Unfinished business

Seventy years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the world reality shows a strong frustration regarding the levels of satisfaction of human rights. In the search for answers to reverse this situation Human Duties appear as a key element to be taken into account. As a counter-face foundation and limit to Rights the vindication of Duties claims a vehement centrality in order to achieve as José Saramago asks a better world. This essay will attempt to approach Human Duties on the basis of the difficulty in their conceptualisation then it will be necessary to take a historical look at the changes in the paradigm of law and the different international documents on the subject; this journey will in turn allow us to determine certain causes that have led to their invisibility in order to finally propose a concept and characteristics of human duties.