December 10: It’s World Human Rights Day today

United Nations, Dec 10: Monday, December 10, is a significant date in the annals of world history. It was on this day in 1948 that the United Nations ratified the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which came into reality following the gruesome experience that mankind had faced during the two World Wars and the Holocaust carried out by the Nazis in which millions lost their lives.

In that age of evolving liberalism after the end of the Second Great War, former US first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1933-45) led a UN committee to develop the first universal human rights document. It took people from various backgrounds - legal and cultural - to proclaim the inalienable rights that every human being is entitled to regardless of race, sex, religion, culture, language, etc. The UDHR empowers each individual to stand up for his/her rights and those of others. "All Human Beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights," reads the first Right.

It took almost two decades after the document's adoption for the passing of international laws agreed upon by many countries to safeguard human rights. Fundamental laws in many countries today feature the rights specified in the UDHR. It is available in over 500 languages which makes it the most translated document in the globe.