The Significance of Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The assignment discusses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and its role in sustaining global peace. It highlights the positive aspects of UDHR, but also mentions its shortcomings, such as article 3 being nullified in Brazil in 2007 and article 19 being misused as anti-terrorist laws to lower freedom of expression. The document concludes that UDHR is a significant instrument for protecting human rights and can be seen as a barrier against abuse from privileged classes.

Running head: ARTICLE REVIEW
Article Review
Name of the Student
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Author note

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Executive summary
The purpose of this report is to shed light on the fact that how Universal Declaration of Human
Rights has become a shield to protect the basic human rights worldwide and its role behind
maintaining the world peace in contemporary times. The report highlights the historical
contexts, the merits and demerits of UDHR and finally shows how UDHR serves as a significant
instrument for protecting the global peace.

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Table of Contents
Context.............................................................................................................................................3
Content.............................................................................................................................................3
Significance.....................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................7

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Context
The purpose of this report is to critically analyze the significance of Universal
Declaration of Human Rights to ensure the protection of the human rights for the sustenance of
global peace. In this report, the historical reason behind this type of initiative and the subsequent
developments in the regard and the virtues of such initiatives are discussed and along with that
this report discusses to what extent UDHR plays an important role in sustaining and
understanding global peace.
After the end of World War II, United Nations formed and the contemporary world
leaders delivered a document that can complement Charter and ensure the rights of the
individuals everywhere (Marshall 2017). Subsequently an UDHR commission was established
and in the year of 1948, in a conference held in Paris UDHR was adopted by the leaders in
United Nation’s convention with 8 abstentions. The UDHR began with recognizing the inherent
dignity of all the individuals is the foundation of peace, freedom and justice in the world. UDHR
was drafted with an aim to maintain a global peace and harmony in the world as some human
rights should be present for the individuals to live in this planet peacefully. Above all this sort of
draft would have been the only medium to save human beings from every corner of the earth and
this draft restored their basic human rights to establish a global peace and justice.
The authors are of course reliable as initially the Director of Division of Human Rights
John Peters Humphrey was assigned to prepare the final draft; and then Rene Cassin, P. C Chang
and Charles Malik helped to draft the final copy. The authors are reliable as they worked under
the supervision of a drafting committee where the chairperson was Eleanor Roosevelt.

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The bias of UDHR towards the democracies of the western world was introduced in the
year of 1948 by UN general Assembly resolution. UDHR aspire to exert a political and moral
influence on the countries by a series of recommendations. The UDHR laid out the normative
underpinning of an international system which is governed by the rule of law for maintaining the
human rights. In this regard it can be said that the birth of united nations was to maintain the
world peace and the draft of UDHR has been helping to establish human rights for all the
individuals so that a global peace and harmony can be sustained. Apart from that, UDHR allows
everyone to be able to live with some basic rights as a human being or being a part of the society.
Content
UDHR has been marked as the first time document ever regarding the rights of men and
women in one document. Pope John Paul II stated regarding this initiative that it showed
maximum expression about the human conscience of that point of time (MacNaughton and
Koutsioumpas 2017). At that time UDHR was looked at as a document that exerted a political
moral and legal influence beyond the imagination of the individuals who worked as its drafter
(Cheng 2015). First documentation of UDHR propagated a concept that human rights should be
applied to every individuals of the world in every corner of earth (Marshall 2017). UDHR has
been signed by the numerous states and by the virtue of UDHR’s intercontinental approval; it
acquired the category of customary international law. The position of UDHR is seen as strong
though it disintegrates while experiencing the Abuses of human resources in various areas
(MacNaughton and Koutsioumpas 2017). It can be said that UDHR brought in the human rights

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in front and gave them respect and the status that was immensely needed. It can surely be looked
at as a global Magna-Carta for the human race.
UDHR has a range of merits and in this section of this report those are mentioned.
a. The non-binding nature of UDHR can be considered as a blessing and a curse both. As
UDHR is flexible, the beneficial factors emerge from the area that has been established
for various new strategies developed in order to promote Human rights and UDHR serves
as a platform for development of various initiatives that are legislative regarding the
international laws of human rights (Malik et al. 2015). Thus it can be said that UDHR is
a tool to protect the human rights.
b. UDHR helped various nations to draft their constitution to form their policies regarding
human rights and fir an example it can be said that article 26 of UDHR managed a place
in the constitution of Malawi government.
c. It can also be said that UDHR has a significant moral authority and it can be said that it
supports the moral precepts that is applicable to every human being. Thus it can be said
that universalizing the concept is a baseline for the welfare of human society
(MacNaughton and Koutsioumpas 2017). For an example, it can be said that in between
the 60s and 70s various organs of United Nations used UDHR’s provisions to denounce
the malicious occurrence of racial discrimination experienced in the land of South Africa.
Thus it can be said that UDHR’s role in maintaining the global peace and
harmony among the humankind is undeniable as it provides human beings with the basic
human rights they deserve and in many areas they are deprived of.

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Significance
It can be said that recognition of the innate self-respect and inalienable and equal rights
of the individuals is the basic foundation of justice, peace and freedom in the world (Cheng
2015). It can be said that the abuse of human rights can result in violent and inappropriate acts
that can outrage the conscience of human society and can potentially harm the basic rights of
individuals (Hayden 2017). In this way, UDHR can be looked at as a shield that protects the
mankind from various oppressions and inequalities (Cheng 2015). Thus it can be said that
UDHR is immensely important and has an active role behind maintaining the world peace in the
contemporary times.
The process that led to adoption of the UDHR initiated in the year of 946 where nuclear
UN commission on Human right met for the first time and provided the necessary guidelines to
draft the copy of UDHR. The purpose of drafting the universal declaration of human rights is to
sustain the global peace and to show how diplomatically the global leaders can sustain the peace.
Though it can be said that there are numerous positive sides of UDHR but there are some
shortcomings or limitations of this and those are mentioned in this section of this report. Some
individuals opine that UDHR is nothing but a fantasy that cannot be attained in real life situation
(Hayden 2017). Two articles of UDHR that are article 3 and article 19 have been pointed out as
weakness of the documentation.
a. Article 3 gives promises police officers executed a right to life, which was nullified when
in Brazil 1260 individuals in the year of 2007. The massacre was tagged as an act of
resistance and the situation was not even scrutinized properly (Malik et al. 2015).

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b. The article 19 states that men and women are free to express their opinion under any
circumstances and can raise their opinions for the best interests of the humankind
(Schabas 2017). UN showed their concern regarding one article regarding the misuse of
laws that are known as anti-terrorist to lower the freedom of expression. For an example,
it can be said that in the country of Somalia, there are two defenders of human rights
were murdered during a procession in court (MacNaughton and Koutsioumpas 2017).
This issue raised questions regarding how UDHR remains as a significant instrument to
protect the human rights.
Thus to conclude it can be said that UDHR is a documentation that has a significant
contribution in the improved living conditions o the individuals in various parts of the world. On
the other hand, in today’s world where the basic rights of the individuals are getting challenged,
such international laws for securing the basic rights of the individuals is important and has
become must. Thus it can be said that Universal Declaration of Human Rights can be seen as the
barrier that is protecting the commoners from various types of abuse and harms from the
privileged class.

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References
Cheng, S., 2015. Translation, Power Hierarchy, and the Globalization of the Concept “Human
Rights”: Potential Contributions from Confucianism Missed by the UDHR. The Age of Human
Rights Journal, (4), pp.1-33.
Hayden, P., 2017. Cosmopolitan global politics. Routledge.
MacNaughton, G. and Koutsioumpas, K., 2017. Universal Human Rights Education for the Post-
2015 Development Agenda. In Globalisation, Human Rights Education and Reforms (pp. 15-
33). Springer, Dordrecht.
Malik, C., Bogomolov, A., Chang, P.C., Cassin, R., Roosevelt, E., Dukes, C. and Humphrey,
J.P., 2015. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UDHR, Declaration of Human
Rights. Human Rights Declaration, Human Rights Charter, The Un and Human Rights. UN
News Center. UN, nd Web, 4.
Marshall, K., 2017. Building Faith in the Twenty-First Century: Some Pitfalls and Potential
Paths. Global Visioning: Hopes and Challenges for a Common Future, p.5.
Olayemi, A.A.M., Alabi, H., Majeed, A. and Hidayah Buang, A., 2015. Islamic Human Rights
Law: A Critical Evaluation of UIDHR & CDHRI In Context Of UDHR.
Schabas, W.A., 2017. The Human Right to Peace. Harvard International Law Journal, 58, pp.28-
32.
Ssenyonjo, M., 2016. International human rights law: six decades after the UDHR and beyond.
Routledge.

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