10 December 1948 CE / Europe
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The postwar international community articulated common standards of dignity and rights, including education for everyone.
The story
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris on 10 December 1948. It affirmed common standards of dignity and rights and included education among the rights everyone should enjoy. Representatives and thinkers from varied cultural and legal backgrounds contributed to the wider discussion. A declaration establishes standards; realizing them also requires institutions, law and social action. Adoption did not bring colonial rule, discrimination or violations of rights to an immediate end.
Elsewhere in the world
Asian and African independence movements continued through the postwar period, alongside demands for self-determination and access to everyday rights such as education.
Dates and precision
10 December 1948 CE Documented date
Positioned by the documented year, month or day; missing months and days are not inferred.
Representative map location
Paris · Palais de Chaillot
The marker identifies the General Assembly’s meeting venue when the declaration was adopted, not the geographical extent of the rights it sets out.
Representative coordinates · 48.862°, 2.288°
Coordinates locate a representative point for the story. They do not mean the event happened only here and do not represent historical borders.
Bibliography
- United Nations | Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Sources are listed as bibliography titles, without external links. A reference does not mean every sentence or interpretation has been independently verified.