ABSTRACT
The drafters of the UDHR were acutely aware of duties as well as rights. The drafters discussed the issue of corresponding duties throughout their deliberations. In the years since, a rights-first (or rights-only) approach has sometimes distorted the human rights project. Duties are integrated into the UDHR in a way that is purposeful and complements the overall structure of the document. Human rights also necessarily implicate duties, but in ways that are more complex than sometimes understood. Human rights advocates sometimes make the mistake of treating all-important interests as human rights, or of advocating rights without regard to the cost of implementing or protecting those rights, or without regard for other rights and societal values. The idea of human dignity for everyone everywhere can help the reader think through the implications of the reciprocal character of rights and duties.
