Where after all the universal human rights begin?

After World War two it was clear that the horrors of the war should never be allowed to occur again.
Founded in 1945 the United Nations sought to prevent future atrocities by affirming in its foundational
charter faith in fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of the human person and a commitment to
promote better standards of life in larger freedom.
In the years that followed member states of the United Nations strived to develop the human rights
provisions of the Charter and capture them in a single document.
took three years to agree on a common vision

the 10th of December 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.

H. V Evatt, President of General Assembly of UN, 1948: “It is the first step in a great evolutionary
process. It is the first occasion on which the organized community of nations has made a declaration of
human rights and fundamental freedoms. And it has the authority of the body of opinion of the United
Nations as a whole and millions of people men and women and children all over the world will turn for help
and guidance and inspiration to this document “
Habib Malik, Member, Drafting Committee on the Bill of Human Rights: “While history alone can
determine the historic significance of an event, it is safe to say that the declaration before us may be destined
to occupy an honourable place in the procession of positive landmarks in human history”
The declaration consists of a preamble and 30 articles
1. With article 1 powerfully proclaiming that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights
2. no discrimination
3. right to life, liberty and security
4. no slavery
5. no torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
6.
7. equal protection of the law
8.
9. no arbitrary arrests, detention or exile
10. fair and public hearing
11.
12. no arbitrary interference with privacy
13. right to freedom of movement
14. right to seek and enjoy asylum
15. right to a nationality
16. right to marry and to find a family
17. right to property
18. freedom of thought, conscience and religion
19. freedom of opinion and expression
20. freedom of peaceful assembly and association
21. right to take part in government
 22.
23. right to work
24. right to rest and leisure
25. right to food, clothing, housing, medical care and social services
26. right to education
27. right to participate in cultural life
28.
29.
30.

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: “These human rights are not
country specific. They are not a reward for good behaviour or particular to a certain era or social group. They
are the rights of people of every colour from every race and ethnic group; whether or not they have
disabilities; citizens or migrants; no matter their sex, their class, their caste, creed, their age or sexual
orientation.”
The declarations have generated action for human rights protection in many ways
it has inspired hundreds of human rights instruments that together constitute international human rights law
and a number of international bodies and mechanisms for human rights protection.
The principles of the Declaration have supported the decolonization struggle and have been enshrined
in the Constitutions of the newly established countries which have joined the United Nations.
The declaration has inspired national and regional human rights protection systems including
legislation and institutions and it continues to guide the work of human rights defenders and advocates
worldwide
The declaration is available in more than 500 languages and dialects and it has obtained the Guinness
world record for the most translated document in the world.
The 10th of December, the day on which the Declaration was adopted is celebrated each year as
human rights day.
The Declaration emphasizes the relevance of human rights in our daily lives

Eleanor Roosevelt, Member, Drafting Committee on the Bill of Human Rights: “Where after all the
universal human rights begin? In small places close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen
on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the
school or college he attends; the factory ,farm or office where he works. Such other places were every man,
woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these
rights have meaning there, they had little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold
them close to home we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world”.