The UDHR in National and International Law

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been the foundation of much of the post-1945 codification of human rights, and the international legal system is replete with global and regional treaties based, in large measure, on the Declaration. Pending universal ratification of the Covenants and other treaties, it is to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that most people will look to find the minimum rights to which they are entitled. This article sets out the status of the Declaration in national and international law, and gives examples of international and national provisions protecting the right to health. Legally, politically, and morally, the Universal Declaration remains even more significant today than when it was adopted a half-century ago.