The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Summary

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a statement of fundamental rights proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Paris on 10 December 1948. It was written in the shadow of the Second World War and the Holocaust, when the founders of the United Nations resolved that the dignity of every person must be recognized by all nations. Forty-eight states voted for it; none voted against; and eight abstained, among them the Soviet Union and its allies, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. The drafting committee of the Commission on Human Rights was chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of President Franklin Roosevelt. John Humphrey of the UN Secretariat prepared a first draft drawing on many national constitutions; René Cassin reworked it into a structured text; Charles Malik, a Lebanese Orthodox Christian philosopher, defended the priority of the human person over the state; and P. C. Chang of China urged a text acceptable across cultures. Their debates, and those of the General Assembly's committees, shaped every article. The Declaration has a preamble and thirty articles. The preamble declares that recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, and that disregard for human rights has resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind. Article 1 affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are endowed with reason and conscience. Articles 3 to 21 set out civil and political rights: life, liberty and security of person; freedom from slavery and torture; equality before the law; fair trial and the presumption of innocence; privacy; movement and asylum; nationality; marriage by free consent and the protection of the family as the natural and fundamental group unit of society; property; freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to change one's religion; expression, assembly and participation in government. Articles 22 to 27 add economic, social and cultural rights, including work, rest, an adequate standard of living and education, with the prior right of parents to choose the kind of education given to their children. The final articles speak of duties to the community and the limits of rights. The Declaration is not a treaty and was not legally binding, but it became the foundation of international human rights law, inspiring later covenants and many national constitutions. Readers may consider how the Declaration grounds human dignity, which it affirms without naming its source.

Top Lessons

• Universal dignity

  The Declaration affirms that every human being has dignity and rights. Christians ground that dignity in creation in the image of God.

• Religious liberty

  Article 18 protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to change one's religion. Many believers have suffered where this right is denied.

• Parents and education

  Article 26 gives parents a prior right to choose their children's education. The family comes before the state in forming children.

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