On This Day In History: Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Adopted – On Dec 10, 1948

AncientPages.com - On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is considered the world’s most translated document.

It was accepted by a vote of 48 in favor, 0 against, with eight abstentions: the USSR, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Yugoslavia, Poland, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.

The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represented the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are essentially entitled.

The document was drafted by a committee headed by Eleanor Roosevelt (wife of the late U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt). Among the committee members were Jacques Maritain (a famous Catholic philosopher) and Charles Malik (a Lebanese Orthodox Christian), but Canadian John Peters Humphrey played the leading role.

It consists of 30 articles elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions, and laws.

The Declaration expresses the right to freedom of expression, education, protection from torture, etc.

However, the document was repeatedly criticized. For example, several member countries had dubious human rights records, including states whose representatives were elected to chair the commission. Another criticism was that the discussion of human rights issues was not conducted constructively. Instead, it was a forum for politically selective finger-pointing and criticism.

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