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As the world marks another anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 in Paris, the legacy of Chilean jurist and diplomat Hernán Santa Cruz feels more relevant than ever. His ideas resonate strongly today, at a time when democracy is under pressure across the globe and the ideal of human rights is facing significant setbacks.
In February 2024, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) republished a book Santa Cruz had first released in 1993, a must-read for anyone interested in international relations and committed to multilateralism. In it, the author reflects on a wide range of important global issues he encountered during his career and shares personal memories and fascinating anecdotes. The book, titled Cooperate or Perish: The Dilemma of the World Community, is now available in three volumes for free download on the CEPAL website.
Throughout his distinguished career at the United Nations, Hernán Santa Cruz Barceló (1906-1999) held many key positions: Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations (1947-1952), President and Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission to Study the Racial Situation in the Union of South Africa (1953, 1954 and 1955), and Member of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (1954-1974), to which he was elected six times. In 1967 he was appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations and other international organisations based in Geneva and Rome, a post he held until 11 September 1973, when he resigned following Augusto Pinochet’s military coup. A neighbour and friend of Salvador Allende, this Christian humanist carried out his final diplomatic mission representing Chile at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Hernán Santa Cruz was Chile’s first representative to the United Nations and one of the nine original authors of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He is remembered above all for his contributions to the Declaration’s economic, social and cultural articles, but also for his powerful defence of freedom of movement, which brought him into direct conflict with the Soviet delegate.
Article 13 of the Declaration states that: 1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and to choose their residence within the borders of each State; and 2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country. During the debate on this article, Santa Cruz made one of the most memorable interventions of the drafting process, arguing that human rights must take precedence over the sovereignty of States.
In his book, Santa Cruz recalls how the Soviet delegation proposed amending both paragraphs by adding the phrases “in accordance with the laws of the said State” and “under conditions laid down by the law of the said State”. He opposed this strongly, warning that such language would “render all practical effects of those fundamental declarations impossible from the outset”. He went on to say: “This principle is inherent in human personality, preceding any form of coexistence or legal organisation of social groups, and must be defended as an instrument of civilisation’s progress.”
He insisted that “to recognise that it is the exclusive prerogative of the State to determine the manner and timing of the application of such rights would mean consecrating the implicit renunciation of an inalienable and non-transferable human faculty. Ours would not be a Declaration of Human Rights, but a declaration of the absolute right of States.”
Santa Cruz’s position won the support of the other delegates, and the Soviet amendments were rejected. The principle prevailed that domestic laws must adapt to human rights, not the other way around.
Although there are many works that trace the history of the Universal Declaration, the chapter that Santa Cruz devoted to it in the first volume of his book reads almost like a diary of the sessions themselves, complete with detailed accounts of the votes on each of the 30 articles. The Chilean diplomat regretted that the United Nations never compiled a record of those vibrant debates, noting that such a document would have helped “to fully appreciate the scope and force of the instrument so solemnly adopted”.
Reflecting on the universality of human rights, meaning that they belong to all people everywhere regardless of nation or political system, Santa Cruz wrote: “Only those who deny that these rights have intrinsic value, and that human beings are subjects of these rights independent of the form of the State, could refuse to accept them. Nor would those accept them who do not believe that man possesses rights inherent to his nature, prior to the constitution of social groups.”
Among the better-known authors of the 1948 Declaration are the American Eleanor Roosevelt and the Frenchman René Cassin, whom Santa Cruz regarded as the principal architect of the text. Less famous, and still underappreciated in Latin America, the Chilean diplomat nonetheless stands out as a crucial figure in the creation of this historic document adopted in Paris.
Democracy as a Universal Human Right
During the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Hernán Santa Cruz argued that democracy itself should be considered a universal human right. While this idea can be inferred from the Declaration’s enshrinement of civil and political freedoms, the Chilean diplomat made the point explicit during the Paris debates: “Democracy is a system that opposes all dogmatic conceptions. No one can claim a monopoly on truth, and common problems must be resolved through the freely expressed vote of all members of the community.” Later, Santa Cruz produced a report of more than a hundred pages interpreting Article 21 of the Declaration, a work that established him as one of the foremost international advocates of democracy as a foundation of human rights.
Without any special heading, in Chapter X of Volume I, titled “The Fight Against Racial Discrimination”, near the end of the section where he describes his early work on the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, he refers to a study that the UN intended to conduct on “Discrimination in the Matter of Political Rights”. The task was eventually assigned to him. The report took three years to complete, was published on 15 September 1962, and was soon archived.
Discussing this study, now available on the UN website, Santa Cruz noted that it fully reflected his political thinking: “The works on racial discrimination, on Apartheid, and on discrimination in the matter of political rights reflect my profound and personal convictions on subjects of lasting and universal value.”
In this report, Santa Cruz examined Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that: 1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives; 2) Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in their country; and 3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in genuine elections held periodically, by universal and equal suffrage, and by secret vote or equivalent procedures guaranteeing the freedom of the vote.
Santa Cruz’s analysis offers a clear and powerful defence of democracy from a human rights perspective, particularly against those who justify authoritarianism from either end of the ideological spectrum. Contrary to fascist or communist claims that social and economic progress can be achieved by restricting political freedoms, he asserted that “the effective exercise of political rights is a means of achieving all other rights and freedoms”. He summed it up as follows:
This brilliant report contains many insights that remain strikingly relevant today, especially considering that roughly a third of UN member states still live under authoritarian regimes. For example:
Hernán Santa Cruz also played a central role in creating CEPAL, which he proposed to the United Nations in July 1947. After intense debate, the Commission was officially established in February 1948. In recognition of his contribution to its creation and his work on the Universal Declaration, the library at CEPAL headquarters in Santiago, Chile, bears his name. In 1996, Chilean President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle awarded him the country’s highest honour, the Medal for Meritorious Service to the Republic, for his service to the nation.
For his clear understanding of the human rights ideal, his prolific contributions in the field, his defence of multilateralism, his fight against racism, and his pioneering advocacy of gender equality, as well as for his study on political discrimination that enshrines democracy as a universal right, the legacy of Hernán Santa Cruz remains as vital as ever.
