10 December 1948: Adoption and Abstentions

On 10 December 1948, meeting at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Of the 58 member states, 48 voted in favour, none voted against, and eight abstained, while two did not vote. The abstentions reveal the political tensions of the time.

The Soviet Union and its allies argued the text emphasized individual liberties over economic rights and state sovereignty; South Africa, then building apartheid, objected to provisions on equality; and Saudi Arabia objected to articles on freedom to change religion and on marriage.

Eleanor Roosevelt said she hoped it might become an international Magna Carta for all people everywhere. The Declaration was adopted as a resolution, not a treaty, so it was not legally binding in itself. Yet the absence of any vote against gave it unusual moral authority, and 10 December is now celebrated each year as Human Rights Day.