Teacher- in-charge: Mr. Adeniji Seun David, Civic Education
Unit, Liberal Arts Department Faith Academy, Canaan land, Ota.
Slide 2
MEANING OF UDHR. Human rights have been variedly described as
the basic legal entitlements of man or fundamental freedoms.
According to Jean Jacques Rousseau, man was born free, but every
where he is in chains. Consequently, the need to engender the
liberty of an ordinary man through the law within the civil
society. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was borne
out of the quest to establish and recognise the dignity of human
person and existence. It is a statement affirming the dignity and
rights of all human beings all over the world. It is the first
global expression of liberties or rights of persons from which
other civil constitutions form their bases. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was brought into place on
December 10 th, 1948 with the sole perspective bothering on the
recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable
rights of all members of the human family, freedom and peace in the
world. (Preamble to UDHR, 1948). It contains 30 articles of rights
and 7 core freedoms as stipulated in the bill and universally
agreed on by 48 member -nations.
Slide 3
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE UDHR The adoption of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights was done at the Palais de Chaillot in
France on 10, December, 1948. it was developed and popularised in
the aftermath of the Second World War II (1939-1945) on the
Chairmanship of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt of the United States of
America. Although, the UDHR was a non-biding resolution, yet, it is
considered by some to have acquired the force of international
customary law which may be used or invoked in appropriate
circumstance by national and other judiciaries. It was framed by
members of the Human Rights Commission with the Widow of President,
Delano Roosevelt as the one who began discussion on the need of an
international bill of rights in 1947. John Peter Humphrey and Rene
Cassin were instrumental for the cross-national researches in the
structure of the bill with international experts on human rights
drawn from all the continents of the world and major religions as
well as consultation with leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi of India.
The inclusion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights was predicated on the assumption that all human rights are
indivisible and that different types of rights listed are not
easily separable but linked. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights has become the centre of reference for most national
constitution including the Nigerian national constitution since
independence apart from the European Bill of Rights of 1950.
Slide 4
48 countries voted for the adoption of the bill with 8
member-nations absent and non voted against. Out of these
countries, there were the three African member-nations namely:
Kingdom of Egypt, Empire of Ethiopia and Republic of Liberia. WORK
TO DO Make a list of 10 member-nations present during the adoption
of the 1948 Universal Bill of Rights also called the UDHR.