“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights … Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person … All are equal before the law.”

With these fundamental words, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognized that all the human rights – civil, cultural, economic, political and social – belonged inherently to all the people of the world. The Declaration is the cornerstone of modern human rights law: it stipulates that these rights inherently belong to people, rather than being “gifts” which can be bestowed upon them, or denied to them, by design, fate or the whims of their rulers.

Composed of 30 succinct provisions, the Declaration has probably had more impact on mankind than any other document in modern history. Adopted in the 5 official languages of the United Nations, it has been translated into another 380 versions, all of them available on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Declaration offers a “common understanding” of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Declaration itself, and the Charter of the United Nations, as well as the many general and specialized treaties, declarations and other instruments that followed its adoption.