Human rights are not granted by any government but are intrinsic to human existence regardless of nationality, religion, ethnic origin, sex, or any other distinguishable status. These universal rights are diverse and include the fundamental rights to life and liberty as well as those protecting our way of daily living, like the rights to education, health, and work. Human Rights Day is celebrated on 10 December, which marks the anniversary of the day the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR) in 1948.
HUMAN RIGHTS BEFORE 1948
Documents enshrining individual rights into law like the Magna Carta (1215), the English Bill of Rights (1689), the French Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), and the US Constitution and Bill of Rights (1791) are all predecessors of the UDHR.
On 6 January 1941, US President Roosevelt spoke about the four essential human freedoms: the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. At the end of World War II, on 26 June 1945, the United Nations signed the UN Charter, which enshrined in its preamble that member states should “reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small”. In article 55, the Charter set out to promote “universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion”.
UN member states then decided that in order to ensure the protection of human rights, the UN Charter needed to be complemented with a separate document setting out specific rights. The document, which would later turn into the UDHR, was adopted in the first session of the General Assembly in 1946.
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The Declaration consists of 30 articles outlining fundamental human rights. It was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 1948 in Paris. 48 states voted in favour of the Declaration, and only eight countries abstained, with none objecting to its adoption. Most of the current UN member states only gained sovereignty and joined the UN after that date, which is why a relatively small number of states voted that day. Today the UDHR is available in 500 languages, making it the most translated document in the world.
The entire text of the UDHR was composed in less than two years. Seeing as how divided the world was amidst the war, the international community coming together like this was an extraordinary feat of international cooperation.
There is some criticism surrounding the UDHR. In the past, it has been criticised for having a Western bias with critics calling for an update that takes into account how the international community has evolved since 1948. Another criticism is that the UDHR is just a declaration and not a binding international treaty and can therefore be more easily ignored. At the time of its adoption, states like the US did not commit to ending racial segregation and other states did not want to give up their colonies. Additional states that did not want to vote in favour of universal human rights simply abstained from voting.
The international community still struggles with the implementation of equal rights for all and non-discrimination of people based on their nationality, ethnic origin, sex, religion, or other characteristics. No state has achieved a perfect record when it comes to human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a great start, but we have a long road ahead in terms of achieving true universal human rights, which is why commemorating Human Rights Day is so important. This day reminds every state government and all of humanity to strive to achieve the goals set out in the Declaration.
THIS YEAR’S THEME: RECOVER BETTER—STAND UP FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
This year we celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the adoption of the UDHR. The theme of 2020 is “Recover Better—Stand up for Human Rights,” invoking the Covid-19 pandemic and emphasising the need to ensure human rights are observed and protected during the recovery process, with a focus on tackling “entrenched, systematic, and intergenerational inequalities, exclusion and discrimination”. The Covid-19 crisis highlights the need for global cooperation and demonstrates how important the observance of human rights is when it comes to rebuilding our global society.
Isabelle holds a MA in International and Comparative Commercial Law at SOAS, University of London and just completed her LLM in Professional Legal Practice at the University of Law, Leeds. Her focus lies on areas such as dispute resolution, the international tribunals and the use of force. She has experience working with refugees in South Africa and the Hague, Netherland.