Thirty rights. One human family.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states the rights and freedoms that belong equally to every human being—and must never be taken away.

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, after the devastation of the Second World War, the Declaration was the first global statement that every person is entitled to dignity, freedom, and equal protection. It remains a common language for educators, advocates, and movements working to turn those principles into daily life.

A parchment scroll representing the Universal Declaration of Human RightsRead the UN
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Article 1

We are all born free and equal

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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

Freedom from discrimination

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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.

Article 3

Right to life, liberty and security

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Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4

Freedom from slavery

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No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5

Freedom from torture

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No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6

Recognition as a person before the law

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Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7

Equality before the law

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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

Access to justice

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Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted by the constitution or by law.

Article 9

Freedom from arbitrary detention

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No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10

Right to a fair trial

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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.

Article 11

Presumption of innocence

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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 they have had all the guarantees necessary for their defence. 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.

Article 12

Right to privacy

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No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon their honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13

Freedom of movement

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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.

Article 14

Right to seek asylum

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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.

Article 15

Right to a nationality

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Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their nationality nor denied the right to change their nationality.

Article 16

Right to marry and form a family

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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.

Article 17

Right to own property

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Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their property.

Article 18

Freedom of thought and religion

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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.

Article 19

Freedom of opinion and expression

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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

Freedom of assembly and association

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Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21

Right to take part in government

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Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in their country. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government, expressed in periodic and genuine elections by universal and equal suffrage and secret vote or equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22

Right to social security

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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 their dignity and the free development of their personality.

Article 23

Right to work

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Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable 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 favourable remuneration ensuring an existence worthy of human dignity. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests.

Article 24

Right to rest and leisure

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Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25

Right to an adequate standard of living

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Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themselves and of 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.

Article 26

Right to education

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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 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.

Article 27

Right to cultural life

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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.

Article 28

Right to a free and fair world

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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

Responsibility to the community

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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 to secure respect for the rights and freedoms of others and to meet the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

Article 30

Rights cannot be taken away

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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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