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Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
Adopted
and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December
1948
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."
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 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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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