The Universal Declaration of Human Rights E-Book

50MINUTES

• Herausgeber: 50Minutes.com
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: History
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 46

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the history of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in next to no time with this concise guide.

50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the wake of the Second World War and its atrocities, the international community decided to come together to establish peace and accord freedoms and dignity to all individuals. This led to the founding of the United Nations, which soon tasked a Drafting Committee, including Eleanor Roosevelt and René Cassin, to write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document would provide guidance on the fundamental freedoms that had been slowly acknowledged over the past few centuries, but would still run into opposition and difficulties.

In just 50 minutes you will:
   • Understand the context surrounding the foundation of the United Nations and the decision to draft the Declaration
   • Discover the history of human rights across the world and early examples of documents granting rights and freedoms to individuals
   • Learn more about the struggle to enforce these rights and the ways in which they have still been flouted across the world

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Key information

When: the night of 10 December 1948, during the 183rd session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.Where: Palais de Chaillot, Paris.Context: the period following the Second World War and the creation of the UN.Key protagonists:Eleanor Roosevelt, First Chair of the Drafting Committee and First Lady of the United States (1884-1962).René Cassin, French jurist and member of the Commission on Human Rights (1887-1976).Impact: the gradual creation of an international, regional and national judicial body with the aim of ensuring the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Introduction

On 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This text itself, in force internationally, took on an incredible symbolic significance in a world that had just left behind the horrors of the Second World War (1939-1945). It recognised that each individual, due to the simple fact of being human, was entitled to a series of rights and fundamental freedoms that were considered inalienable and made all people equal to one another, whatever their nationality, religion, profession or ethnicity. Made up of 30 articles, the Declaration claimed to be a shield against oppression and tyranny.

The recognition of these rights took a long time and was full of pitfalls. In a world where the law often prevailed over human dignity, human rights were not guaranteed. Ignored by absolutist monarchies, stifled by colonisers and the intense search for profit, and practically annihilated by the barbarism of dictators, human rights are the result of an unremitting fight, which lasted for centuries and which has cost the lives of thousands of individuals.

It was only in the 20th century, faced with the atrocities perpetrated by totalitarian regimes, such as the planned extermination of millions of men and women in concentration camps, that the nations of the world became aware of the need to formally guarantee rights for all human beings. The UN took this mission upon itself by creating a Drafting Committee for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1946. It took two years to finish this text, which granted nothing more or less than the equality of all the people in the world.

Political, social and economic context

The 19th century: a changing world

Although they had always been strived for, human rights made several major advances from the end of the 18th century. Many Enlightenment philosophers fought against dictatorial states, and the French Revolution of 1789 as well as the pronouncement of the first fundamental rights marked the peak of their fight. But the fight for the recognition of human rights was far from being over in Europe, as the continent was about to experience new inequalities in the 19th century.

After major political upsets, important changes took place in the European economy. In the space of a few decades, various countries experienced the First Industrial Revolution with the increased use of iron, coal and steam engines (1830-1870) which, as well as causing an economic boom, noticeably modified the ways in which thousands of men and women lived. These people left the countryside and came to look for work in the many factories that were being built in towns. But work did not mean prosperity for the European population which, as a consequence of economic growth, doubled in just over 50 years. In this new world, in which capitalism and profit reigned supreme, wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few people, while those who provided the heavy labour on a daily basis lived in deplorable conditions. On the other end of the scale from the upper class, a new social class was formed: the proletariat, whose demands were embodied by socialism.

In addition to these internal transformations, Europe’s economic and demographic surge forced it to continually search for food resources and raw materials, which it could no longer produce itself. The necessity of these resources and the need to reach new markets to sell their products sent European nations on a new wave of colonialism and imperialism. Following various expeditions, Africa and Asia were under Europe’s control. In 1884, the Berlin Conference officially ratified the new colonial borders, leaving open the possibility of a relentless exploitation of wealth and populations under the rule of European nations, with no regard for their freedom.

The devastating effects of war

As well as having a harmful impact on living conditions for the majority of the population, the incessant search for wealth ended up sowing discord among the nations. Economic and expansionist rivalries, alliances and aggravated nationalism pushed Europe to the brink of war. On 28 June 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914), heir to the Austrian throne, in Sarajevo was the final straw. Due to the alliances between states (the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente), this isolated incident in the Balkans plunged all of Europe into chaos.

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.