<P> On 10 December 1948, the Universal Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly as resolution 217A by a vote of 48 in favor, none against, and eight abstentions (the Soviet Union, Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, People's Republic of Poland, Union of South Africa, Czechoslovakia, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Honduras and Yemen--both members of UN at the time--failed to vote or abstain . </P> <P> The meeting record provides first hand insight of the debate . South Africa's position can be seen as an attempt to protect its system of apartheid, which clearly violated any number of articles in the Declaration . The Saudi Arabian delegation's abstention was prompted primarily by two of the Declaration's articles: Article 18, which states that everyone has the right "to change his religion or belief"; and Article 16, on equal marriage rights . The six communist nations abstentions centred around the view that the Declaration did not go far enough in condemning fascism and Nazism . Eleanor Roosevelt attributed the abstention of the Soviet bloc nations to Article 13, which provided the right of citizens to leave their countries . </P> <P> 48 countries voted in favour of the Declaration: </P> <Ul> <Li> Afghanistan </Li> <Li> Argentina </Li> <Li> Australia </Li> <Li> Belgium </Li> <Li> Bolivia </Li> <Li> Brazil </Li> <Li> Burma </Li> <Li> Canada </Li> <Li> Chile </Li> <Li> China </Li> <Li> Colombia </Li> <Li> Costa Rica </Li> <Li> Cuba </Li> <Li> Denmark </Li> <Li> Dominican Republic </Li> <Li> Ecuador </Li> <Li> Egypt </Li> <Li> El Salvador </Li> <Li> Ethiopia </Li> <Li> France </Li> <Li> Greece </Li> <Li> Guatemala </Li> <Li> Haiti </Li> <Li> Iceland </Li> <Li> India </Li> <Li> Iran </Li> <Li> Iraq </Li> <Li> Lebanon </Li> <Li> Liberia </Li> <Li> Luxembourg </Li> <Li> Mexico </Li> <Li> Netherlands </Li> <Li> New Zealand </Li> <Li> Nicaragua </Li> <Li> Norway </Li> <Li> Pakistan </Li> <Li> Panama </Li> <Li> Paraguay </Li> <Li> Peru </Li> <Li> Philippines </Li> <Li> Thailand </Li> <Li> Sweden </Li> <Li> Syria </Li> <Li> Turkey </Li> <Li> United Kingdom </Li> <Li> United States </Li> <Li> Uruguay </Li> <Li> Venezuela </Li> </Ul>

How many countries adopted the universal declaration of human rights