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Potentially the "International Magna
Carta of all Men Everywhere"
The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights — Transcript
The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly at
Paris, France, on December 10, 1948.
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Image & Quote Above
Photo
Eleanor Roosevelt
on November 1, 1949, United Nations, Lake
Success, New York.
Courtesy Franklin
D. Roosevelt Library
Quotation
"This
declaration may well become the international
Magna Carta of all men everywhere."
Eleanor
Roosevelt, Statement to the United Nations'
General Assembly on the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, December 9, 1948 |
It follows the transcript of the Declaration.
Go here for
more on the 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
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.
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