UDHR: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

This Declaration of the General Assembly was the first enumeration of universal human rights ever agreed to by nation states. It declares that everyone has equal and inalienable human rights, arising from the inherent dignity of all humanity, and lists a broad range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Although the Declaration was a statement of principle and hope, and was not meant to be legally binding, many of the rights in the Declaration have become customary international law because they have been so widely recognized as law. Further, the UDHR has served as a starting point for all the human rights conventions that have since been agreed to as binding instruments. The UDHR, ICCPR and ICESCR are together known as the International Bill of Rights.