The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone
document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives
with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions
of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United
Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General
Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements
for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first
time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected
and it has been translated into over 500 languages.
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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 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.
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.
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