- On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly declared and adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) with most members of the United Nations, including Canada, signing the Declaration.
- The document is used as a tool for teaching, educating and promoting respect for rights and freedoms and serves as a "common standard of achievement for all people and all nations".
- Following the devastation of the Second World War, countries around the world came together to express their support for and belief in human rights.
- John Humphrey, a Canadian lawyer and human rights advocate, was instrumental in drafting the UDHR as the director of the United Nations' Human Rights Division.
- Mr. Humphrey and his team worked closely with Eleanor Roosevelt, who acted as the United States representative to the UN's Commission on Human Rights, for over two years to create one of the modern world's greatest documents.
- The UNDHR had an influential role in developing human rights law in Canada including the Canadian Bill of Rights (1960) and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982), and the Declaration was used as a model for provincial human rights legislation.
UN General Assembly. "Universal Declaration of Human Rights." 217 (III) A. Paris, 1948. https://www.ohchr.org/en/resources/educators/human-rights-education-training/universal-declaration-human-rights-1948 (accessed August 2, 2022).
For the most recent accessible UDHR: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
For more information on Canada and the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/1998CanLIIDocs40#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc2Page1-Page10/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgCYAFMAc0ICMjHvwEAGAJQAaZNlKEIARUSFcAT2gByTVIiEwuBMtUbtu-YZABlPKQBCGgEoBRADLOAagEEAcgGFnKVIwACNoUnYJCSA
For more information on the Declaration: https://humanrights.ca/story/the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights
For more information on John Humphrey's involvement in the UDHR: https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/12/10/history-dec-101948-canadas-lead-in-the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights/