UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF

HUMAN RIGHTS
Background

During World War II, the Allies adopted the Four

Freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of
religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from
want—as their basic war aims.[8][9] The United
Nations Charter "reaffirmed faith in fundamental
human rights, and dignity and worth of the human
person" and committed 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 World
War II, the consensus within the world
community was that the United Nations Charter
did not sufficiently define the rights to which it
referred.[11][12] A universal declaration that
specified the rights of individuals was necessary
to give effect to the Charter's provisions on
human rights.
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS 1948

• “All human beings are born free and equal in

dignity and rights,” reads Article 1 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• December 10, Human Rights Day, kicks off a year-
long campaign to mark the 70th anniversary of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in
2018. Here are six facts you may not know about
this groundbreaking declaration
1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
is a milestone document in history; the
United Nations notes that “it sets out, for the
first time, fundamental human rights to be
universally protected.”

2. The declaration is “generally agreed to

be the foundation of international human
rights law” and has inspired more than 80
international human rights treaties and
declarations, according to the UN.
3. The UN General Assembly adopted the
declaration on December 10, 1948. While
progress has been made in upholding human
rights, violations continue, and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights continues to
remind us that we all have human rights and we
must stand up for them.
4. It is the most translated document in the
world with over 500 translations in different
languages. UN Human Rights Officer Elena
Ippoliti, who started the translation project,
said, “This project was meant to be a message
of unity within diversity – fostering the sense of
our common humanity embodied in the UDHR
while embracing and valuing our diversity.”
5. Eleanor Roosevelt was chair of the
declaration’s drafting committee, which
included members from around the world – a
sign of the universality of human rights.

6. The declaration includes a preamble and 30

articles expanding on the human rights of all
people, from freedom of expression to freedom
from torture to the right to equality before the
law.
• In a message for Human Rights Day in 2017,
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said:
• “While human rights abuses did not end when
the Universal Declaration was adopted, the
Declaration has helped countless people to
gain greater freedom and security. It has
helped to prevent violations, obtain justice for
wrongs, and strengthen national and
international human rights laws and
safeguards.”
• Human rights are integral to the daily lives of every
person on the planet; securing human rights is also a
key pillar of the work of the United Nations and
essential to achieving peace and progress.
• As former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said about the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights:
• “It was drawn up to cover not only civil and political
rights, but also social, economic and cultural rights, in
the full understanding that you cannot have
development without human rights and you cannot
have a full enjoyment of human rights without
development – and peace and security depend on
both.”
The UN Human Rights Office, noting today’s
threats to human rights around the world, is
calling on every person to be a human rights
champion. Visit its website to get involved.
The Declaration consists of a preamble
and thirty articles:
The preamble sets out the historical and social
causes that led to the necessity of drafting the
Declaration.
• Articles 1–2 established the basic concepts of
dignity, liberty, and equality.
• Articles 3–5 established other individual rights,
such as the right to life and the prohibition
of slavery and torture.
• Articles 6–11 refer to the fundamental legality of
human rights with specific remedies cited for
their defence when violated.
• Articles 12–17 established the rights of the
individual towards the community (including
such things as freedom of movement).
• Articles 18–21 sanctioned the so-called
"constitutional liberties", and with spiritual,
public, and political freedoms, such as
freedom of thought, opinion, religion
and conscience, word, and peaceful
association of the individual.
• Articles 22–27 sanctioned an individual's
economic, social and cultural rights,
including healthcare. Article 25 states:
"Everyone has the right to a standard of
living adequate for the health and well-being
of himself and of his family, including food,
clothing, housing and medical care and
necessary social services." It also makes
additional accommodations for security in
case of physical debilitation or disability, and
makes special mention of care given to those
in motherhood or childhood.
• Articles 28–30 established the general ways of
using these rights, the areas in which these
rights of the individual can not be applied, and
that they can not be overcome against the
individual.
These articles are concerned with the duty of
the individual to society and the prohibition of
use of rights in contravention of the purposes of
the United Nations Organization.