The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an

international document adopted by the United Nations

General Assembly (UNGA). It establishes the rights and
freedoms of all members of the human race.
It was accepted by the UNGA as per Resolution 217 during
the session on December 10, 1948. Among the United
Nations members at the time, 48 voted in favour, none
against, 8 abstained and 2 did not vote.
The UDHR has played a significant role in the history of
human rights. Its significance as well as other facts will be
highlighted in detail in this article. The information will be
useful in the IAS Exam.

Overview of the UDHR

The UDHR consists of 30 articles detailing an individual’s
“basic rights and fundamental freedoms”. It is universally
applicable for all human beings of varying race, religions
and nationality.
It directly inspired the development of international human
rights law, and was the first step in the formulation of the
International Bill of Human Rights, which was completed in
1966 and came into force in 1976.
Even though the Universal Human Rights Declaration is not
legally binding, its contents has been elaborated and
incorporated into subsequent international treaties, regional
human rights and instruments and in the legal codes of
various countries
At least one of the 9 binding treaties of the UDHR has been
ratified by all 193 member states of the United Nations, with
the majority ratifying four or more.

History of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The United Nations was founded by 51 countries in October
1945, two months after World War II ended. Two world
wars, the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and
a global refugee crisis had led to fears of a destructive World
War II.
The UN was founded to avoid such a disaster as well as to
address human rights. Out of all the people who wanted
such notions to become a reality, it was Eleanor Roosevelt –
the wife of the late United States President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt – who would play a crucial role in the formulation
of the Universal Human Rights Declaration
Drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was not
at all an easy task. For starters:

1. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had their

own definition of human or to put it simply could not
agree on what human rights were.
2. Many conservative US politicians were not fond of
supporting the economic and social rights of the UDHR
because in their eyes such rights were ‘communist’ in
their nature and scope.

However, Elanor with her charm and diplomacy managed to

gather enough support for the UDHR to be passed in a
resolution.
Hansa Mehta, a UN delegate from the newly independent
country of India and the only other woman on the
Commission on Human Rights was crucial in shaping the
declaration. It was she who changed the original
declaration’s first article from “All men are born free and
equal” to “All human beings are born free and equal”.
Even though the declaration isn’t binding or enforceable. It
would serve as a model for legislation in many countries.
After the draft was presented to the United Nations General
Assembly, it was adopted on December 10, 1946.
December 10, the anniversary of the adoption of the
Universal Declaration, is celebrated annually as World
Human Rights Day or International Human Rights Day.
Structure of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The structure of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
was influenced by a set of laws formulated by Napoléon
Bonaparte centuries before, collectively known as the Code
Napoléon.
Its final structure took form in the second draft prepared by
French jurist René Cassin, who worked on the initial draft
prepared by Canadian legal scholar John Peters Humphrey.
The Declaration consists of the following:
The preamble gives details about the social and historical
reasons that led to the formation of the UDHR
It contains a total of 30 articles:
Articles 1 – 2: The basic concepts of dignity, liberty and
equality are established.
Articles 3 – 5: Details of individual rights, such as right to
life and prohibition of slavery are explained in detail.
Articles 6–11: Refers to the fundamental rights as well as the
remedies for their violation
Articles 12–17: Set forth the rights of the individual towards
the community, including freedom of movement and
residence within each state, the right of property and the
right to a nationality.
Articles 18–21:  These sets of articles refer to the rights of
the individual towards the community, including freedom of
movement, thought, opinion, expression, religion, peaceful
association and ideas through any media.
Articles 22–27: Sanctions an individual’s economic, social
and cultural rights including healthcare. It also upholds the
right to a better standard of living and makes a special
mention of care given to motherhood or childhood.
Articles 28–30: It establishes the general means of exercising
these rights, the areas in which the rights of the individual
cannot be applied.
Significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The UDHR is widely regarded as a groundbreaking
document that provides a comprehensive and universal set
of principles in a secular, apolitical document that is beyond
cultural, religious and political ideologies The Declaration
was the first instrument of international law to use the
phrase “rule of law”, thereby establishing the principle that
all members of all societies are equally bound by the law
regardless of the jurisdiction or political system.
In International law, a declaration is different from a treaty
in the sense that it generally states aspiration or
understanding among the parties, rather than binding
obligations. For this reason, the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights is a fundamental constitutive document of the
United Nations and, by extension, all 193 parties of the UN
Charter.

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

OFFICIAL DOCUMENT
Article 21.

1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government

of his country, directly or through freely chosen
representatives.
2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service
in his country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority
of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic
and genuine elections which shall be by universal and
equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by
equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social

security and is entitled to realization, through national effort
and international co-operation and in accordance with the
organization and resources of each State, of the economic,
social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and
the free development of his personality.

Article 23.

1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of

employment, to just and favourable conditions of work
and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to
equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and
favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his
family an existence worthy of human dignity, and
supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social
protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions
for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including

reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic
holidays with pay.

Article 25.

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate

for the health and well-being of himself and of his
family, including food, clothing, housing and medical
care and necessary social services, and the right to
security in the event of unemployment, sickness,
disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of
livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care
and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of
wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26.

1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be

free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.
Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical
and professional education shall be made generally
available and higher education shall be equally
accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of
the human personality and to the strengthening of
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It
shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship
among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall
further the activities of the United Nations for the
maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of
education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.

1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the

cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to
share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral
and material interests resulting from any scientific,
literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in

which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration
can be fully realized.

Article 29.

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone

the free and full development of his personality is
possible.
 2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone
shall be subject only to such limitations as are
determined by law solely for the purpose of securing
due recognition and respect for the rights and
freedoms of others and of meeting the just
requirements of morality, public order and the general
welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised
contrary to the purposes and principles of the United
Nations.

Article 30.

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying

for any State, group or person any right to engage in any
activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of
any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.