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Subject: Universal Declaration of Human Rights


     On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations
     adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
     the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following
     this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries
     to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be
     disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools
     and other educational institutions, without distinction based on
     the political status of countries or territories."

     Final Authorized Text  UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION 

                  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 beep 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.


Universal Declaration of Human Rights
==================================RRojas Research Unit/1995================

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