The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

History of the Global Now
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Terese Howard
11/5/09

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The purpose of the declaration is to disseminate its values across the globe “without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories” (http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a27). The UN proclaimed this document through its exemplary authority, not through any legal authority. It sets the president for its understanding of human rights, as well as creating a backdrop for further legal dealings with UN member countries. It serves a role like a mission statement which member countries must sign.

In this declaration the human subject is treated as a citizen of the world. The world, here, is understood as a social order under the rule of law. The person also is defined by their relation to the law. Article 6 states “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law” (http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a27). Humans are to be protected from the abuse of these rights by the law. Even people’s intellectual or artistic creations are the be protected against the possible “misuses.” Article 27 states “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” (http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a27). The declaration of these human “rights” makes the human at the liberty of law to protect it.

Each of these human rights is a one sided declaration. The right to freedom, the right not to be enslaved…whether it be stated in the negative of the positive the right to its opposite is not granted. In this light humans are not declared the right to not own property, to not be freed from slavery, to not have a nationality, and so on. While the declaration proclaims freedom to all it does so from the starting point, and within the bounds of, what is declared in this document. The effort for freedom here is one of a universal individual instead of a nation or even a national individual.