The World’s Most Translated Document
From the six UN official languages—Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish— spoken by billions of people, to Pipil, spoken by some 50 people in El Salvador and Honduras, the UDHR is the most translated document in the world.
During the World Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) and on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the UDHR, a project to have the Declaration translated in as many languages and dialects as possible was developed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Department of Public Information (DPI), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and various governments, academia and international, regional and grass-roots civil society organizations.
OHCHR received over 360 translations, including one by Ali K. Phiri of Malawi, a teacher with extensive experience in human rights education in prisons, schools and remote communities, who translated the UDHR and the Constitution of Malawi in Yao, the third most spoken language in the country. Phiri distributed 1,500 booklets containing the UDHR and 500 copies of the Bill of Rights in various villages. Discussions were held with villagers who also learnt about ways to secure their own rights.
Ali K. Phiri of Malawi distributing 1,500 booklets of the UDHR in Yao
Credit: UN Photo.
Arcade Bacanamwo, a university teacher in Bujumbura, Burundi, translated the UDHR into Kirundi and distributed the document to women living in camps for displaced persons. Audiocassettes of the Declaration were also distributed. It sparked such interest that a series of human rights discussions were organized with 200 women participants. Some of the trained women found their calling and decided to become human rights focal points who would report periodically to camp directors on human rights abuses or protection needs.
Both the Yao and Kirundi translations can be found on the OHCHR website. OHCHR has the Guinness World Record for most translated document in the world. Find all UDHR translations on the OHCHR website.