The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On December 10, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) — the most translated document in the world (over 500 languages). It was drafted in the shadow of the Holocaust, when the world said "never again."

Drafting the UDHR

The drafting committee was deliberately diverse:

• Eleanor Roosevelt (US) — chaired the commission
• Charles Malik (Lebanon) — philosopher who shaped the document's philosophical foundations
• P.C. Chang (China) — argued against Western-only framing, incorporated Confucian ideas
• Hansa Mehta (India) — fought to change "All men are born free" to "All human beings are born free"
• René Cassin (France) — legal architect of the document's structure

The vote: 48 in favor, 0 against, 8 abstentions (Soviet bloc, South Africa, Saudi Arabia).

The 30 Articles at a Glance

The UDHR covers both civil/political AND economic/social rights:

Civil and Political:

• Art. 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights
• Art. 3: Right to life, liberty, and security
• Art. 5: No torture or cruel treatment
• Art. 9: No arbitrary detention
• Art. 18: Freedom of thought, conscience, religion
• Art. 19: Freedom of opinion and expression
• Art. 21: Right to participate in government

Economic and Social:

• Art. 23: Right to work and equal pay
• Art. 25: Right to adequate standard of living (food, housing, healthcare)
• Art. 26: Right to education

Important: The UDHR is a declaration, not a treaty. It's not technically legally binding — but it has become customary international law and inspired virtually every human rights treaty since.