| The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) codifies certain universal rights for accused persons. This study outlines a theoretical justification for them which supplements the foundations currently offered by religion and philosophy. Since most perceived violations of human rights occur in the treatment of accused persons, it is imperative that we have a sufficiently broad foundation upon which to justify opposition to such things as torture, inhumane treatment of enemy combatants, or suspension ofdue process. In the past, the more tenuous foundations provided by religion and philosophy have lacked worldwide acceptance when standing alone. This study discusses the arguments for universal human rights in both religion and philosophy and explains why they benefit from a broader defense. I ground this defense in a foundation built upon the historical existence and widespread contemporary adoption of certain human rights across cultures, religions, and political systems. Specifically, I support a defense for the universality of these rights through a combination of the frequency of their appearance in historical law codes and their adoption into modern law codes (constitutions) across broad geographical, religious, and political spectra, using data from the Comparative Constitutions Project. This study will further validate the list of universal rights for accused persons found in the UDHR and will provide additional justification for their existence. Key Words: Universal Human Rights, Universal Morality, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Natural Law, Natural Rights, Comparative Constitutions |