The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was created by a United Nations committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt. The drafting committee included members from various countries and backgrounds, with Canadian John Peters Humphrey as the principal drafter, René Cassin of France composing the first draft, and contributions from others such as P.C. Chang of China and Charles Malik of Lebanon. The committee worked over two years, and the UDHR was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
Eleanor Roosevelt played a key role as chair of the drafting commission, guiding the process and encouraging its adoption by the General Assembly. The final document sets forth fundamental human rights and freedoms for all people worldwide, serving as a foundational text in international human rights law.
