Production

Running Time: 17 minutes
Read by: Douglas Harvey
Book Coordinator: Douglas Harvey
Meta Coordinator: Douglas Harvey
Proof Listener: Nancy O’Malley

The Drafting Committee

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted by a diverse committee of delegates, with significant roles played by its chairperson Eleanor Roosevelt (USA), and the principal drafter René Cassin (France). Other key members included John Peters Humphrey (Canada), who prepared the initial draft, and Charles Malik (Lebanon), the rapporteur. 

• Eleanor Roosevelt: As the first Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, she was a driving force behind the declaration and used her influence to help guide the drafting process to completion.
• René Cassin: He composed the first draft of the Declaration and later served as the President of the European Court of Human Rights. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968 for his work on human rights.
• John Peters Humphrey: He prepared the initial blueprint for the document, a monumental task assigned to him as the Director of the UN’s Human Rights Division.
• Charles Malik: As the committee’s rapporteur, he played a crucial role in refining the document. 
• The drafting committee also included representatives from other countries, such as China (P.C. Chang), the United Kingdom (Charles Dukes), Australia (William Hodgson), and Chile (Hernán Santa Cruz), ensuring a wide range of legal and cultural backgrounds were represented. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights consists of the following:

The preamble sets out the historical and social causes that led to the necessity of drafting the Declaration.

• Articles 1–2 establish the basic concepts of dignity, liberty, and equality for all humans regardless of characteristics such as race, gender, religion, or nationality (later interpreted to include sexual orientation and disability).
• Articles 3–5 establish other individual rights, such as the right to life and the prohibition of slavery and torture.
• Articles 6–11 refer to the fundamental legality of human rights with specific remedies cited for their defence when violated.
• Articles 12–17 set forth the rights of the individual towards the community, including freedom of movement and residence within each state, the right of property, the right to a nationality and right to asylum.
• Articles 18–21 sanction the so-called "constitutional liberties" and spiritual, public, and political freedoms, such as freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression, media, association, and assembly.
• Articles 22–27 sanction an individual's economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to work, health, housing, and education. It upholds an expansive right to an adequate standard of living, and makes special mention of care given to those in motherhood or childhood.
• Articles 28–30 establish the general means of exercising these rights, the areas in which the rights of the individual cannot be applied, the duty of the individual to society, and the prohibition of the use of rights in contravention of the purposes of the United Nations Organization.