Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is one of the world’s most important documents. The rights in this declaration is something all citizens of the world (rights-holders) should know. All those who are responsible for protecting and fulfilling these rights (duty-bearers) ought to know them by heart.

The UDHR was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948. It would be a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. And, for the first time, it was decided that the fundamental human rights should be universally protected. Since then, the UDHR has inspired and made other key treaties that are used across the world today possible.

It was drafted by a number of representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all the world and has been translated into more than 500 languages.

The articles as they were formulated in the UDHR, with Amnesty’s Plain English version in []. Further below, you can download the illustrated UDHR to spread to your friends and relatives.

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.

[We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas and we should all be treated the same way.]

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.

[The rights in the UDHR belong to everyone, no matter

who we are, where we’re from, or whatever we believe.]

Article 3

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

[We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety.]

Article 4

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

[No one should be held as a slave, and no one has the right to treat anyone else as their slave.]

Article 5

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

[No one has the right to inflict torture, or to subject anyone else to cruel or inhuman treatment.]

Article 6

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

[We should all have the same level of legal protection whoever we are, and wherever in the world we are.]

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.

[The law is the same for everyone, and must treat us all equally.]

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.

[We should all have the right to legal support if we are treated unfairly.]

Article 9

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

[Nobody should be arrested, put in prison, or sent away from our country unless there is good reason to do so.]

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.

[Everyone accused of a crime has the right to a fair and public trial, and those that try us should be independent and not influenced by others.]

Article 11

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.
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.

[Everyone accused of a crime has the right to be considered innocent until they have fairly been proven to be guilty.]

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.

[Nobody has the right to enter our home, open our mail, or intrude on our families without good reason. We also have the right to be protected if someone tries to unfairly damage our reputation.]

Article 13

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 his own, and to return to his country.

[We all have the right to move freely within our country, and to visit and leave other countries when we wish.]

Article 14

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.

[If we are at risk of harm we have the right to go to another country to seek protection.]

Article 15

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

[We all have the right to be a citizen of a country and nobody should prevent us, without good reason, from being a citizen of another country if we wish.]

Article 16

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.

[We should have the right to marry and have a family as soon as we’re legally old enough.

Our ethnicity, nationality and religion should not stop us from being able to do this. Men and women have the same rights when they are married and also when they’re separated.

We should never be forced to marry. The government has a responsibility to protect us and our family.]

Article 17

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

[Everyone has the right to own property, and no one has the right to take this away from us without a fair reason. ]

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.

[Everyone has the freedom to think or believe what they want, including the right to religious belief.

We have the right to change our beliefs or religion at any time, and the right to publicly or privately practise our chosen religion, alone or with others.]

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.

[Everyone has the right to their own opinions, and to be able to express them freely.

We should have the right to share our ideas with who we want, and in whichever way we choose.]

Article 20

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

[We should all have the right to form groups and organise peaceful meetings. Nobody should be forced to belong to a group if they don’t want to.]

Article 21

Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his 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.

[We all have the right to take part in our country’s political affairs either by freely choosing politicians to represent us, or by belonging to the government ourselves.

Governments should be voted for by the public on a regular basis, and every person’s individual vote should be secret. Every individual vote should be worth the same. ]

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.

[The society we live in should help every person develop to their best ability through access to work, involvement in cultural activity, and the right to social welfare. Every person in society should have the freedom to develop their personality with the support of the resources available in that country.]

Article 23

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 for himself and his 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 his interests.

[We all have the right to employment, to be free to choose our work, and to be paid a fair salary that allows us to live and support our family. Everyone who does the same work should have the right to equal pay, without discrimination. We have the right to come together and form trade union groups to defend our interests as workers.]

Article 24

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

[Everyone has the right to rest and leisure time. There should be limits on working hours, and people should be able to take holidays with pay.]

Article 25

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.
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.

[We all have the right to enough food, clothing, housing and healthcare for ourselves and our families.

We should have access to support if we are out of work, ill, elderly, disabled, widowed, or can’t earn a living for reasons outside of our control.

An expectant mother and her baby should both receive extra care and support. All children should have the same rights when they are born.]

Article 26

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.

[Everyone has the right to education. Primary schooling should be free. We should all be able to continue our studies as far as we wish.

At school we should be helped to develop our talents, and be taught an understanding and respect for everyone’s human rights. We should also be taught to get on with others whatever their ethnicity, religion, or country they come from. Our parents have the right to choose what kind of school we go to.]

Article 27

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 he is the author.

[We all have the right to get involved in our community’s arts, music, literature and sciences, and the benefits they bring. If we are an artist, a musician, a writer or a scientist, our works should be protected and we should be able to benefit from them.]

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.

[We all have the right to live in a peaceful and orderly society so that these rights and freedoms can be protected, and these rights can be enjoyed in all other countries around the world.]

Article 29

Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
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.

These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

[We have duties to the community we live in that should allow us to develop as fully as possible. The law should guarantee human rights and should allow everyone to enjoy the same mutual respect.]

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,

[No government, group or individual should act in a way that would destroy the rights and freedoms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.]