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Born on this day
Sir Charles Scott Sherrington
Charles Sherrington was an English neurophysiologist, histologist, bacteriologist, and a pathologist, Nobel laureate.
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Adoptation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights10.12.1948

Wikipedia (29 Jan 2014, 14:29)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris. The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. The full text is published by the United Nations on its website.

The Declaration consists of thirty articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions, and other laws. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols. In 1966 the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the International Bill of Human Rights; and in 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient number of individual nations, the Bill took on the force of international law.


Adoption

The Universal Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 1948 by a vote of 48 in favor, none against and eight abstentions (the Soviet Union, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, People's Republic of Poland, Union of South Africa, Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Honduras and Yemen, both members of UN at the time, failed to vote or abstain. South Africa's position can be seen as an attempt to protect its system of apartheid, which clearly violated any number of articles in the declaration. The Saudi Arabian delegation's abstention was prompted primarily by two of the Declaration's articles: Article 18, which states that everyone has the right "to change his religion or belief"; and Article 16, on equal marriage rights. Eleanor Roosevelt attributed the abstention of the Soviet bloc nations to Article 13, which provided the right of citizens to leave their countries.

The following countries voted in favor of the Declaration:

AfghanistanArgentinaAustraliaBelgiumBoliviaBrazilBurmaCanadaChileRepublic of ChinaColombiaCosta RicaCubaDenmarkDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEthiopiaFranceGreeceGuatemalaHaitiIcelandIndiaIranIraqLebanonLiberiaLuxembourgMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNorwayPakistanPanamaParaguayPeruPhilippinesSiamSwedenSyriaTurkeyUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayVenezuela

Despite the central role played by Canadian John Humphrey, the Canadian Government at first abstained from voting on the Declaration's draft, but later voted in favor of the final draft in the General Assembly.

   
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