Skip to main content
Eleanor Roosevelt's Speech at the United Nations General Assembly on the Adoption of the UNDHR
  • This is the famous photograph and digital record of Eleanor Roosevelt's speech at the United Nations General Assembly on the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) in December 1948.
  • Following Franklin D. Roosevelt's passing, Eleanor Roosevelt was named the United States representative to the UN's Commission on Human Rights and John Humphrey, a Law Professor at McGill University, became the director of the United Nations Division on Human Rights.
  • Both were instrumental in the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948 and proudly represented the Canada-US relationship as the two worked together during this time.
  • This speech is where Eleanor Roosevelt famously said "This Universal Declaration of Human Rights may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere."
Citation

Roosevelt, Eleanor. Address to the United Nations General Assembly on the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1948. Photograph. Paris, France. http://www.kentlaw.edu/faculty/bbrown/classes/HumanRightsSP10/CourseDocs/2EleanorRoosevelt.pdf

Policy Type
Photograph & Speaking Notes