Know your rights - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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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

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 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

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.

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

Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within

the borders of each State.

Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and

to return to his country.

Article 14

Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum

from persecution.

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

Everyone has the right to a nationality.

No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied

the right to change his nationality.

Article 16

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.

Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of

the intending spouses.

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and

is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17

Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in

association with others.

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

Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and

association.

No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21

Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country,

directly or through freely chosen representatives.

Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his

country.

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

Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just

and favourable conditions of work and to protection against

unemployment.

Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for

equal work.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall

be given to their children.

Article 27

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.

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

Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full

development of his personality is possible.

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.

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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