The UDHR: A common achievement for humankind

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a milestone achievement of the United Nations which outlined the fundamental human rights that everyone is entitled to.

Seventy years ago, in the aftermath of the Second World War, people around the world had faced immense suffering. The international community vowed to never again permit the atrocities and destruction of the preceding world wars. It was thought that human societies should adhere to a set of common principles and therefore guarantee the same rights of all individuals everywhere. Member states hoped that these principles would provide a common standard in which to hold all people and nations to account.

With this inspiration in mind, on December 10, 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris. This milestone document, drafted by representatives from vastly different cultures and societies, represented the shared goal of guaranteeing peace, security and development across all human societies. For the first time in history, the Declaration spelt out the basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that every human being should enjoy. Since then, a series of international human rights treaties and other instruments have been made at the regional and global levels on the basis of UDHR. Until now, most states have also adopted constitutions and other laws which formally recognize the basic human rights.

The UDHR is not a human rights treaty; it is a General Assembly resolution approved by a vote. Despite such a resolution being technically nonbinding, several scholars have argued that the UDHR, or at least many of its provisions, have emerged as international customary law. Several UN charter-based and non-conventional procedures of the United Nations make use of the UDHR. The jurisdiction of these procedures reaches all states and even when states have not ratified the relevant treaties, the UDHR will constitute a likely reference text. This is true for the Universal Periodic Review as well as the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council. These UN mechanisms are entrusted with inspecting state compliance with general human rights. They have been successful in keeping most of the UN member states under UN scrutiny from time to time. By doing so, UN human rights principles bring positive benefits to the world. Today, human rights are widely accepted on both international and domestic levels and cover all the aspects of human society from the government to businesses.

However, the universal values enshrined in the original declaration are buckling under the weight of ascendant forms of nationalism, populism, xenophobia, and misogynism. Intolerance, hate and discrimination are rising across the globe. These trends are largely driven by the real problems of poverty, extremism, terrorism, and the enormous disparities of opportunity, wealth and power. Governments, too, often cynically co-opt the language of human rights for their own political motivations; fighting trade wars, aggression and gaining political benefit. Too many times, human rights have been used as a slogan, without real meaningful intentions. As a result, the declaration is often viewed with cynicism and many people doubt whether all humans really are "members of the same family."

Against this background, it is necessary to once again reaffirm the values enshrined in the UDHR and keep in mind that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights" and "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms…without discrimination of any kind." In order to promote and equally protect the fundamental human rights of all peoples, there is an urgent need to improve the application of human rights across governments and other state institutions.

The UDHR also reminds us how important it is to foster a spirit of international cooperation. No state can deal with the enormous challenges facing humanity alone. In this regard, the international community should work together to tackle the many human rights challenges and humanitarian crises, and ensure that all the fundamental human rights can be universally protected. We must build a community with a shared future for humankind.

Dr. Zhang Wei is co-director of the Institute for Human Rights, China University of Political Science and Law.