The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) as a

common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. Since its adoption in 1948, the UDHR has been translated into more than 500 languages - the most translated document in the world - and has inspired the constitutions of many newly independent States and many new democracies. The UDHR, together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols (on the complaints procedure and on the death penalty) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol, form the so-called International Bill of Human Rights.

Who uses Universal Declaration of human rights? Nearly every state in the world has accepted the Declaration. It has inspired more than 80 international conventions and treaties, as well as numerous regional conventions and domestic laws. It has been the catalyst for improving human rights protections for groups such as disabled people, indigenous peoples and women.

How have they helped? Our projects Our work helps us zero-in on injustice and inequality across all aspects of people’s lives.

Legal aid for victims of discrimination Our inquiry looked at whether legal aid enables people who raise a discrimination complaint in England and Wales to get justice.

How do we measure equality and human rights? Investigation into The Labor Party We have launched an investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism in The Labor party.

What is it? Our measurement framework is the tool we use to monitor progress on equality and human rights across a range of areas of life in Great Britain.

We call these areas ‘domains’ and there are six in the framework:

education work living standards health justice and personal security participation

The framework looks at a range of indicators to measure progress in each domain. Where possible, these measures are broken down by protected characteristics, for example disability or ethnicity, as well as socio-economic group (social class).

WHAT IS IT? The measurement framework also looks at ‘intersectional’ disadvantage (a phrase used to describe the relationship between overlapping social identities and protected characteristics) and at-risk groups, such as homeless people and careers.

How do we use it? We use the measurement framework to give structure and consistency to the way we collect and analyze information and evidence. We use the data we collect to inform our reports to Parliament, for example the Is Britain Fairer? report. We compare the latest results with data from previous years, so that we can monitor change over time.

Who else can use it? The framework may be useful to local and national government agencies, foreign governments, international equality and human rights bodies, and researchers.