Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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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."

Contents

1 Creation
2 Structure and legal implications
3 Major principles
4 Criticism
5 Trivia
6 References in Entertainment
7 See also
8 Further reading
9 Notes
10 External links

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 [link] 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.

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 [link] 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.

Notes

External links

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