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 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 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 I
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
the 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
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
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 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
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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