1998 sees the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, a great landmark in human history. There can be no going back behind this Declaration, but there is increasing recognition that it needs to be balanced. If all pursue their own rights exclusively and do not accept any obligations and responsibilities, the result can be hostility, conflict and ultimately chaos.

Consequently the InterAction Council, a distinguished body of elder statesmen and other leading public figures, chaired first by Helmut Schmidt and now by Malcolm Fraser, has produced a 'Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities".

This book contains the text of the Declaration, in the drafting of which Hans Küng was closely involved, an account of the historical background to it, a discussion of its significance, and responses from around the world.