Content area
Full Text
Sensing the historic nature of the occasion, the General Assembly adopted the Human Rights Declaration without dissent. No nation wished to place itself in opposition to the tide of history, though many may have said, with St. Augustine, "God make us good, but not yet". Nonetheless, such is the moral force of this Declaration that it is in the process of changing the world. It begins by spelling out the fundamental trinity of rights: that to life, which is paramount; that to liberty, which gives life meaning; and that to security, which permits the enjoyment of life. The recognition of these rights is not new. They have been in the process of definition for centuries. What makes the Universal Declaration an epoch document is first of all its gobal impetus and secondly the breadth of its claims, a commitment to a new social contract, binding on all the Governments of the world.
Through its 30 articles, all nations commit themselves to observe equality before the law, submit to the rule of law, foster freedom of speech and assembly, validate their own authority through free elections with universal franchise, and (strikingly) recognize the right of all to adequate food, shelter, health care, education and employment. These articles, written by human...