@governmentreport {495206, title = {American Declaration of the Rights \& Duties of Man}, journal = {Organization of American States}, year = {1948}, abstract = {http://www.cidh.oas.org/Basicos/English/Basic2.american\%20Declaration.htm The American Declaration is the first general international human rights instrument. Approximately eight months following its adoption, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The American Declaration establishes that "the essential rights of man are not derived from the fact that he is a national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes of his human personality."\  Accordingly, the States of the Americas recognize that when the state legislates in this area, it does not create or grant rights, but rather recognizes rights that exist independent of the formation of the State. Both the Commission and the Court have established that despite having been adopted as a declaration and not as a treaty, today the American Declaration constitutes a source of international obligations for the Member States of the OAS.}, url = {http://www.cidh.oas.org/Basicos/English/Basic2.american\%20Declaration.htm} }