UN Adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Historic 1948 Vote

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the United Nations in 1948, has profoundly shaped international human rights frameworks and development goals despite initial abstentions from some countries due to ideological differences. It laid the groundwork for the International Bill of Rights and influenced global initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals. The philosophy of human rights is a growing academic field exploring fundamental questions about the nature, justification, and scope of human rights, debating issues like their universality, normative sources, and relationship to oppression and colonial legacies. A recent publication, The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Human Rights, presents diverse scholarly perspectives beyond the dominant liberal paradigm, addressing topics such as group rights, social rights, and political implications. This expanding discourse reflects the evolving understanding and contested nature of human rights in contemporary scholarship and politics.