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."

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, 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.