Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly Resolution 217
A (III) of 10 December 1948
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 freedoms,
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.
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
»
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.
» 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
» Everyone has the right
to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each
State.
» Everyone has the right
to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his
country.
Article 14
» Everyone has the right
to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
» 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
» Everyone has the right
to a nationality.
» No one shall be arbitrarily
deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his
nationality.
Article 16
»
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.
»
Marriage shall be entered into only with free and full consent of
the intending spouses.
»
The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society
and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17
» Everyone has the right
to own property alone as well as in association with others.
» 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
» Everyone has the right
to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
» No one may be compelled
to belong to an association.
Article 21
» Everyone has the right
to take part in the government of his country, directly or through
freely chosen representatives.
» Everyone has the right
to equal access to public service in his country.
» The will of the people
shall be the basis of the authority of government; this 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
» Everyone has the right
to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable
conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
» Everyone, without
any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
» 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.
» 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
» 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.
» 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
»
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.
»
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.
» Parents
have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be
given to their children.
Article 27
» 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.
» 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
» Everyone has duties
to the community in which alone the free and full development
of his personality is possible.
» 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.
» 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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