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Definition: Universal Declaration of Human Rights from Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable

A document adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 setting forth basic rights and fundamental freedoms to which all are entitled. They include the right to life, liberty, freedom from servitude, fair trial, marriage, ownership of property, freedom of thought and conscience, freedom of expression and the rights to vote, work and education.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

From Blackwell Encyclopedias in Social Sciences: The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a non-binding, international legal instrument that was drafted within the United Nations system immediately after World War II. It was intended to spell out the basic, fundamental rights that all human beings should be entitled to irrespective of political affiliations or personal attributes (e.g., citizenship, language, religion, race/ethnicity, gender, etc.). Like many human rights instruments, the UDHR is comprised of an introductory preamble that expresses general beliefs and values on the subject, followed by numerous articles or clauses that translate these generalities into concrete rights and entitlements. Drafted as “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations” (Preamble), the historical legacy of the Declaration has been part of a larger debate about the degree to which human rights reflect a Western ideological bias and whether efforts at universal implementation constitute ethnocentrism on the part of…
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Full text Article Universal Declaration of Human Rights

From Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a United Nations document adopted by the General Assembly on December 10, 1948. This document defines a common standard of human rights that apply to all human beings regardless of their citizenship. By joining the UN, all member nations agree to the…
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Declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. Drafted by a committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt , it was adopted without dissent but with eight abstentions. Among its 30 articles are definitions of civil and political rights (including the rights to life, liberty, and a fair…
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Full text Article UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

From The Essentials of Philosophy and Ethics
A ‘ Magna Carta for mankind’. On 10 December 1948, with key roles played by such as Mahatma Gandhi and Eleanor Roosevelt, the United Nations approved in Paris a Universal Declaration of Human Rights stating that: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The Declaration is…
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Full text Article UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights

From The A to Z of Corporate Social Responsibility
→ Human rights www.un.org The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) was ratified by the UN General Assembly in 1948, responding to the atrocities of WWII and the holocaust. Since then, the UDHR has been the dominant yardstick for questions of → human rights in most democracies and has been…
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Full text Article THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

From Encyclopedia of Religion and the Law in America
as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national…
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Full text Article Universal Declaration of Human Rights

From Chambers Dictionary of World History
A declaration detailing individual and social rights and freedoms, principally written by René Cassin and adopted by the UN General Assembly in Dec 1948, with Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the six Soviet members abstaining. It includes and defines the civil and political rights found in most…
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Full text Article Universal Declaration of Human Rights

From Encyclopedia of African-American Politics
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the attempt by the international community to codify human rights, rights to which all persons of the world are entitled. Adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly, the declaration, like the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution, …
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the key historical foundational instrument of international human rights law. It was adopted by the United National on December 10, 1948, a date which is celebrated in the U.S. and around the world as human rights day. The U.S. President issues a…
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 25, affirms the right to health. Although the UDHR is non-binding and does not have an enforcement body it is the cornerstone of all human rights norms. [Text] General Assembly resolution 217 A 217 (III). International Bill of Human Rights A…
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On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration…
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