The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as Foundation of the International Human Rights Law

Abstract

This article intends to analyse the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“UDHR” or the “Declaration”) as the foundation of the international human rights law. This paper addresses the historical background of the Declaration as well as exploring the nature and contents of the former which formed the basis of the international human rights law. This paper also looks for the status and significance of the Declaration in the relevant area of laws. In doing so, it will provide some examples of regional and international instruments that have been influenced by this human rights document. This paper will find out the grounding of the symbolic and rhetoric power of the Declaration both in domestic and international domain. To end with, this contribution will explore the normative impact of the Declaration.