The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Union

AT A GLANCE

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service

Author: Rosamund Shreeves, Members' Research Service

PE 757.559 – December 2023

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

and the European Union

The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights falls on 10 December 2023, against a

background of war, conflict and geopolitical tensions that would have been familiar to its drafters, and new

challenges, such as climate change and technological advances, which they would not have imagined. Then and

now, the Declaration, which has served as a foundation for the codification of human rights at global, regional

and national level, remains a central reference to be invoked for the denunciation of human rights violations,

even though it is not binding. The EU has fully embraced the Declaration's significance, using it to set standards

in its internal legislation and international agreements and to guide its external policy. In November 2023, the

European Parliament held a high-level conference to discuss the legacy of the Declaration as a rallying point and

compass for international cooperation in the current context.

History of the Declaration

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is considered even more significant today than when it was

adopted 75 years ago. Translated into hundreds of languages, the Declaration is the world's best-known

human rights document. It was the project of Eleanor Roosevelt and a group of visionaries from various

professional, cultural and religious backgrounds, working at the UN's newly established Commission on

Human Rights. The UN Charter, signed on 26 June 1945, had stated that 'promoting and encouraging

respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language,

or religion' was among the UN's overarching goals, but had not elaborated any further on what constitutes

human rights. Mounting tensions between the two major geopolitical blocs (the Cold War was beginning

to escalate) led to a decision to draft a non-binding document that would later be accompanied by a legally

binding covenant. The UN General Assembly, comprising the representatives of the then 58 UN member

states, adopted the Declaration on 10 December 1948. While no state voted against, eight states – the six

Soviet Bloc states then represented in the UN, together with Saudi Arabia and South Africa – abstained.

The significance of the Declaration

The Declaration was the first global human rights document to set a common standard to which all nations

should aspire, characterised by a vision of human rights as universal, indivisible and interdependent, with

no primacy for some rights over others and no cultural or geographic exceptions. Recognition of the

inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all human beings is the central tenet of the Declaration.

It was inspired by the belief that the horrific acts committed in WWI and WWII were rooted in disregard for

human rights, and that only respect for these rights could yield lasting peace. The Declaration established

the inalienable character of individual rights as opposed to the discretionary power of the state, thereby

laying the foundation of a new international system, in which states could be held accountable for the way

they treated their subjects. The Declaration was not linked to a specific religious or philosophical

foundation; rather, it was based on a 'common understanding' of human rights. It includes civil and political

rights, such as the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy. It also includes economic, social and cultural

rights, such as the right to social security, health and education. The Declaration upholds social and

economic rights as being equally important as civil and political rights. At the time of its adoption, social

and economic rights were only gradually finding their way to legal recognition in liberal democracies (for

example, they were enshrined in the preamble to the French 1946 Constitution).

The Declaration does not have a legally binding character, but the 30 rights therein have gradually been

codified in a series of international human rights conventions. However, not all states have ratified these

conventions; where they have been ratified, implementation is still imperfect. The Declaration remains a

central reference for all those whose human rights are insufficiently recognised and protected. Part of the

rights enshrined in the Declaration are considered customary international law and as such are universally

EPRS The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Union

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binding. For example, the UN General Assembly holds such a view, considering that all UN member states

have an obligation to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms as elaborated in the

Declaration, among other international instruments. The Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights

Council is based on the Declaration, among other human rights instruments, confirming its status as a

universal framework. The Declaration has served as inspiration for many national constitutions and is

explicitly referred to in a number of them, such as those of Portugal, Romania and Spain.

Relevance for the European Union

The Declaration was a key reference for the drafters of the European Convention for the Protection of

Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR, a central document of the Council of Europe), which was

signed in November 1950 and to which the EU is now bound to accede through its Treaties. The ECHR – the

first convention to make the rights set out in the Declaration binding – refers to the Declaration several

times in its preamble, and many of its articles are inspired and derived from it. However, the ECHR is limited

to civil and political rights, as its drafters considered economic and social rights too controversial and

difficult to enforce. Today, the Declaration's universal vision informs the way in which the EU conceives

fundamental rights. While the Treaty on European Union does not explicitly mention the Declaration, it

provides for strict observance of international law, including respect for the principles of the UN Charter.

Some of the rights and principles in the Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights (2009), such as the freedom

to conduct business in accordance with EU law, the requirement to integrate consumer protection in all EU

policies, and the right to petition the European Parliament, are specific to the nature of the EU as an internal

market and political structure. However, many of its articles recall similar articles in the Declaration. On

asylum, the EU Charter goes one step further in proclaiming the right to asylum, whereas the Declaration

only recognises the right to seek and be granted asylum. The EU Charter also contains a number of

additional rights and principles that reflect the EU's advances with regard to human rights (such as the

prohibition of the death penalty), or its response to technological progress and new developments (such

as human cloning; the right to personal data protection; and the principle of environmental protection).

The Declaration is also an important source of reference for EU legislation. For example, the anti-

discrimination directives refer in their recitals to the right to equality before the law and protection against

discrimination for all persons, as enshrined in the Declaration. In addition, the Declaration plays an

important part in guiding the EU's external policies. Under Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union, EU

external policies should promote the universality of human rights – the core of the Declaration. The

regulation establishing the EU funding instrument for democracy and human rights, adopted in 2021,

states that EU action is rooted in, and should promote respect for human rights law, including the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights specifically. Many bilateral agreements – such as the recent trade agreement

with New Zealand – include an explicit reference to the Declaration in their preamble. In addition, the

standard human rights clause included in many EU framework and trade agreements also contains an

explicit reference to the Declaration as the framework of reference for respecting human rights.

Meeting current challenges

Forty-five years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration, 171 states and 800 representatives of non-

governmental organisations reaffirmed their commitment to its landmark vision of universal and indivisible

human rights at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. Today, the Declaration continues

to be seen as a 'living document' that is relevant for the 21st century. According to a survey conducted in

30 countries in 2023, a majority believes in human rights but also considers that their potential is not being

fully utilised and that they themselves are not protected. In the face of the multiple human rights challenges

stemming from conflict, climate change, the emergence of new technologies, increasing inequality,

shrinking space for civil society, and opposing narratives on human rights, the UN and the EU are

capitalising on the 75th anniversary of the Declaration to catalyse innovative collective action. On

29 November 2023, the European Parliament, which is committed to the vision of universal rights set out in

the Declaration, organised a high-level conference, bringing together MEPs, parliamentarians and

representatives from the United Nations, regional mechanisms and civil society, including young people,

to reflect on ways of working together to carry the vision forward.

This is an update of a publication from November 2018, by Ionel Zamfir.