The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
When
representatives from forty-six nations gathered in San Francisco on
April 25, 1945 to form the United Nations, they brought with them a
hatred of war combined with a spirit of respect for human dignity and
worth. Still, their work threatened to fall short of the concrete protections
that people sought.
It was within the
context of World War II and in the presence of the advocates of the
people that the United Nations Charter was written. And, it was at this
1945 "Conference on International Organisation", that the
governments of the world legally committed themselves to promote and
encourage respect for the inalienable human rights that belong to every
man, woman and child. While many advocates had wanted to see a specific
"bill of rights" included in the UN Charter, overall, human
rights advocates were pleased with the initial commitments made, for
they confirmed the United Nations' intent to preserve human rights both
in principle and in practice.
Struggle
for recognition
Based on the recommendations of a "nuclear commission" chaired
by Eleanor Roosevelt, the UN's Economic and Social Council established
the official UN Commission on Human Rights in June 1946. The Council
selected eighteen members to sit on the Commission. US Delegate Eleanor
Roosevelt was elected Chairperson, China's P.C. Chang and France's René
Cassin were elected as Vice-Chairmen and Lebanon's Charles Malik as
Rapporteur. The UN Secretariat supported the Commission's work under
the direction of John P. Humphrey, Director of the UN's Human Rights
Division, who prepared a 408-page documented outline to help the Commission
with its work. The principal task of the Commission was to define which
rights should be enumerated, and to determine the nature of the document
they were to design.
The delegates to
the Commission embarked on an arduous journey that lasted almost three
years. Their work involved thousands of hours of intensive study, heated
debate, and delicate negotiation that centred on innumerable recommendations
from many sources, public and private. The men and women of the Commission
on Human Rights strove to forge a declaration that might successfully
encompass the hopes, beliefs and aspirations of people throughout the
world. Their meetings were guided by a spirit of optimism and informed
by a clear recognition of the work's gravity.
The
efforts of the Commission on Human Rights would prove unrivalled in
world history. Although attempts to describe the rights of men and women
had been previously undertaken, the outcome had only applied to members
of a particular society. Never before had the community of nations successfully
identified those rights and freedoms to be enjoyed by all people of
the earth, for all time.
The Commission on
Human Rights' first meetings occurred over a two-week period, between
January 27 and February 10, 1947. The Commission decided to form a smaller
drafting group, composed of Roosevelt (U.S.), Chang (China), Malik (Lebanon)
and John Humphrey, who represented the UN Secretariat, as well as representatives
from Australia, Chile, France, the Philippines, the Soviet Union, the
Ukrainian SSR, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Yugoslavia. These delegates
were charged with creating the draft of an International Bill of Rights.
The first meeting
of this smaller drafting committee took place on June 9, 1947 in Lake
Success, N.Y. Their primary task was to contemplate a 408 page outline
of human rights that had been prepared by the UN Secretariat. The outline
included blueprints presented by the governments of Chile, Cuba, Panama,
the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as elements drawn
from the constitutions of fifty-five nations. Recommendations from various
non-governmental human rights organisations and from private citizens
were also considered.
Before composing
a document, the drafting committee had to address the legal nature of
the proposed bill. Certain nations, including the United States (wanting
to avoid the Senate ratification needed for US endorsement of any international
treaty) favoured a morally persuasive declaration. Other countries preferred
a legally binding treaty. It was Eleanor Roosevelt's political pragmatism
that prevailed in the final decision to draft both. As it turned out,
however, most of the time was spent considering the idea of a declaration.
René Cassin was chosen to compose a draft declaration based upon
the Secretariat's outline. This paper became the working draft of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Commission on
Human Rights met again from 2 to 17 December 1947. Although there was
still discussion of a binding treaty, negotiations focused on the declaration.
At the end of the two weeks, a draft declaration had been completed
to the satisfaction of a majority of the representatives and was forwarded
to the member states of the United Nations for comment.
With the initial
responses of governments on hand, the smaller drafting committee went
back to work in May of 1948. At the end of May, they reintroduced a
revised draft at the next meeting of the full Commission. After another
re-draft, on June 18, 1948, the Commission on Human Rights finished
its work and passed its report along with the proposed declaration to
the UN's Economic and Social Council. After inviting yet further comment
from member states, the Council sent the draft declaration to the General
Assembly for consideration. A number of non-governmental organisations
had attended the preparatory sessions; Mrs. Roosevelt later commended
them for their helpful suggestions.
But the debate did
not end here. The General Assembly's Third Committee held a total of
81 meetings and considered 168 formal resolution on the declaration.
The Third Committee first held a general debate and then turned to a
detailed debate of every article. They studied the order of the articles
and created a sub-committee to make sure that the meaning of each and
every word was clearly translatable into all the official languages
of the United Nations. On December 6, the Third Committee adopted the
declaration and sent it to the full General Assembly for final consideration
before the community of nations and the world.
Standard
of achievement
Through their difficult work, the framers of the Universal Declaration
concluded, "recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal
and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation
of freedom, justice and peace in the world." And they affirmed
that "it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse,
as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that
human rights should be protected by the rule of law."
In the General Assembly,
a final, heroic debate lasted until late in the evening of December
10, 1948. Then the President of the General Assembly called for a vote
of the member states of the United Nations for the adoption of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Forty-eight nations voted for the Declaration,
eight countries abstained (the Soviet bloc countries, South Africa and
Saudi Arabia) and two countries were absent -- the community of nations
adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights without dissent. It
was deemed "an historic act, destined to consolidate world peace
through the contribution of the United Nations toward the liberation
of individuals from the unjustified oppression and constraint to which
they are too often subjected."
The Universal Declaration
led to the eventual adoption of the Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and many
other legally binding international human rights treaties.