P. C. Chang
On the Universal Declaration of Human Rights drafting committee, he served both as an effective Asian delegate and also as a mediator when the negotiations reached a stalemate. He served as Vice-Chairman of the original UN Commission on Human Rights and Republic of China delegate to committee and played a pivotal role in its drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948. He and fellow delegate Charles Malik, the Lebanese philosopher-diplomat, shared ideals of universal human rights, but debated what they were and how they could be described in an international document. By most accounts, Chang and Malik were the philosophical leaders of the deliberations. Chang argued that the modern world should pay heed to Chinese philosophers such as Mencius not because they were Chinese, but because their ideas had universal validity.
Human rights in the Philippines
The Philippines is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) drafted by the United Nations (UN) in the 1948. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, alongside the Genocide Convention and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, by the United Nations in response to the tragic and horrendous violations of human rights during the Second World War. The United Nations Charter, a treaty, was created in order to define what roles, powers, and duties the United Nations is allowed to practice in dealing with international relations. Article I of the UN Charter states that the UN aims: ""To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion;""According to the Charter, the jurisdiction of the United Nations is to provide cooperation among the nations, and not act as an international government. The UN Charter paved the way for the drafting of the UDHR. The UDHR aims to promote "universal respect for, and the observance of, human rights." Thus, the UDHR is merely a declaration for each signatory to adopt to its own political system. The significance of the UDHR as stated in its Preamble is: ""Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge.""As a signatory to the UDHR, the Philippines then declares an understanding and adherence of these fundamental and inalienable rights to its population. The Philippines has adhered to the UDHR through the Bill of Rights, and continued to create laws and policies that cater to a specific sector, like the Labor Code and the Indigenous Peoples' Rights.