The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly
December 10, 1948 — Paris, France
Drafted by a global committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stands as one of the most powerful moral documents in modern history.
For the first time, nations agreed that every human being is born with inherent dignity and equal rights that no government may deny. The Declaration contains 30 Articles that set the foundation for freedom, justice, and peace throughout the world.
Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal…
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.
"When we say human, we include everyone."
Hannah Arendt
Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms…
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind: race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status. 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.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Martin Luther King Jr.
Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security…
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
"The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference."
Elie Wiesel
Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery or servitude…
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
Nelson Mandela
Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment…
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
"Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must become the center of the universe."
Elie Wiesel
Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law…
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
"The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance."
Nathaniel Branden
Article 7: All are equal before the law and are entitled without discrimination to equal protection…
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.
"Equality is not a concept. It is not something we should be striving for. It is a necessity."
Desmond Tutu
Article 8: Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by competent national tribunals…
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted to them by the constitution or by law.
"The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
Martin Luther King Jr.
Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile…
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
"Where justice is denied, freedom is robbed from all."
Frederick Douglass
Article 10: Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing…
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of their rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against them.
"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Article 11: Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent…
Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which they have had all the guarantees necessary for their defense. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offense for an act or omission which did not constitute a penal offense under national or international law at the time it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offense was committed.
"Justice begins with seeing the humanity in every person."
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Article 12: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence…
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon their honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
"The sanctity of the individual is the cornerstone of a free society."
Hannah Arendt
Article 13: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence…
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.
"No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark."
Warsan Shire
Article 14: Everyone has the right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution…
Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. 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.
"The refugee is a person who seeks safety, not someone to fear."
Elie Wiesel
Article 15: Everyone has the right to a nationality…
Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality nor denied the right to change their nationality.
"Home is not where you are born; home is where all your attempts to escape cease."
Naguib Mahfouz
Article 16: Men and women of full age have the right to marry and to found a family…
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. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
"Where there is love, there is life."
Mahatma Gandhi
Article 17: Everyone has the right to own property…
Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their property.
"Where there is no justice, there can be no peace."
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Article 18: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion…
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change their religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest their religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
"The greatest gift we can give one another is the freedom to follow our conscience."
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression…
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.
"The truth is not always comfortable, but it is always sacred."
Hannah Arendt
Article 20: Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association…
Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
"Never be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble."
John Lewis
Article 21: Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country…
Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in their country. 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.
"Democracy is not a state; it is an act."
John Lewis
Article 22: Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security…
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international cooperation, and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for their dignity and the free development of their personality.
"Do not defer your mission. The world needs you now."
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Article 23: Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment…
Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for themselves and their family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests.
"There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not live single-issue lives."
Audre Lorde
Article 24: Everyone has the right to rest and leisure…
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
"Rest is not idleness. It is the restoration of the soul."
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Article 25: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being…
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themselves and their 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 their control. 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.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Martin Luther King Jr.
Article 26: Everyone has the right to education…
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. 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. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
"Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world."
Nelson Mandela
Article 27: Everyone has the right to freely participate in cultural life…
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. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which they are the author.
"Art is not a luxury; it is a necessity. It tells us who we are."
Maya Angelou
Article 28: Everyone is entitled to a social and international order…
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
"The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings."
Albert Schweitzer
Article 29: Everyone has duties to the community…
Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of their personality is possible. In the exercise of their 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. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
"We are bound together by a shared destiny. Our freedom is tied to the freedom of others."
Desmond Tutu
Article 30: Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted…
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.
"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home."
Eleanor Roosevelt