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About Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) was a lifelong advocate of civil and human rights. In the 1930s, she played a leading role in the New Deal social programmes of her husband, President Franklin D Roosevelt. She served as United States delegate to the United Nations’ General Assembly from 1945–53. As the first chairman of the UN’s Human Rights Commission she played a leading role in establishing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Articles by Eleanor Roosevelt

Sunday 5th September

America and human rights

Shirin Ebadi and Eleanor Roosevelt, 5 September 2004

Is the United States’s love affair with human rights over? In the seventh of our Letters to Americans series, the Iranian lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi writes a heartfelt letter to Eleanor Roosevelt, pioneer of American humanitarianism and commitment to the United Nations.