"A quick history of the United Nations shows its escalating concern with sustainability. In 1945, the world was emerging from the horrors of the Second World War. The UN was started that year with the hope that it would help solve international problems in a peaceful way rather than with yet more war. In 1948, the General Assembly agreed upon one of the most remarkable documents in all of human history. It was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...Although sustainability was not mentioned in the Universal Declaration, subsequent UN work on sustainability has been informed by the human rights the Declaration described, such as the following:  ...

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services... [Article 25]"   

                                                       7 Perspectives On Sustainability, page 6