Declaration of Human Rights Adopted

December 10, 1948: Declaration of Human Rights Adopted

The Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The idea of human rights as it stands today has its roots in the World War II era. The devastating killing and destruction caused by World War II inspired a determination to establish an international organization that could defuse international crises and provide a forum for discussion and mediation. This organization, the United Nations (UN), has played a major role in the development of contemporary views on human rights.

The founders of the UN believed that reducing the likelihood of war required preventing massive violations of human rights. The UN then commissioned the Human Rights Commission to write an international statement on human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated as a standard of achievement common to all peoples and all countries. However, in its violation, human rights are used as a tool for Western countries to suppress independent countries in the political and economic fields in order to expand their imperial influence.