On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the
United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following
pages. 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."
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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 commonpeople,
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 theirfaith 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 promotesocial 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 achievementfor all peoples and all nations, to the
end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping
this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive byteaching and
education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and
byprogressive 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
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.