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UNIVERSAL
DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 217A (III) of 10 December 1948 |
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| 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, |
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| 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, |
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| 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, |
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| WHEREAS
it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations
between nations, |
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| 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, |
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| 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, |
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| WHEREAS
a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the
greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge, |
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| Now,
therefore, The United Nations 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 2 | 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. |
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| 3 | Everyone
has the right to life, liberty and security of person. |
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| 4 | No one
shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade
shall be prohibited in all their forms. |
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| 5 | No one
shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. |
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| 6 | Everyone
has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the
law. |
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| 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 the
Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. |
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| 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. |
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| 9 | No one
shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. |
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| 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. |
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| 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 it was committed. Nor shall a
heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the
time the penal offense was committed. |
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| 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 attacks. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 3 | The
family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is
entitled to protection by society and the State. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 20 | 1 | Everyone
has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. |
| 2 | No one
may be compelled to belong to an association. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 4 | Everyone
has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection
of his interests. |
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| 24 | Everyone
has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation
of working hours and periodic holidays with pay. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 3 | These
rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the
purposes and principles of the United Nations. |
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| 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. | |
