Universal Declaration of Human
Rights
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. The UDHR is widely recognized as having inspired, and
paved the way for, the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties,
applied today on a permanent basis at global and regional levels (all
containing references to it in their preambles).
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.
0 Comments