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."
The year 1998 marks the 50th anniversary of this historic
declaration. It is a good opportunity for respect life groups to point out that
the document acknowledges that 1) everyone has the right to life (article 3), 2)
this, and all human rights, are inalienable (Preamble). They are not given by or
taken away by the state; rather, the state must protect by law rights that are
already there. 3) No person or group may destroy human rights in the name of
freedom of conscience or religion (see articles 18, 19, and 30). This is
precisely what pro-abortion groups do when they justify the killing of a child
by invoking their "belief" that the child is not a person. 4) Everyone has the
right to be recognized as a person before the law (article 6), the very right
that Roe vs. Wade trampled upon when it said, "[T]he word 'person,' as used in
the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn."
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, color, 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 defense.
(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 honor 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
favorable 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 favorable 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.
