The 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Located in Strasbourg, the René Cassin Foundation – International Institute of Human Rights – has worked since 1969 for the defense and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, throughout the world, through teaching and research. .

Focus on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with Valérie Candau, deputy director of the Cassin Foundation. The father of this Universal Declaration of Human Rights was René Cassin.

franceinfo: Who was René Cassin?

Valérie Candau: René Cassin was professor of international law at the University of Paris, he was also vice-president of the Council of State, member of the Constitutional Council, and president of the European Court of Human Rights. And what interests us is that he was appointed a member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1946, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968.

And René Cassin joined General de Gaulle on June 24, 1940, from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, on a Royal Navy ship. René Cassin, after his Nobel Peace Prize in 1968, in 1969, founded the International Institute of Human Rights, the IDH, which is also called the René Cassin Foundation?

Yes, absolutely, which, in 2015, became a public utility foundation. So, what is the purpose of this association? You should know that it is apolitical, independent and that its purpose is to promote human rights in France, but also throughout the world, through teaching and research. Since its creation, we have trained more than 60,000 participants and we use approximately more than 150 internationally recognized experts to deliver all our training.

Where are you located?

We are located in Strasbourg, in the heart of the European capital of human rights. We are close to the European Court of Human Rights, the Parliament of the European Union, and the Council of Europe. We therefore work, as you see, in direct collaboration with all European stakeholders, to bring to life the values ​​of peace, democracy, human rights and dialogue between peoples.

You have plenty to do…

Yes, obviously, there is a lot of work. We operate in many countries, in particular we are very present on the African continent, for example in Burkina Faso, Mali, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Mozambique, Senegal. But we also operate in South America, in Peru, in Argentina, and soon in Brazil. We plan to intervene in 2024, in Eastern Europe, Lebanon and also the Philippines.

Let’s return to the 75th anniversary of this Universal Declaration of Human Rights that you are commemorating…

Yes, this statement was developed in direct response to the atrocities of World War II. It was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948, by 58 UN member states, and since that date, proclaimed December 10 as International Human Rights Day.

This declaration has a universal scope, and it aims to set out the fundamental, inalienable and inherent rights of all human beings, without any distinction of race, color, sex, language, religion, political opinion, national origin, social origin, birth or in reality any other situation. This text has a universal scope. You should know that it is translated into more than 500 different languages.

And René Cassin is the father of this Universal Declaration of Human Rights…

He is considered, with Éléonore Roosevelt, as the main drafter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You should know that this declaration is made up of 30 articles, each article detailing a fundamental right and René Cassin is considered to have contributed greatly to the writing of the first article, which is very well known, which states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. But also Article 3 which provides that every individual has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

It must nevertheless be emphasized that this text is one of the best-known texts of the United Nations system. It is in reality a resolution of the General Assembly, so it does not have mandatory value. It is not a treaty, however, even today, it represents a true symbol of the protection of human rights at the international level.

This Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, one of the best-known texts of the United Nations, it is not a treaty, is it a binding text which can oblige a state to respect human rights or not?

It is not a binding text, because it does not have mandatory value. But of course, states and jurisdictions draw heavily from it.

René Cassin Foundation