What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is marking its 75th anniversary?

Seventy-five years ago on Sunday, the U.N. General Assembly approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at a meeting in Paris — laying one of the foundation stones of the international order that emerged following the horrors of World War II.

The declaration was proclaimed as "a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations."

In practice, it hasn't always turned out that way over the subsequent decades. As the document turns 75, U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk said this week that the world is at a "somber moment in history," wracked by conflicts and crises. But he i...