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-selfgoverning
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 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 when it
was
committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the
one that was applicable at the time the penal offense 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.
[Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on
April 10, 1948.]
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