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A New World with New Ideas: The ILO and the Quest for a Colonial Post-War Order, 1945–48

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Human Rights, Development and Decolonization

Part of the book series: International Labour Organization (ILO) Century Series ((ILOCS))

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Abstract

As the post-war era dawned, the climate looked favourable for the implementation of the principles set out in Philadelphia. The establishment of the United Nations in 1945 and the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 created a framework which gave the ILO’s basic principles a new, solid footing. Both the UN Charter and the UDHR set out a new generation of “social” rights for which the Declaration of Philadelphia had paved the way and which now, in turn, conferred new legitimacy on the Declaration. The strikingly universalistic language of the UN Charter and the UDHR both inspired reformers in the metropoles nationalist movements in the colonies.1

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Notes

  1. For positive view of the Declaration’s impact, see R. Burke Decolonization and the evolution of international human rights (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010).

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© 2012 International Labour Organization

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Maul, D. (2012). A New World with New Ideas: The ILO and the Quest for a Colonial Post-War Order, 1945–48. In: Human Rights, Development and Decolonization. International Labour Organization (ILO) Century Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230358638_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230358638_5

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-34471-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-230-35863-8

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)

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