There was once a broad consensus on human rights and the need for a flexible yet universal approach. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a product of extensive negotiations, passed the United Nations with no dissensions in 1948 and still enjoys wide support today. The UDHR’s framers achieved a distinctive synthesis, developing the document over two years with remarkably little disagreement regarding the basic substance despite wrangling about specifics. Although it articulated a common position, the UDHR stood upon diverse philosophical foundations and understood that human rights could be articulated differently in dissimilar parts of the world. Moreover, it took a remarkably narrow approach to the role of the state and human rights regime, assuming that social institutions and embedded moral codes were also essential to advancing human wellbeing.