Being and Becoming: The Human Person and Human Dignity in Charles Malik’s Contribution to the UDHR

Abstract

Charles Malik’s contribution to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) introduced in the conversation a profound commitment to the Christian humanist tradition by challenging the drafting committee to imagine an idea of human rights moving beyond the triviality of the distinction between individual and society. Driven by his influences from Orthodox theology, existentialist philosophy, neo-scholastic tradition, and from his rich ecumenical networks, Malik produced a synthesis which gravitates around the notion of the human person and its inherent dignity, which defined in different ways the trajectory of the discussions of the UDHR committee and, ultimately, the trajectory of modern human rights.