About:

• René Cassin, the French legal scholar, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in drafting the final version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
• However, René Cassin was inspired by the core idea of French philosopher Jacques Maritain’s optimistic philosophy (which helped him to draft the final version)

French philosopher Jacques Maritain is well-known for his most influential writings on the topic of universal human rights.

• In his famous book, Man and the State, Jacques Maritain drew attention to the universal essence of human rights above ideologies.
• Martian was deeply concerned with the political and philosophical situations of Europe and the world post World War II and during the Cold War.
• Maritain played a central role in providing philosophical and religious foundations to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed by the UN General Assembly in December 1948.
• He was right to underline that a dignified life was based on the establishment of the basic needs and rights of every individual independent of his or her race, language, culture, religion or nationality.
• He believed that states and peoples can discuss practical issues and arrive at mutual agreements despite ideological differences.

In his speech to the UNESCO General Council in 1947, Maritain asked the key question about the challenge of overcoming obstacles posed by diverse cultures and ideological differences throughout human history.

“How can we imagine an agreement of minds between men who come from the four corners of the globe and who not only belong to different cultures and civilisations, but are of antagonistic spiritual associations and schools of thought?”

Jacques Maritain and René Cassin were aware that it is through the four foundational blocks of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – “dignity, liberty, equality, and brotherhood”.

• By “dignity”, Cassin referred to all the values which were shared by individuals beyond their sex, race, creed and religion.
• As for “liberty”, he emphasised on rights related to individual life, liberty and personal security.
• Under “equality”, Cassin understood rights related to the public sphere and political participation.
• Under “brotherhood” were economic, social and cultural rights.

Do you know?

Out of then 58 members of the United Nations, only 48 ratified the universal declaration while Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the Soviet Union, Poland, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Byelorussia and Czechoslovakia abstained, because they were worried that the moral appeal of the document would endanger the sanctity of their domestic laws and regulations.

Consequently, despite Maritain’s call for the universality of human rights and Cassin’s insistence on their indivisibility, the Cold War rivalry between the two blocks and the admission of the newly independent states in the UN, ended with the adoption of two covenants in 1966 on civil and political rights, on the one hand, and, economic and social rights, on the other hand.

In crux, the Universal Declaration is considered as a lantern of hope for a more equitable future. The philosophy of human rights continues to propel humanity into the future.

Therefore, if the lessons of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not learned, and if we do not consider the past 70 years, which separate us from the foundation of this monumental document as a positive journey; the future generations will have great difficulties in overcoming the challenges of the next 70 years.