Fiftieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A/RES/52/117View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, published in 1998.

What other versions does this mandate have?

7 versions · 1963–2009

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/63/116

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2009	A/RES/63/116	Sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights	450	17%Compare
1999	A/RES/53/168	Fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights	398	19%Compare
1998	A/RES/52/117	Fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights	1,267	16%Compare
1989	A/RES/43/90	Fortieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights	847	16%Compare
1988	A/RES/42/131	Fortieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights	559	60%Compare

What subjects does this mandate have?

10 subjects

Anniversaries Declarations Human Rights Human Rights Advancement Human Rights Education Human Rights Institutions Information Dissemination Signatures, Accessions, Ratifications Treaties Treaty-Monitoring Bodies

What’s in this document?

13 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the activities undertaken by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to contribute to the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and requests her to continue to coordinate all relevant activities within the United Nations system, bearing in mind the provisions of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action2 for evaluation and follow-up;

Encourages all Governments and other actors to undertake additional efforts to develop education and information programmes, with a view to disseminating the text of the Declaration and arriving at a better understanding thereof, and emphasizes in that regard the primary importance of grass-roots initiatives in promoting, through education and the media, a culture of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all;

Invites Governments and the international community to continue to review and assess the progress made in the field of human rights since the adoption of the Declaration and to identify obstacles and ways in which they can be overcome, both through measures at the national level and through enhanced international cooperation, with a view to ensuring full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, taking into account developments that have taken place during the past fifty years;

Urges Governments to endorse and implement national programmes for the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration and to ensure wide participation, including the participation of public administration institutions, national institutions, non-governmental organizations, academic circles and all strata of civil society, and thereby to bring the letter and spirit of the Declaration to the awareness of all;

Urges those Governments that have not yet ratified the international human rights treaties and protocols adopted within the framework of the United Nations system to consider doing so, and calls upon all Governments to implement fully their international obligations in the field of human rights;

Invites the human rights treaty bodies to give appropriate attention, within their mandates and methods of work, to the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration and to reflect on their possible contribution to the above-mentioned preparations;

Calls upon relevant United Nations organs and agencies, in the light of the principles set forth in the Declaration, to make, within their respective mandates and fields of action, an assessment of the state of implementation and the impact of existing international human rights instruments and to put forward pertinent conclusions thereon;

Invites relevant United Nations organs and agencies, in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to mark the anniversary by intensifying their own contributions to United Nations system-wide efforts to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Invites Governments, the Secretariat, the Office of Communications and Public Information of the Secretariat, relevant organs and agencies of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, other international organizations and non-governmental organizations, to disseminate widely the Declaration, as well as other international instruments in the field of human rights, with a view to ensuring the universality and full and comprehensive enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Reaffirms its commitment to continue building on the inspiration of the Declaration through the development of international human rights standards and of mechanisms for their promotion and protection, taking into account developments over the past fifty years, including the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development;⁵

⁵Resolution 41/128, annex.

Encourages national human rights institutions, such as human rights commissions, ombudspersons and others, to play a significant role in the activities marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration;

Invites non-governmental organizations to participate fully in the preparation for and commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration and to intensify their campaign for greater understanding and better use of the Declaration;

Encourages the Commission on Human Rights, at its fifty-fourth session, to give the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration attention commensurate with its historical significance.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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