DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These are the human rights of ALL PEOPLE
as set forth by the United Nations in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights.
All human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights
and fundamental freedoms.
The United Nations is committed to upholding, promoting and
protecting the human rights of every individual. This commitment
stems from the United Nations Charter, which reaffirms the faith
of the peoples of the world in fundamental human rights and in
the dignity and worth of the human person.
In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United
Nations has stated in clear and simple terms the rights which
belong equally to!every person.
These righus cemoog!uo!you/Uiey!ase!yous!sigius/
Familiarize yourself with them. Help to promote and defend
them for yourself as well as gos!yous!gemmow human beings.
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION
OF HUMAN RIGHTS
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
opposition, that human rights should be protected by the rule of
law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of
friendly relations with other 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-operative 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 against any 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 proven gu8ilty 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, not 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 return to his country.
Article 14
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other
countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of
prosecutions genuinely arising from non-politicalcrimes 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 is 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 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 accessw 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 right for equal pay.
(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 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 in 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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