Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Questions

    Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Questions

      1. Does the declaration place a greater emphasis on the rights of the individual or the rights of communities and groups?
      2. Who is the audience for this declaration? Who is supposed to follow its provisions?
      3. Could a nation's culture potentially interfere with the rules set down in the declaration?
      4. Should the UDHR, as an international document, supersede the cultural or legal norms of an individual country?
      5. Why, in 1948, did the world need to agree on a definition of "human rights"?
      6. What advantages (or disadvantages) does the UDHR have compared to national laws?
      7. The declaration states (in Article 25) that everyone should have access to social services like health care and unemployment insurance. Do you think this is a reasonable goal?
      8. What are some reasons that the declaration places high value on the family unit? Are there disadvantages to this?
      9. The declaration states that education should be universal and "directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights" (26.4). Do you think that's what most people in the U.S. think of as the goal of education?