<P> In 1948, the UN Resolution A / RES / 217 (III) (A) adopted the Declaration on a bilingual document in English and French, and official translations in Chinese, Russian and Spanish . In 2009, the Guinness Book of Records described the Declaration as the world's "Most Translated Document" (370 different languages and dialects). The Unicode Consortium stores 431 of the 503 official translations available at the OHCHR (as of June 2017). </P> <P> In its preamble, governments commit themselves and their people to progressive measures which secure the universal and effective recognition and observance of the human rights set out in the Declaration . Eleanor Roosevelt supported the adoption of the Declaration as a declaration rather than as a treaty because she believed that it would have the same kind of influence on global society as the United States Declaration of Independence had within the United States . In this, she proved to be correct . Even though it is not legally binding, the Declaration has been adopted in or has influenced most national constitutions since 1948 . It has also served as the foundation for a growing number of national laws, international laws, and treaties, as well as for a growing number of regional, sub national, and national institutions protecting and promoting human rights . </P> <P> For the first time in international law, the term "the rule of law" was used in the preamble of the Declaration . The third paragraph of the preamble of the Declaration reads as follows: "Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law ." </P> <P> While not a treaty itself, the Declaration was explicitly adopted for the purpose of defining the meaning of the words "fundamental freedoms" and "human rights" appearing in the United Nations Charter, which is binding on all member states . For this reason, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a fundamental constitutive document of the United Nations . In addition, many international lawyers believe that the Declaration forms part of customary international law and is a powerful tool in applying diplomatic and moral pressure to governments that violate any of its articles . The 1968 United Nations International Conference on Human Rights advised that the Declaration "constitutes an obligation for the members of the international community" to all persons . The Declaration has served as the foundation for two binding UN human rights covenants: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights . The principles of the Declaration are elaborated in international treaties such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Convention Against Torture, and many more . The Declaration continues to be widely cited by governments, academics, advocates, and constitutional courts, and by individuals who appeal to its principles for the protection of their recognised human rights . </P>

Who did not sign the universal declaration of human rights