Introduction

Human rights have been one of the main areas of work to which the United Nations has
consistently devoted its time and efforts. When the Second World War came to an end,
fundamental human rights were perceived as a prerequisite for international peace and
friendly relations among nations. The United Nations has been concerned with the universal
respect for, and observance of, human rights since its inception in 1945. Its beginnings were
pronounced in the UN Charter where the phrase ‘human rights and fundamental freedoms’
were repeatedly mentioned. The Charter also provided for the establishment of a subsidiary
body under the Economic and Social Council for the promotion and protection of human
rights. That subsidiary body came to be known as the Commission on Human Rights (now
replaced by Human Rights Council). It is the Commission that took up the task of drafting a
human rights document for the possible adoption by the General Assembly. Soon after, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted in 1948, which was intended
to prevent the kind of atrocities that Nazis had committed during the Second World War. The
UDHR championed almost all the fundamental rights of the individual; it was hailed as ‘the
Magna Carta of Mankind’ by its chief architect, Eleanor Roosevelt.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights did not create any binding obligations for the
member states of the United Nations. Hence, the UN Commission on Human Rights.
immediately took up the task of drafting a binding international treaty of Human Rights.
However, that proposed treaty was divided into two separate Covenants – International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Two Optional Protocols to ICCPR, one on individuals’
right to petition and the other on the abolition of death penalty, were adopted in 1966 and
1991 respectively. The drafting of the Covenants and the First Optional Protocol (to the
ICCPR) took 18 years. They are the most comprehensive and basic human rights treaties ever
prepared by the international community. They contain almost all the basic rights of the
individual – civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights – and provide measures for
their implementation. These five human rights instruments are known as the “International
Bill of Human Rights”. This unit will also discuss the two bodies (Committees) that have
been created as part of the monitoring framework of the two Covenants.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the UDHR)

as the name suggests, was adopted as a resolution of the General Assembly on 10 December
1948 after nearly two years of deliberations and efforts of countless individuals went into
preparing that vision. Small countries and non-Western perspectives found voice during its
drafting and owing to their participation; fierce, vigorous discussions took place on
philosophical and cultural aspects of human rights. In view of the religious, philosophical and
ideological divisions prevailing at that time, the Commission on Human Rights steered itself
clear of endorsing a particular philosophical or religious stand on the issue. Instead, the
Declaration evolved from a complex and such diverse moral, philosophical, political and
cultural inputs to establish a ‘common standard for all peoples and all nations’ This was no
mean an achievement in a world that was sharply divided on ideological and other grounds.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights subsumes an entire range of human rights, both
the civil-political rights and the socio-economic-cultural rights, and the individual and the
collective rights. Universal Declaration acts as a reference point for any effort to understand
the nature and substance of rights.
Provisions of the Universal Declaration
Two principles come across as the most important pillars of human rights norm-setting effort
in the post-Second World War period. Those are the principles of equality and non-
discrimination. The principles appear in the initial articles (Articles 1, 2 and 7) of the
Declaration and the two Covenants as well. Article 1 says that all are ‘born free and equal in
dignity and rights and Article 2 sets forth the principle of non-discrimination in the broadest
sense including most of the categories on the basis of which discrimination can and does
occur. It grants entitlement to rights to everyone ‘without distinction of any kind, such as
race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or status’. However, one must remember that inclusive and broad nature of
provision on non-discrimination does not preclude special treatment meted out to certain
categories of persons in order to ensure greater equality and rights. For example, although
discrimination on the basis of sex is not allowed, states can have laws for differential
treatment of women to improve their status in society. Equality, non discrimination and rights
of the individual are the flavour of the Declaration.
The other provisions in the Declaration are relating to the civil-political rights (Articles 3 21)
and socio-economic-cultural rights (Articles 22-29). The civil-political rights include the all
too familiar right to life, liberty and security of the person (Article 3), the prohibition
provisions (slavery in Article 4, torture and other degrading ill treatment in Article 5 and
prohibition against arbitrary arrest in Article 9), the right to a fair trial, presumption of
innocence until proven guilty and non-interference in personal and family life (Articles 10, 11
and 12 respectively), freedom of movement, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly, right
to asylum and right to a nationality (Articles 13, 19, 20, 14 and 15), and right to marriage,
right to own property, right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and right to take
part in one’s government (Article 16, 17, 18, 21). Some provisions in the Declaration have
been controversial and have received criticism from non-western ideological quarters. For
example, Article 17 on right to own property and that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of
one’s property is seen as promoting the private capitalist system that precludes any systemic
change in the society. Likewise, the provision in Article 21 on direct or indirect participation
in one’s government arguably places a premium on direct and representative democracy in
comparison to other political systems.
Economic, social and cultural rights (Articles 22-29) include the right to social security
(Article 22), the right to work, free choice of employment with equal pay for equal work and
just and favourable conditions of work (Article 23), the right to rest and leisure (Article 24),
the right to an adequate standard of living (Article 25) and the right to education (Article 26).
The lone provision on cultural rights is included in Article 27 that seeks to guarantee the right
to participate in the cultural life of the community. This provision is also seen as a collective
right as against the individual rights preceding it. Article 29 is the only provision that imposes
duties on every individual towards the community and the permissible lawful limitations on
the exercise of the rights in the interest of ‘the just requirements of morality, public order and
the general welfare’.
Significance of the Universal Declaration
The origins of the Declaration are deeply rooted in the principles of liberal democracy and
the contributions of prominent figures such as René Cassin, Eleanor Roosevelt, and John
Humphrey. As a result, the Declaration places a strong emphasis on individual rights and the
institutions of liberal democracy. Nevertheless, it has garnered widespread support from
nations across various ideological spectrums, non-governmental organizations, and people
worldwide, making it a truly universal document. While some argue that it is merely a
Declaration rather than a binding treaty, and therefore does not impose obligations on
member states, this perspective leads to the view that it may not be a highly effective
instrument. Having said that, it is pertinent to note here that the Declaration is one of the most
important documents that were designed to proclaim a vision by the United Nations, and as a
set of goals that states aspired to pursue and accomplish; it has cast tremendous legal,
political, moral and normative impact. In order to emphasise that the Declaration belonged to
and was morally binding on everyone, the word “universal” was inserted in the title instead of
the more commonly used term “international”. In addition to it, the Declaration proclaimed
rights in the name of “all peoples and all nations” (in the preamble), the ‘inherent dignity’ and
worth of the person, that everyone was born free and equal – obliquely taking recourse to the
theory of natural rights and rejecting in the same breath that it was the prerogative of the
governments to grant rights (Lauren, p. 227). The Preamble of the Declaration points out that
the individual, not the State or the government, is “the foundation of freedom, justice and
peace in the world”. In one stroke, the Declaration brought individual to the centre of human
rights debate and made him/her the object as well as subject of international human rights
law.
Secondly, it has spawned the adoption of several human rights instruments across the world.
To say that it is only a Declaration is to understate the incredible influence it wields and the
remarkable acceleration it has lent to the development of human rights legal instruments at
the global and regional level. Many of those documents acknowledge the Universal
Declaration as their source of authority.
Thirdly, many countries that gained independence in the decade of 1950s and 1960s after
years of colonial subjugation incorporated the rights and principles (such as equality and non-
discrimination) found in the UDHR in their national constitutions, statutory laws, policies and
programmes designed to protect fundamental rights and freedoms.
Fourthly, the Declaration has evolved into a powerful moral force, serving as a foundation for
justification and legitimacy for those advocating for the protection of human rights. The
adoption of human rights instruments, the development of customary international human
rights law, demands for human rights enforcement within states, and the moral justification
for the work of various NGOs—all of these are deeply rooted, either wholly or partially, in
the principles and norms established by the Declaration. Its global influence has continued to
expand without the need for binding obligations on member states. It plays a key role in
almost every discussion on human rights since 1948 and serves as an important guide for
international human rights. It is widely seen as a clear explanation of the term "human rights
and fundamental freedoms" mentioned in the UN Charter. The Declaration is the best-known
and most cited human rights document in the world. In UN organs, the Declaration has an
authority surpassed only by the Charter. It is invoked constantly in the General Assembly, the
Security Council and other organs. The International Court of Justice also has invoked the
Declaration in the Iranian Hostages Case. Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United
Nations, has rightly remarked on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the UDHR that it
has served “as the foundation for all subsequent human rights work and become ever more
deeply integrated into the fabric of national and international life, both ethically and
juridically.