Since the dawn of mankind, people have continually been struggling to obtain more rights and in effect make life for themselves a little easier. After a series of wars in the early to mid 20th century, the entire world was a bit on edge and it was this unstable environment that led to the inauguration of the United Nations. A general assembly of this relatively new organization in 1948 resulted in the establishment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After this assembly, member countries were to take this newly established document and distribute it all over the world in order to make the declaration known and understood by all people.
The social instability all over the world, with the advent of new technology and changing of social structures, is basically what brought about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many nations were still in turmoil over the recent events of the Second World War and the results and aftermath of such a catastrophic event has far reaching consequences. Many nations realized that something had to be done to bring some degree of peace to a volatile world that was on the brink of war yet again. It was this ominous feeling of another disaster lurking in the shadows that forced concerned nations of the world to join forces and together make the world a more peaceful place in which to live.
With in the preamble of the Declaration, it states that the creation of a document granting equal rights for all humans was necessary if peace, freedom and justice were to become distinct realizations. It also says that a disregard for the rights of all humans in the past has resulted in a number of barbaric and shocking acts and as a result recognition and insight have forced the generation of a document granting rights to all humans with the hope of avoiding future confrontations and the outrage that contributed to these conflicts. It also states that all mankind is to enjoy freedom of speech as well as freedom in general as no individual should ever live in constant fear of oppressive forces. The preamble also states that the granting of equal right for men and women should, in effect, make the world a better place in which to live by increasing the standard of living as well as the social environment. Every member of the United Nations was to comply with and support the observance of the fundamental freedoms expressed in the document. Progress towards a better world for everyone was basically the main goal of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
While the world may be a fair better and more stable place in which to live, there is still more that can be done to promote peace and maintenance of human rights. There are still people in the world who seek to and succeed in violating human rights and taking advantage of tyrannical conditions that still exist today. There are many things that one can do to become involved in preserving and furthering human rights. One such way to do so is to personally write a letter to a government official whom you feel is committing an injustice towards mankind. If you are forceful enough in your attack on this person or organization it is quite possible that you can get through to them. If you wish to serve as a peace moderator on a much larger scale there are a number of organizations you can join to become a human rights activist. Organizations such as Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch, Peacenet and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are among the leaders at protecting and advancing human rights and since strength lies in numbers, aligning yourself with one of these organizations is the perfect way to do your part to benefit mankind.
