Whats the Point of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
Le Temps, Geneva, 03/12/2008 Pierre Hazan – On 10 December [2008], the UN celebrated the 60th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights. The paradox of the situation is clear: never has the rhetoric around human rights been so loud, yet the situation of the world has rarely been so sombre. After the crimes in Darfur, we are now seeing this year massacres in Congo, where four million people have died either as a direct or indirect result of armed conflict over the past few years. Translated in more than 300 languages, the universal declaration of human rights is one of the texts which has strongly influenced the second half of the 20th century. Several national constitutions have taken up articles included in it, countless national and international courts have been inspired by it when making judgements and countless groups have used it to back up their demands. The resonance of the 30 articles in the universal declaration can be seen in the extraordinary power that the t
