Human Rights in an International World
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was signed by United Nations members on December 10, 1948 (a day that is now celebrated as Human Rights Day). Eleanor Roosevelt, the chairwoman of the UN committee that drafted the document, referred to it as humanity’s Magna Carta. In the wake of the atrocities committed in World War II, there was a strong need to formally define rights in a manner that all nations would understand them in the same way. The document was based around four core freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want. In 30 articles, the UDHR spells out individual rights and freedoms to dignity, liberty, and equality, including listing recommended remedies … Continued