Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

John Peters Humphrey

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted from early 1947 to late 1948 by Canadian John Peters Humphrey of the United Nations Secretariat and representatives of countries which were members of the first United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

Well known members of the Commission who contributed significantly to the creation of the Declaration included Eleanor Roosevelt of the United States, who was Chairman, René Cassin of France, Charles Malik of Lebanon, P. C. Chang of Republic of China which is now Taiwan,[lower-alpha 1] and Dr (Mrs). Hansa Mehta of India[1] among others. While not a member of the drafting committee, the French philosopher Jacques Maritain was influential in the lead up to the drafting of the Universal Declaration, advocacy for it within UNESCO in 1947-8, and in its subsequent advancement.

Membership of the commission

The membership of the Commission was designed to be broadly representative of the global community with representatives of the following countries serving: Australia, Belgium, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Chile, Republic of China, Egypt, France, India, Iran, Lebanon, Panama, Philippines, United Kingdom, United States, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Uruguay and Yugoslavia.[2]

The Humphrey draft

Humphrey was newly appointed as Director of the Division of Human Rights within the United Nations Secretariat.[3] In this role he produced the first draft of a list of rights that were to form the basis of the Declaration.

The Cassin draft (the second draft)

The underlying structure of the Universal Declaration was introduced in its second draft which was prepared by René Cassin. Cassin worked from a first draft prepared by John Peters Humphrey. The structure was influenced by the Code Napoleon, including a preamble and introductory general principles.[4] Cassin compared the Declaration to the portico of a Greek temple, with a foundation, steps, four columns and a pediment. Articles 1 and 2 are the foundation blocks, with their principles of dignity, liberty, equality and brotherhood. The seven paragraphs of the preamble, setting out the reasons for the Declaration, are represented by the steps. The main body of the Declaration forms the four columns. The first column (articles 3-11) constitutes rights of the individual, such as the right to life and the prohibition of slavery. The second column (articles 12-17) constitutes the rights of the individual in civil and political society. The third column (articles 18-21) is concerned with spiritual, public and political freedoms such as freedom of religion and freedom of association. The fourth column (articles 22-27) sets out social, economic and cultural rights. In Cassin's model, the last three articles of the Declaration provide the pediment which binds the structure together. These articles are concerned with the duty of the individual to society and the prohibition of use of rights in contravention of the purposes of the United Nations.[5]

Subsequent drafting

The Cassin draft was submitted to the Commission on Human Rights and was to undergo editing in the Commission, then in further drafts considered by the Third Committee of the United Nations, and finally in a draft before the General Assembly of the United Nations, which ultimately adopted the Declaration on 10 December 1948. The vote for the declaration was 48 to 0 with eight abstentions: the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Czechoslovakia, the People's Republic of Poland, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Union of South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[6]

Controversies

The first controversy to resolve was related to the very origin of the human rights, basically the discussion between the supporters of the concepts of natural rights (which humans are endowed by God or Nature) and positive rights (which humans acquire as a result of a rational agreement).[7]

The second controversy was basically between the positions of the Marxist theory of the Soviet Bloc and the liberal theory of the Western World. In philosophical aspect, the Soviet Bloc criticized the individualist stance of the issue, arguing on favor of the collectivism approach, where the rights of the collective dominate that of an individual. In political aspect, the Soviet Union and its satellites, facing the mounting accusations in the violation of the human rights (and defending itself in the "And you are lynching Negroes" style), argued that the declaration is a mere formality if it did not consider the warranties of the economical and social rights. However these controversies created a surprisingly little obstacle, because the Soviet Block was not very active during the seating of the Commission, which may indicate on the preestablished decision not to sign the Declaration. [7]

Another issue is the legal status of the declaration. The majority considered the document to be mainly of moral character. At the same time some participants argued in favor of adding certail legal aspects in terms of international law.[7]

British representatives in particular were extremely frustrated that the proposal had moral but no legal obligation. (It was not until 1976 that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights came into force, giving a legal status to most of the Declaration) [8]

UDHR timeline

Source: United Nations Year Book 1948-1949, pp. 524 et seq

1945

1946

1947

1948

Notes

  1. ↑ The Declaration was drafted during the Chinese Civil War. P.C. Chang was appointed as a representative by the Republic of China, then the recognised government of China, but which was driven from mainland China and now administers only Taiwan and nearby islands.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.un.int/india/india%20&%20un/humanrights.pdf
  2. ↑ Morsink, p 4
  3. ↑ Johannes Morsink, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, University of Pennsylvania Press, p 5
  4. ↑ Glendon, pp 62-64
  5. ↑ Mary Ann Glendon, A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Chapter 10
  6. ↑ http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/mmt/udhr/udhr_general/drafting_history_10.html
  7. 1 2 3 "РАЗРАБОТКА ВСЕОБЩЕЙ ДЕКЛАРАЦИИ ПРАВ ЧЕЛОВЕКА (1946–1948 ГГ.)", Глен Джонсон (Glen Johnson ), Развитие личности no. 3, 2014
  8. ↑ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Final authorized text. The British Library. September 1952. Retrieved 16 August 2015.

Further reading

External links

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