After fierce negotiations, 50 nations agreed to a Charter that begins, “We the peoples of the United Nations.”

That opening line is notable because today, the United Nations can, to some, seem to serve the national interests of its 193 members — especially the most powerful. Their priorities can stand in the way of fulfilling the Charter’s first two pledges: to end “the scourge of war” and to regain “faith in fundamental human rights.”

Human rights: Aspirations vs. reality

In 1948, the United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These include the right to not be enslaved, the right to free expression, and the right to seek from other countries asylum from persecution. According to the United Nations Foundation, it is the most translated document in the world.

However, many of the rights expressed — to education, to equal pay for equal work, to nationality — remain aspirational.