Eleanor Roosevelt

Adoption

on

the

Universal

Human Rights. 1948.

Declaration

of

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent

Eleanor Roosevelt, 'This Is My Story,' 1937

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations representatives from all regions of the world,
meeting in Paris, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Then something happened that had never occurred in the United Nations before, or
since. The delegates rose to give a standing ovation to a single delegate, an elderly lady
with a rather formal appearance but a very warm smile. Her name was Eleanor
Roosevelt.
This is a political speech in which Eleanor Roosevelt, Chair of the United Nations Human
Rights Commission, persuades the members of the United Nations to adopt the
Declaration of Human Rights. We recognize this when Mrs Roosevelt states We stand
today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life
of mankind. This Universal Declaration of Human Rights may well become the
international Magna Carta of all men everywhere. Also when she declares [] Mans
desire for peace lies behind this Declaration [].and at the end of the speech when she
refers to Gladstone Murray and Secretary Marshall.
The speech is addressed to the President and all the delegates from the 58 countries of
the United Nations. In a clear introduction, she mentions the topic of the speech, she
remarks on some of its characteristics and the hard work involved in its formulation,
making clear the purpose of the speech.
In the main part of the speech, Mrs. Roosevelt analyses the amendments by the Soviet
delegation to the Declaration. She maintains the audience attention with short and clear
ideas and she suggests what the solution to the problem should be.

She uses the

personal pronoun I, not only to convey her opinion and make the speech more subjective,
but also to shows her authority as a Chair of the Commission.
She criticizes the Soviet delegation in a really ironical way, we can appreciate this when
she says [] we in the United States admire those who fight for their convictions, [].
But in the older democracies we have learned that sometimes we bow to the will of the
majority. In doing that, we do not give up our convictions [].
During most parts of the discourse she informs, comments and contrasts the Soviet
delegations position towards the Declaration (their amendments) with her own point of
view and with the other members. She develops her thoughts and main points step by
step backing up her main ideas with facts and background information. Mrs Roosevelt
3

states []The new article proposed by the Soviet delegation [] It would convert the
Declaration into a document stating obligations on states, thereby completely changing its
character as a statement of principles to serve as a common standard of achievement for
the members of the United Nations.
Mrs. Roosevelt describes her countrys position to the Declaration when she says []
My government, [] would consider that this is unquestionably subject to limitation in the
interest of public order and the general welfare. She shows her countrys view of some of
the articles. [] my government has made it clear [] that it does not consider that the
economic and social and cultural rights stated in the Declaration imply an obligation on
governments to assure the enjoyment of these rights by direct governmental action.
In the last part of this speech, we can see the use of the personal pronoun we instead of
the first person pronoun I. Mrs Roosevelt tries to win the audience over to her side and by
using the pronoun we, she includes others in the utterance, creating a group with a clear
identity. More than as representative of or on behalf of an institution, Mrs Roosevelt uses
the pronoun we to separate us from them (The Soviet Delegation) creating an image of
the group she belongs to in a positive way and the other group in a negative one.
She concludes the speech calling to all the members to approve the Declaration; Mrs.
Roosevelt expresses the importance of this agreement and the future actions to fully
guarantee the rights of the individuals. This Declaration is based upon the spiritual fact
that man must have freedom in which to develop his full stature and through common
effort to raise the level of human dignity. [] we must at the same time rededicate
ourselves to the unfinished task which lies before us [].
Her last sentences are the repetition of the call to action by Secretary Marshall in his
opening statement to the Assembly. Mrs. Roosevelt appeals again to the audiences
intellect and emotions to conclude that the General Assembly should approve the
Declaration as a standard of conduct for all.

The prelude of this Declaration is the effects of World War II. It had raged from 1939 to
1945, and as the end drew near, cities throughout Europe and Asia were destroyed.
Millions of people were dead; millions more were homeless or starving.
In April 1945, delegates from fifty countries met in San Francisco full of optimism and
hope. The goal of the United Nations Conference on International Organization was to
4

create an international body to promote peace and prevent future wars. The Charter of
the new United Nations organization went into effect on October 24, 1945, with the
purpose of saving future generations from the devastation of international conflict.
In December 1945, President Harry S. Truman appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as a
delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. In April 1946, she became the first
chairperson of the preliminary United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
She was an early champion of civil rights for African Americans, as well as a supporter for
women, American workers, the poor and young people. She also assisted governmentfunded programs for artists and writers. Roosevelt encouraged her husband, former
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to appoint more women to federal positions, and
she held hundreds of press conferences only for female reporters. Additionally, Roosevelt
wrote a syndicated newspaper column to share information about her activities and
communicate her positions on a wide range of social and political issues.
During World War II (1939-1945), Roosevelt advocated on behalf of European refugees
who wanted to come to the United States. She also pushed for the continuation of New
Deal programs during the war, against the wishes of some of her husbands advisors.
The end of World War II saw the resurfacing of previous divisions between The Soviet
Union and the US. The expansion of Soviet influence into Eastern Europe following
Germany's defeat worried the United States. In 1947 the US policy with regards to the
Soviet Union changed from cooperation to a policy of containment. The two nations
promoted two opposing economic and political ideologies. The Cold War had begun.
The text of this Declaration was drafted in two years. An eight-member drafting
committee prepared the preliminary text. The committee, chaired by Mrs. Eleanor
Roosevelt, agreed on the central importance of affirming universal respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms, including the principles of non-discrimination and civil
and political rights, as well as social, cultural and economic rights. Mrs. Roosevelt drove
her colleagues mercilessly. Some delegates may have secretly whispered the prayer
attributed to President Roosevelt: ''O Lord, make Eleanor tired!'' A delegate from Panama
begged Mrs. Roosevelt to remember that UN delegates have human rights, too.
The Commission then revised the draft declaration, before submitting it to the General
Assembly. The General Assembly, in turn, scrutinized the document, with the 58 Member
5

States voting a total of 1,400 times on practically every word and every clause of the text.
There were many debates. For example, Some Islamic States objected to the articles on
equal marriage rights and on the right to change religious belief.
Eleanor Roosevelts critique in her speech is directed against the soviet amendments to
few articles of the Declaration, The Soviets wanted a provision after each article saying it
was up to the state to determine whether a specific right was being observed. And they
pushed for the inclusion of economic and social rights. Mrs. Roosevelt did not agree with
their view and declared The new article proposed by the Soviet delegation [] would
convert this Declaration into a document stating obligations on states, thereby changing
completely its character [].
We could argue that the attitude of the Soviet delegation could be a consequence of the
end of the relations with the US and its position of control and repression.
The Member States of the United Nations pledged to work together to promote the thirty
Articles of Human Rights that, for the first time in history, had been assembled into a
single document. In consequence, many of these rights, in various forms, are today part
of the constitutional laws of democratic nations.
Although Mrs. Roosevelt was proud of her role in shaping the Universal Declaration, she
was always a realist. She knew its words were not self-enforcing. The real challenge, she
liked to tell United Nations delegates, was one of ''actually living and working in our
countries for freedom and justice for each human being.''
She convinced with a clear, persuasive and encouraging speech the members of the
Assembly. Her speech was a call for action, a small step to achieve a better word.
Eleanor was a person of enormous energy, curiosity and empathy. She had many strong
leadership qualities. Her greatest talents were her abilities to confront conflicts and to
discuss major policy differences in human terms. She was a good listener. She fought
hard for her own ideas and what she thought was right. Roosevelt was clear, direct,
unselfish, tolerant, and courageous. She confronted everything that came her way with a
positive attitude, with a deep sense of humanity and human worth. She turned her
weaknesses into strengths, and became one of the centurys most effective advocates for
social justice. She touched and influenced millions of people through her travels, lectures,
causes and writings.
6

Unfortunately, these Human Rights are not always met. There are many countries where
the human rights are breached. I believe that the international community should do
more to maintain the human rights in these nations.
Millions of people around the world have no choice but to flee their homeland to escape
war, genocide, torture and persecution. They are severe human rights violations in their
countries of origin, forcing them to make terrifying journeys across the Mediterranean.

At the present time, migrants and refugees are fleeing the civil war in Syria and unrest
elsewhere, and are making their way to safety in Europe. But Europe cannot handle the
high number of refugees and with the EU-Turkey deal of March 20, for non-Syrians, the
route to Europe is entirely cut off. Europe and the rest of the world are turning their backs
on these people, they are pushing the problem away, but they are not resolving it. If we
consider the article 14 of the UDHR "everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other
countries asylum from persecution, and the fact that Turkey should not be considered a
safe country, the deal is not consistent with international law.

This makes me wonder what the members of the General Assembly of the United
Nations on the 10 of December 1948 would think about this situation. Is this current
situation in Europe similar to the one which occurred during World War II? Should we
look back? Is this the best resolution to this crisis?

By the end of 1960, for the first time since before World War II, all the refugee camps of
Europe were closed. More than 50 years later, they are opened again.
Quoting Zeid Raad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
One wonders what has happened to Europe. Why is there so much amnesia? Why dont
they properly distill from their experience that theyve been down this road before and its
a very unhappy road if you continue to follow it.
In conclusion, we all should take historical lessons and apply them to todays ongoing
crisis because it shows comparison with other events and people around the world.

If we cannot predict the future, at least we have the past as a guide that should advise us.

Bibliography
Eleanor Roosevelt. The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt. New York Harper &
Brothers, 1961. Print.

Peter G. Northouse. Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice. Sage

Publications Inc. NY, 2012. Print.
Eleanor Roosevelt. This is my story. New York Harper & Brothers, 1937. Print.

Glen Johnson and Janusz Simonides.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A

History

of

Its

Creation

and

Implementation,

1948-1998

(Human

Rights

Perspective).UNESCO Publishing. Paris, 1998. Print.

Websites
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/paradox-eu-turkey-refugee-deal
http://www.theatlantic.com
http://www.theguardian.com
http://www.economist.com
http://www.nytimes.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights
http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights/background-of-humanrights.html
http://www.un.org/en/sections/universal-declaration/history-document/
http://www.universalrights.net
http://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/brief-history/declaration-of-humanrights.html
http://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/85895.htm
https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/BERLIN_A/BOC.HTM

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