UN Declaration of Human Rights – the threshold of a great event

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The right of every individual of either sex to enjoy a free and full life is set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights prepared by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, of which Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, the widow of Franklin D. Roosevelt, is the chairperson, photographed December 10, 1948. Keystone

United Nations Assembly during which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted at Palais de Chaillot in Paris on December 10, 1948. Keystone / Str

As a finale to their last meeting at Hunter College, the Sub-commission on the Status of Women hold a press conference in the delegates lounge of the gym building. From left to right are: Angela Jurdak, Lebanon; Fryderyka Kalinowski, Poland; Bodgil Begtrup, Denmark; Minerva Bernardino, Dominican Republic; and Hansa Mehta, India. May 14, 1946. UN Photo

Dr. P.C. Chang, Chinese delegate to the Economic and Social Council, was a key member of the drafting committee for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.1949. UN Photo

Jurist René Cassin of France, son of a Jewish merchant, was a member of the drafting committee. He received a Nobel Prize in 1968 for his role in the UDHR drafting and for his other human rights work. Alamy Stock Photo

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was the first treaty stemming from the UDHR. It was adopted on December 21, 1965, in the same year Martin Luther King Jr. led a civil rights march in Alabama to fight for black suffrage. Magnum Photos /Bruce Davidson

The General Assembly approved two Covenants on Human Rights on December 20, 1966. One dealt with economic, social and cultural rights, and the other with civil and political rights. Once ratified, the two Covenants legally required States parties to implement the rights and freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Ambassador Salvador P. Lopez (Philippines) signs the Covenants. UN Photo /Teddy Chen

On 18 December 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. In the same year, the legal position of women deteriorated massively after the Iranian Revolution. Keystone / Str

Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil, the third UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (from 2002 to 2003), was killed with 20 of his staff in the August 19, 2003 Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq. He is seen here in May 2002 in his previous post as UN Transitional Administrator in East Timor. Afp / Weda

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on December 10, 1948, has been described as a "miraculous text".

It has also inspired a series of subsequent international treaties, such as on elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (1965); civil and political rights (1966); economic, social and cultural rights (1966); elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (1979); and against torture (1984).

We take a look at some key figures and key moments in its adoption, and how pressure from civil society has also played a role in pushing for human rights improvements.