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On
December 10, 1948 the
General
Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Following this historic act, the Assembly called
upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and
"to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded
principally in schools and other educational institutions, without
distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."
Preamble
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Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for
human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the
conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings
shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has
been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse,
as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human
rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations
between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed
their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the
human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have
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determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in
larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in
co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect
for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the
greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION
OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all
nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society,
keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and
education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by
progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal
and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member
States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their
jurisdiction.
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Article 1 All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2 Everyone is entitled to all the
rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any
kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political,
jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a
person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under
any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3 Everyone has the right to life,
liberty and security of person.
Article 4 No one shall be held in slavery or servitude;
slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5 No one shall be subjected to torture
or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6 Everyone has the right to
recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7 All are equal before the law and are
entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are
entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this
Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8 Everyone has the right to an
effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the
fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9 No one shall be subjected to
arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10 Everyone is entitled in full
equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial
tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any
criminal charge against him.
Article 11 (1) Everyone charged with a penal
offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according
to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for
his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act
or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or
international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier
penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal
offence was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy,
family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and
reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.
Article 13 (1) Everyone has the right to
freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to
return to his country.
Article 14 (1) Everyone has the right to seek
and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely
arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations.
Article 15 (1) Everyone has the right to a
nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the
right to change his nationality.
Article 16 (1) Men and women of full age,
without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right
to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to
marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of
the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is
entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17 (1) Everyone has the right to own
property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Article 18 Everyone has the right to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change
his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice,
worship and observance.
Article 19 Everyone has the right to freedom
of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions
without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20 (1) Everyone has the right to
freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21 (1) Everyone has the right to take
part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen
representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his
country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of
government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections
which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret
vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22 Everyone, as a member of society,
has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through
national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the
organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and
cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his
personality.
Article 23 (1) Everyone has the right to work,
to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and
to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for
equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration
ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and
supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the
protection of his interests.
Article 24 Everyone has the right to rest and
leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic
holidays with pay.
Article 25 (1) 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, and the right to security in the event of unemployment,
sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in
circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.
All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social
protection.
Article 26 (1) Everyone has the right to
education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and
fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and
professional education shall be made generally available and higher education
shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further
the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall
be given to their children.
Article 27 (1) Everyone has the right freely
to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and
to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material
interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of
which he is the author.
Article 28 Everyone is entitled to a social
and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29 (1) Everyone has duties to the
community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is
possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject
only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of
securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others
and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the
general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no
case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United
Nations.
Article 30 Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as
implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity
or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and
freedoms set forth herein.
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