"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the basic international statement of
the inalienable and inviolable rights of
all members of the human family. It is intended
to serve as 'the common standard of achievement
for all peoples and all nations' in the effort
to secure universal and effective recognition
and observance of the rights and freedoms
it lists."
In furtherance of the avowed aim for universal
human rights indicated in the United Nations Charter Preamble, the Declaration was agreed to, signed, and proclaimed during
1948. According to the publication's introduction,
"The Declaration represents a major milestone in human progress
... [and] is a document of the widest significance,
serving in its field as the conscience for
the world and a standard against which the
attitudes of societies and governments can
be measured. ...
"The Universal Declaration has been followed by three instruments adding
legal force: The International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights; and its Optional Protocol. With their entry into force in 1976, the
International Bill of Human Rights became a reality. These instruments require
States that have ratified them to recognize
and honor the widest range of human rights
ever recorded in history. ... U Thant, who
was Secretary-General at the time the Covenants
were opened for signature, has called the
Declaration, the Covenants, and the Protocol
a 'Magna Carta'" for humankind.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is quoted verbatim in full below.
Preamble
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 determined
to promote social progress and better standards
of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves
to achieve, in cooperation with the United
Nations, the promotion of universal respect
for and observance of human rights and fundamental
freedom,
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.
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, color,
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 offense
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 defense.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal
offense on account of any act or omission
which did not constitute a penal offense,
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 offense
was committed.
Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference
with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,
nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation.
Everyone has the right to the protection
of the law against such interference or attack.
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 none-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 cooperation 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 favorable
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 favorable 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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