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Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
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
(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 to 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.
G.A.
res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc A/810 at 71 (1948)
Adopted
on December 10, 1948
by the General Assembly of the United Nations (without dissent)
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