Site IntroductionThis web-based project considers the influence of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on international and domestic law, politics and affairs over the last half century. It asks how and why international human rights have emerged, survived and even flourished as a shared ideology in the latter half of the twentieth century.
The site is organized into three levels. The first level is Introductory. The second explores the normative and historical ideas that emerge from the recitals in the Preamble to the Declaration. And the third, and main level, considers each of the articles in the triple decalogue of fundamental rights and traces the meaning and history of the concepts embodied in each article; the drafting history and subsequent development of each article in international human rights law; and finally famous cases or contemporary applications that demonstrate the influence of the Declaration in international affairs. At all three levels, the site employs a range of multimedia features including video footage of interviews with prominent Columbia professors in the field of human rights, and also with experts, practitioners and activists who use the Declaration in their work. It also contains photographs and links to other sites, and links of keywords used in the discussion to four categories of definitions and additional information(1) biographies, (2) concepts, (3) institutions, and (4) documents. IntroductionLevel OneAt the Introductory level, you will find three topics covered. First, this introduction to the overall project and the organization of the site. Second, a basic introduction to the Universal Declaration itself. And third, an overview of the history and mechanics of the drafting process of the Declaration. The PreamblesLevel TwoEach of the recitals contains themes and concepts that either antecede, underlie or underpin the Declaration. Using this site, you are able to explore the relevant concepts involved and read a discussion about how they are implicated in the influence and history of the Declaration. The following is an outline of the basic topics raised in each recital. Recital OneTheory and Sources of Human Rights; Human Dignity Recital TwoThe Influence of the Holocaust and FDRs Four Freedoms Recital ThreeRebellion Against Tyranny and the Rule of Law Recital FourInternational Law and International Relations Recital FiveThe United Nations Charter and Human Rights Recital SixUniversalization and Internationalization of Human Rights Recital SevenUniversal Values and Cultural Relativism ProclamationHuman Rights Education and the Role of Civil Society The Thirty ArticlesLevel ThreeThe remainder of the site contains discussion and analysis of each of the Declarations thirty articles. As each article is significant for a variety of historical, cultural and educational reasons, we have organized the discussion under six categories of analysis as follows: (1) an introduction; (2) the meaning or definition of the relevant concept(s) in that article; (3) the history of that concept; (4) the history of the drafting process that led to that articles inclusion in the Declaration; (5) its subsequent development in international human rights law and processes; and finally (6) famous cases or applications that demonstrate the influence of that article in international law, relations or affairs. Peter Danchin, Columbia University |