Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 13

These robust sentences start the list of Articles of the Declaration. Scholars of the Declaration have traced the roots of Article 1 to many sources, notably the French Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789 and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man that was adopted by an international conference of American States earlier in 1948. Despite that illustrious parentage, the Article was a late addition to the Declaration, and the delegates discussed placing it in the preamble rather than making it one of the Articles. There were disagreements over language, including over the meaning of the word “born,” an argument that remains part of today’s debates over abortion. In ultimately deciding on the strong phrases and the placement of the sentences as the very first Article, the delegates were mindful of the dark human rights abuses during World War II. French delegate Rene Cassin, who was one of the drafters of the Article, explained to the delegates that it was essential to stress the “unity of the human race” because Hitler “started by asserting the inequality of men before attacking their liberties.” (Quotation from Johannes Morsink’s The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origin, Drafting and Intent, p. 38)