Few documents have had as profound and enduring an impact on global governance as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
People return to their home village of Sehjanna, Sudan, after living seven years in a camp for internally displaced persons in Aramba in 2011. (file)
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Cornerstone of universal rights
So central to the mission of the United Nations that the declaration is sealed, alongside the UN Charter, in the cornerstone of the UN Headquarters in New York City.
The declaration is not just a set of principles but a living framework that informs the UN’s work at every level, it is both a blueprint and a call to action.
Its resonance extends beyond its 30 articles, shaping such landmark treaties as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and international laws that safeguard the rights of asylum seekers, refugees and the stateless everywhere.
Officers of the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration drag a cart full of ballot boxes for distribution in remote communities of Timor-Leste, in preparation of elections in 2007. (file)