Instructions: 

• Read the sources on human rights and then respond to the questions below. Be prepared to share your answers with your classmates.

Source A: What are human rights?

Excerpt from the Advocates for Human Rights

Human rights are standards that allow all people to live with dignity, freedom, equality, justice, and peace. Every person has these rights simply because they are human beings. They are guaranteed to everyone without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Human rights are essential to the full development of individuals and communities.

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Many people view human rights as a set of moral principles that apply to everyone. Human rights are also part of international law, contained in treaties and declarations that spell out specific rights that countries are required to uphold. Countries often incorporate human rights in their own national, state, and local laws.

1. In your own words, what are human rights?

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Source B: What is the United Nations and the UN Charter?

Human rights entered into international law in June 1945 when the United Nations was created. 

The preamble of the Charter of the United Nations, which was adopted by 50 countries in 1945, makes clear that human rights are fundamental to the UN. It reads  “… to 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…” Moreover, article 1 of the United Nations Charter makes it very clear that one of the main purposes of the UN is to promote and encourage "respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion."

The UN Charter is not the same thing as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UN Charter was written in 1945. It states the purpose of the UN, criteria for membership in the UN, arrangements about international law and sets up the UN bodies. 

2. When was the UN created? By how many countries?

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3. What is the UN charter?

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Source C: What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10th, 1948, three years after the UN was created and in the aftermath of WWII. According to the UN: “With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed to never again allow atrocities like those of that conflict to happen again. World leaders decided to complement the UN Charter with a road map to guarantee the rights of every individual everywhere.”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasizes that human rights are:

• Universal: belong to all people regardless of status

• Inalienable: cannot be taken away

• Interconnected: the fulfillment or violation of one right affects the fulfillment of others

• Indivisible: no right can be treated in isolation

This document contains 30 articles and sets out the basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that belong to all humans. The UDHR has since been translated into over 500 languages.

1. What rights are listed among the 30 articles in the UDHR?

Here is a very brief summary of the UDHR:

• Article 1: Right to Equality

• Article 2: Freedom from Discrimination

• Article 3: Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security

• Article 4: Freedom from Slavery

• Article 5: Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment

• Article 6: Right to Recognition as a Person before the Law

• Article 7: Right to Equality before the Law

• Article 8: Right to Remedy by Competent Tribunal

• Article 9: Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile

• Article 10: Right to Fair Public Hearing

• Article 11:Right to be Considered Innocent until Proven Guilty

• Article 12: Right to Privacy 

• Article 13: Right to Free Movement in and out of the Country

• Article 14: Right to Asylum

• Article 15: Right to a Nationality and the Freedom to Change It

• Article 16: Right to Marriage and Family

• Article 17: Right to Own Property

• Article 18: Freedom of Thought and Religion

• Article 19: Freedom of Opinion and Expression

• Article 20: Right of Peaceful Assembly and Association

• Article 21: Right to Participate in Government and in Free Elections

• Article 22: Right to Social Security

• Article 23: Right to Desirable Work and to Join Trade Unions

• Article 24: Right to Rest and Leisure

• Article 25: Right to Adequate Living Standard

• Article 26: Right to Education

• Article 27: Right to Participate in the Cultural Life of Community

• Article 28: Right to a Social Order that Articulates this Document

• Article 29: Community Duties Essential to Free and Full Development

• Article 30: Freedom from State or Personal Interference in the above Rights

You can also click here for a summary of the UDHR by Amnesty International  and/or here to read the full UDHR.

1. What is the UDHR? 

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2. What is significant about the time period when the UN was created and the UDHR was written and then adopted?

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3. What did you learn while reading the summary of the UDHR or the full document?

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4. Which rights do you feel are protected by your government? Are there rights that you enjoy that may not be enjoyed by others? Which ones? 

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Source D: Who wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? 

The UDHR was written by the Commission on Human Rights, which was made up of 18 members from various political, cultural and religious backgrounds. Representatives came from France, Lebanon, China, Canada, Australia, Chile, France, the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 

Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the chair of the UDHR drafting committee and is seen as the driving force for the Declaration’s adoption.

5. Give evidence from the text to support the claim that the UDHR was written by representatives from a variety of legal traditions and cultural backgrounds.

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Source E: Which UN member countries voted against the UDHR?

Not one UN member country voted against the UDHR. In 1948, at the time of the adoption of the UDHR, there were 56 UN member countries. Of these, 48 countries voted in favor of the UDHR and 8 countries abstained. None voted against it. One of the abstaining states was South Africa because it was just beginning to put into place its apartheid policy and was opposed to a declaration that states would have to prohibit racial discrimination. The other abstaining states were Saudi Arabia, which objected to the right to choose and change one's religion, and the USSR and its satellite states who feared the UDHR might be a pretext for other states to interfere in their national affairs (their sovereignty).

6. How many countries voted in favor of the UDHR? How many countries voted against it? How many countries abstained from voting?

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7. What is the UN charter?

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Source F: Is the UDHR a law?

No, the UDHR is not legally binding and does not have the force of law. However, it is the framework for over 70 treaties which do have the force of law and which have been ratified by countries around the world. (We will look at treaties in a later lesson). 

According to the Advocates for Human Rights: “The 30 articles of the Declaration together form a comprehensive statement covering economic, social, cultural, political, and civil rights. The document is both universal and indivisible. A declaration, however, is not a treaty and lacks any enforcement provisions. Rather it is a statement of intent, a set of principles to which United Nations member states commit themselves.” 

8. Does the UDHR have the force of law?

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9. What is one question you have about the UDHR?

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