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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Is Adopted

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris on December 10, 1948.

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The Event

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris on December 10, 1948.

The Wider Story

The document set out a common standard of rights after the destruction of the Second World War. Delegates from different traditions contributed to its wording.

Putting the Event in Perspective

The declaration was not itself a binding treaty with automatic enforcement everywhere.

Reading the Historical Record

Its influence developed through later agreements, institutions and movements.

About the Historical Recreation

The accompanying visual is an illustrative reconstruction: a 1948 Paris international assembly with distant delegates and unreadable document pages. It is not authentic archival footage, an eyewitness record or additional evidence for the event.

Sources

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