In 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the wake of the heinous atrocities of war, the UDHR was meant to embody “a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations”—an effort to build a better future for humanity. Many of the Declaration’s 30 Articles have now been incorporated into international treaties and national legislation. This course surveys the climate in which the UDHR was adopted; the individuals who were instrumental in the Declaration’s drafting process; the specific rights enshrined in the Declaration; and critically examines the effort to transform its ideals into realities in the more than 70 years since the Declaration was drafted.