‘If Only for a Day’: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Anniversary Commemoration and International Human Rights Law

Abstract

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is familiar to international human rights lawyers worldwide. Celebrations of its adoption have included commemorative sessions held in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly during milestone anniversary years. Scholarship has not yet considered these sessions together, exploring what may be learned about the UDHR in this UN body as a result. This is the work that the present article undertakes. It finds that, when considered collectively, anniversary days in the General Assembly assist in creating a picture of the UDHR as a legal text in time. This reveals how commemorative activity has engaged with the UDHR in fluid ways and also in ways that stress or demonstrate aspects of continuity. From this analysis, it is possible to deepen understanding of engagements with the UDHR throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and anniversary days emerge as an under-utilized resource for international human rights lawyers.