It is commonly recognized as the birth certificate of the international human rights movement marking and confirming the new international concern for human rights. It is recognized as the authoritative definition that catalogs these rights and is the basis for the contemporary international law of human rights, the source of two major human rights covenants and other conventions and of a customary law of human rights. Yet, despite the important role the Declaration has played in shaping international human rights, its 50th anniversary is not being met with unbridled celebration. Numerous legal scholars, world leaders and human rights activists are using the anniversary not only as an opportunity to reflect on the success and the meaning of the Declaration but also as a chance to look ahead at how much progress is yet to be made in the human rights arena. Fifty years since the charter was forged, communism has been discredited, but threats to freedom and human rights still persist.
Human rights are still at risk from Burma to Nigeria, from Belarus to China.
Although more than half the world's people now live under governments of their own choosing, democracy's roots are still fragile in some countries. Others are besieged by forces ranging from drug cartels to organized crime. And even in democracies, human rights, which so often mean minority rights, are not guaranteed. The framers of the Universal Declaration never imagined that it would be able to guarantee human rights to all of the world's citizens. But it's not a binding document, and enforcement mechanisms are always the tricky part.