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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 1.
Everyone charged with a penal offence has
the right to be presumed
innocent
until proven
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, practise,
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 to equal access of
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
cooperation 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 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, literay 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. Link to
see this declaration in
other
languages:
UNHCR Illustraties:
Lawrence Gerner, Spierdijk. |
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