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Teacher- in-charge: Mr. Adeniji Seun David, Civic Education Unit, Liberal Arts Department Faith Academy, Canaan land, Ota.

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MEANING OF UDHR. Human rights have been variedly described as the basic legal entitlements of man or fundamental freedoms. According to Jean Jacques Rousseau, man was born free, but every where he is in chains. Consequently, the need to engender the liberty of an ordinary man through the law within the civil society. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was borne out of the quest to establish and recognise the dignity of human person and existence. It is a statement affirming the dignity and rights of all human beings all over the world. It is the first global expression of liberties or rights of persons from which other civil constitutions form their bases. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was brought into place on December 10 th, 1948 with the sole perspective bothering on the recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family, freedom and peace in the world. (Preamble to UDHR, 1948). It contains 30 articles of rights and 7 core freedoms as stipulated in the bill and universally agreed on by 48 member -nations.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE UDHR The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was done at the Palais de Chaillot in France on 10, December, 1948. it was developed and popularised in the aftermath of the Second World War II (1939-1945) on the Chairmanship of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt of the United States of America. Although, the UDHR was a non-biding resolution, yet, it is considered by some to have acquired the force of international customary law which may be used or invoked in appropriate circumstance by national and other judiciaries. It was framed by members of the Human Rights Commission with the Widow of President, Delano Roosevelt as the one who began discussion on the need of an international bill of rights in 1947. John Peter Humphrey and Rene Cassin were instrumental for the cross-national researches in the structure of the bill with international experts on human rights drawn from all the continents of the world and major religions as well as consultation with leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi of India. The inclusion of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights was predicated on the assumption that all human rights are indivisible and that different types of rights listed are not easily separable but linked. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has become the centre of reference for most national constitution including the Nigerian national constitution since independence apart from the European Bill of Rights of 1950.

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48 countries voted for the adoption of the bill with 8 member-nations absent and non voted against. Out of these countries, there were the three African member-nations namely: Kingdom of Egypt, Empire of Ethiopia and Republic of Liberia. WORK TO DO Make a list of 10 member-nations present during the adoption of the 1948 Universal Bill of Rights also called the UDHR.