Universal Declaration of Human Rights

On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (hereinafter “the Declaration”) in response to the carnage and barbarism of World War II. Although the statement is not legally binding upon member states, it expresses the moral conscience of the world and is based upon five principles: respect for the rule of law, dignity of the person, fair and equitable treatment of individuals by governments, tolerance and acceptance of diversity, and the value of democratic participation.

The Declaration contains a preamble and 30 articles. Article 1 affirms the principle “that everyone is entitled to fundamental rights without regard to distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social ...