The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly following in the wake of World War II and the bitter atrocities committed during the Holocaust. With thirty articles outlining all people’s natural-born rights, it symbolized the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of millions of people seeking peace, security, and justice in our world.
Created by the United Nations Human Rights Commission under the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt, it sent a powerful message to governments to be respectful of the human rights and the basic freedoms of their citizens during a time when people faced such great division and fear for what was to come next. It also made the citizens responsible for holding their governments accountable as they began to understand that they, as people, deserved the most basic of rights.
This document is aspirational in its vision of a peaceful and just world. Its aim and message constantly inspires our work as the Human Rights Coalition of the Central Valley.
Written below is the entirety of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.