òmine | Deklarata e Përgjithshme mbi të Drejtat e Njeriut | Universal Declaration of Human Rights | Všeobecná deklarácia ľudských práv | Splošna deklaracija človekovih pravic | FN:s deklaration om de mänskliga rättigheterna | Deklarasaun Universál Direitus Umanus Nian | Tuyên ngôn Quốc tế Nhân quyền | İnsan Hakları Evrensel Beyannamesi | Загальна декларація прав людини | 世界人权宣言
"Universal Declaration of Human Rights"