Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted from early 1947 to late 1948 by Drafting Committee the first United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Further discussion and amendments were made by the Commission on Human Rights, the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Members of the Commission who contributed significantly to the creation of the Declaration included Canadian John Peters Humphrey of the United Nations Secretariat, Eleanor Roosevelt of the United States (who chaired the Drafting Committee), René Cassin of France, Charles Malik of Lebanon, P. C. Chang of Republic of China (Taiwan), and Hansa Mehta of India among others. While not a member of the drafting committee, the French philosopher Jacques Maritain was influential in the lead up to the drafting of the Universal Declaration, advocacy for it within UNESCO in 1947-8, and in its subsequent advancement.

The Drafting Committee included

John Peters Humphrey was newly appointed as Director of the Division of Human Rights within the United Nations Secretariat. In this role, he produced the first draft of a list of rights that were to form the basis of the Declaration.

The underlying structure of the Universal Declaration was introduced in its second draft which was prepared by René Cassin working from the Humphrey draft. The structure was influenced by the Code Napoleon, including a preamble and introductory general principles.

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