United Nations 1948
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; and
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; and
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; and
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly
relations between nations; and
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; and
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; and
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.
Article3
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 her/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 her/his rights and
obligations, and of any criminal charge against her/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/she
has had all the guarantees necessary for her/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 it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed that 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 her/his
own, and to 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-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 her/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 her/his religion or belief, and freedom,
either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest her/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 to 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
cooperation 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 herself/himself and her/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 her/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 herself/himself and her/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
right 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 her/his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of her/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.
Source: Paul Williams, editor, The International Bill of Human Rights, (Glen Ellen, CAL: Entwhistle Books, 1981), 3-12.
The initial draft of the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights was written by the Canadian, John Peters Humphrey.
The following is a partial
list of his publications:
Humphrey, John Peters. On the Edge of Greatness: The Diaries of John Humphrey, First Director of the United Nations Human Rights Division, Vol I 1948-1949 by A.J. Hobbins (Editor) (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1994). ISBN: 0773513833
Humphrey, John Peters. On the Edge of Greatness: The Diaries of John Humphrey, First Director of the United Nations Division of Human Rights 1950-1951, Volume 2. (Fontanus Monographs by A.J. Hobbins (Editor) (Montreal and Kingston: McGill Queen’s University Press, 1996). ISBN: 0773514546
Humphrey, John Peters. On the Edge of Greatness: The Diaries of John Humphrey, First Director of the United Nations Human Rights Division, Volume III, 1952-1957 by A.J. Hobbins (Editor) (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s Univiversity Press, 1997). ISBN: 0773514562
Humphrey, John P. No Distant Millennium: The International Law of Human Rights. (Paris: UNESCO, 1989).
Humphrey, John P. and Nash, Alan E., Institute for Research on Public Policy and Canadian Human Rights Foundation. Human Rights and the Protection of Refugees Under International Law. Proceedings of a Conference held in Montreal, November 29-December 2, 1987. (Montreal, Quebec and Halifax N.S: Canadian Human Rights Foundation and Institute for Research on Public Policy, c1988)
Humphrey, John P. Human Rights & the United Nations: A Great Adventure. (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y: Transnational Publishers, c1984)
Humphrey. John P. and Macdonald, R. St. J. The Practice of Freedom: Canadian Essays on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. (Toronto: Butterworths, c1979).
Humphrey, John P. Florence Bird, and Jacques Henripin, Report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada. (Canada. Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada, 1970).
Humphrey, John Peters. The United Nations and Human Rights. Series: Behind the Headlines, V.23, No.1. (Toronto: Published for the Canadian Institute of International Affairs by the Baxter Pub. Co., 1963).
Humphrey, John P. The Inter-American System: A Canadian View.
(Toronto: Macmillan Company of Canada, 1942).
A Partial Bibliographical listing may be found in:
Wiktor, Christian L. Canadian Bibliography of International Law 714(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984).
Biographical Statements on this great Canadian are in:
Macdonald, R. St. J. "Leadership in Law: John P. Humphrey and the Development of the International Law of Human Rights," The Canadian Yearbook of International Law, XXIX(1991), 3-91.
Humphrey, John Peters. On the Edge of Greatness: The Diaries of John Humphrey, First Director of the United Nations Human Rights Division, Vol. 1. 1948-1949. A.J. Hobbins (Editor) (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1994), 11-22.
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