The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by the U.N.

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
by the United Nations
10 December 1948

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.

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Convention on Rights and Duties of States (inter-American)
by International Conference of American States
Montevideo, Uruguay
December 26, 1933

The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States is a treaty signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 26, 1933, during the Seventh International Conference of American States.[2] At the conference, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull declared the Good Neighbor Policy, which opposed U.S. armed intervention in inter-American affairs. The convention was signed by 19 states. The acceptance of three of the signatories was subject to minor reservations. Those states were Brazil, Peru and the United States.[3][1]

The convention became operative on December 26, 1934. It was registered in the League of Nations Treaty Series on January 8, 1936.[4]

-- Montevideo Convention, by Wikipedia

Convention signed at Montevideo December 26, 1933; Senate advice and consent to ratification, with a reservation, June 15, 1934; Ratified by the President of the United States, with a reservation, June 29, 1934; Ratification of the United States deposited with the Pan American Union July 13, 1934; Entered into force December 26, 1934; Proclaimed by the President of the United States January 18, 1935; Article 8 reaffirmed by protocol of December 23, 1936.

CONVENTION ON RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF STATES

The Governments represented in the Seventh International Conference of American States:

Wishing to conclude a Convention on Rights and Duties of States, have appointed the following Plenipotentiaries:

Honduras:
MIGUEL PAZ BARAONA
AUGUSTO C. COELLO
LUIS BOGRAN

United States of America:
CORDELL HULL
ALEXANDER W. WEDDELL
J. REUBEN CLARK
J. BUTLER WRIGHT
SPRUILLE BRADEN
Miss SOPHONISBA P. BRECKINRIDGE

El Salvador:
HECTOR DAVID CASTRO
ARTURO RAMON AVILA
J. CIPRIANO CASTRO

Dominican Republic:
TULIO M. CESTERO

Haiti:
JUSTIN BARAU
FRANCIS SALGADO
ANTOINE PIERRE-PAUL
EDMOND MANGONES

Argentina:
CARLOS SAAVEDRA LAMAS
JUAN F. CAFFERATA
RAMON S. CASTILLO
CARLOS BREBBIA
ISIDORO RUIZ MORENO
LUIS A. PODESTA COSTA
RAUL PREBISCH
DANIEL ANTOKOLETZ

Venezuela:
CESAR ZUMETA
LUIS CHURTON
JOSE RAFAEL MONTTLLA

Uruguay:
ALBERTO MANE
JUAN JOSE AMEZAGA
JOSE G. ANTUNA
JUAN CARLOS BLANCO
Senora SOFIA A. V. DE DEMICHELI
MARTIN R. ECHEGOYEN
LUIS ALBERTO DE HERRERA
PEDRO MANINI RIOS
MATEO MARQUES CASTRO
RODOLFO MEZZERA
OCTAVIO MORAT6
LUIS MORQUIO
TEOFILO PINEYRO CHAIN
DARDO REGULES
JOSE SERRATO
JOSE PEDRO VARELA

Paraguay:
JUSTO PASTOR BENITEZ
GERONIMO RIART
HORACIO A. FERNANDEZ
Senorita MARIA F. GONZALEZ

Mexico:
JOSE MANUEL PUIG CASAURANC
ALFONSO REYES
BASILIO VADILLO
GENARO V. VASQUEZ
ROMEO ORTEGA
MANUEL J. SIERRA
EDUARDO SUAREZ

Panama:
J. D. AROSEMENA
EDUARDO E. HOLGUIN
OSCAR R. MULLER
MAGIN PONS

Bolivia:
CASTO ROJAS
DAVID ALVESTEGUI
ARTURO PINTO ESCALIER

Guatemala:
ALFREDO SKINNER KLEE
JOSE GONZALEZ CAMPO
CARLOS SALAZAR
MANUEL ARROYO

Brazil:
AFRANIO DE MELLO FRANCO
LUCILLO A DA CUNHA BUENO
FRANCISCO LUIS DA SILVA CAMPOS
GILBERTO AMADO
CARLOS CHAGAS
SAMUEL RIBEIRO

Ecuador:
AUGUSTO AGUIRRE APARICIO
HUMBERTO ALBORNOZ
ANTONIO PARRA
CARLOS PUIG VILASSAR
ARTURO SCARONE

Nicaragua:
LEONARDO ARGUELLO
MANUEL CORDERO REYES
CARLOS CUADRA PASOS

Colombia:
ALFONSO LOPEZ
RAIMUNDO RIVAS
JOSE CAMACEO CARRENO

Chile:
MIGUEL CRUCHAGA TOCORNAL
OCTAVIO SENORET SILVA
GUSTAVO RIVERA
JOSE RAMON GUTIERREZ
FELIX NIETO DEL RIO
FRANCISCO FIGUEROA SANCHEZ
BENJAMIN COHEN

Peru:
ALFREDO SOLE Y MURO
FELIPE BARREDA LAOS
LUIS FERNAN CISNEROS

Cuba:
ANGEL ALBERTO GIRAUDY
HERMINIO PORTELL VILA
ALFREDO NOGUEIRA
Who, after having exhibited their Full Powers, which were found to be in good and due order, have agreed upon the following:

ARTICLE 1
The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: a) a permanent population; b) a defined territory; c) government; and d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.

ARTICLE 2
The federal state shall constitute a sole person in the eyes of international law.

ARTICLE 3
The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states. Even before recognition the state has the right to defend its integrity and independence, to provide for its conservation and prosperity, and consequently to organize itself as it sees fit, to legislate upon its interests, administer its services, and to define the jurisdiction and competence of its courts.

The exercise of these rights has no other limitation than the exercise of the rights of other states according to international law.

ARTICLE 4
States are juridically equal, enjoy the same rights, and have equal capacity in their exercise. The rights of each one do not depend upon the power which it possesses to assure its exercise, but upon the simple fact of its existence as a person under international law.

ARTICLE 5
The fundamental rights of states are not susceptible of being affected in any manner whatsoever.

ARTICLE 6
The recognition of a state merely signifies that the state which recognizes it accepts the personality of the other with all the rights and duties determined by international law. Recognition is unconditional and irrevocable.

ARTICLE 7
The recognition of a state may be express or tacit. The latter results from any act which implies the intention of recognizing the new state.

ARTICLE 8
No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another.

ARTICLE 9
The jurisdiction of states within the limits of national territory applies to all the inhabitants.

Nationals and foreigners are under the same protection of the law and the national authorities and the foreigners may not claim rights other or more extensive than those of the nationals.

ARTICLE 10
The primary interest of states is the conservation of peace. Differences of any nature which arise between them should be settled by recognized pacific methods.

ARTICLE 11
The contracting states definitely establish as the rule of their conduct the precise obligation not to recognize territorial acquisitions or special advantages which have been obtained by force whether this consists in the employment of arms, in threatening diplomatic representations, or in any other effective coercive measure. The territory of a state is inviolable and may not be the object of military occupation nor of other measures of force imposed by another state directly or indirectly or for any motive whatever even temporarily.

ARTICLE 12
The present Convention shall not affect obligations previously entered into by the High Contracting Parties by virtue of international agreements.

ARTICLE 13
The present Convention shall be ratified by the High Contracting Parties in conformity with their respective constitutional procedures. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uruguay shall transmit authentic certified copies to the governments for the aforementioned purpose of ratification. The instrument of ratification shall be deposited in the archives of the Pan American Union in Washington, which shall notify the signatory governments of said deposit. Such notification shall be considered as an exchange of ratifications.

ARTICLE 14
The present Convention will enter into force between the High Contracting Parties in the order in which they deposit their respective ratifications.

ARTICLE 15
The present Convention shall remain in force indefinitely but may be denounced by means of one year's notice given to the Pan American Union, which shall transmit it to the other signatory governments. After the expiration of this period the Convention shall cease in its effects as regards the party which denounces but shall remain in effect for the remaining High Contracting Parties.

ARTICLE 16
The present Convention shall be open for the adherence and accession of the States which are not signatories. The corresponding instruments shall be deposited in the archives of the Pan American Union which shall communicate them to the other High Contracting Parties.

In witness whereof, the following Plenipotentiaries have signed this Convention in Spanish, English, Portuguese and French and hereunto affix their respective seals in the city of Montevideo, Republic of Uruguay, this 26th day of December, 1933.

RESERVATIONS
The Delegation of the United States of America, in signing the Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, does so with the express reservation presented to the Plenary Session of the Conference on December 22, 1933, which reservation reads as follows:

The Delegation of the United States, in voting "yes" on the final vote on this committee recommendation and proposal, makes the same reservation to the eleven articles of the project or proposal that the United States Delegation made to the first ten articles during the final vote in the full Commission, which reservation is in words as follows:

"The policy and attitude of the United States Government toward every important phase of international relationships in this hemisphere could scarcely be made more clear and definite than they have been made by both word and action especially since March 4. I [Secretary of State Cordell Hull, chairman of U.S. delegation] have no disposition therefore to indulge in any repetition or rehearsal of these acts and utterances and shall not do so. Every observing person must by this time thoroughly understand that under the Roosevelt Administration the United States Government is as much opposed as any other government to interference with the freedom, the sovereignty, or other internal affairs or processes of the governments of other nations.

"In addition to numerous acts and utterances in connection with the carrying out of these doctrines and policies, President Roosevelt, during recent weeks, gave out a public statement expressing his disposition to open negotiations with the Cuban Government for the purpose of dealing with the treaty which has existed since 1903. I feel safe in undertaking to say that under our support of the general principle of non-intervention as has been suggested, no government need fear any intervention on the part of the United States under the Roosevelt Administration. I think it unfortunate that during the brief period of this Conference there is apparently not time within which to prepare interpretations and definitions of these fundamental terms that are embraced in the report. Such definitions and interpretations would enable every government to proceed in a uniform way without any difference of opinion or of interpretations. I hope that at the earliest possible date such very important work will be done. In the meantime in case of differences of interpretations and also until they (the proposed doctrines and principles) can be worked out and codified for the common use of every government, I desire to say that the United States Government in all of its international associations and relationships and conduct will follow scrupulously the doctrines and policies which it has pursued since March 4 which are embodied in the different addresses of President Roosevelt since that time and in the recent peace address of myself on the 15th day of December before this Conference and in the law of nations as generally recognized and accepted".

The delegates of Brazil and Peru recorded the following private vote with regard to article 11: "That they accept the doctrine in principle but that they do not consider it codifiable because there are some countries which have not yet signed the Anti-War Pact of Rio de Janeiro 4 of which this doctrine is a part and therefore it does not yet constitute positive international law suitable for codification".

Honduras:
M. PAZ BARAONA
AUGUSTO C. COELLO
Luls BOGRXN

United States of America:
ALEXANDER W. WEDDELL
J. BUTLER WRIGUT

El Salvador:
HECTOR DAVID CASTRO
ARTURO R. AVILA

Dominican Republic:
TULIO M. CESTERO

Haiti:
J. BARAU
F. SALGADO
EDMOND MANGONES
A. PRRE. PAUL

Argentina:
CARLOS SAAVEDRA LAMAS
JUAN F. CAFFERATA
RAMON S. CASTILLO
I. Rulz MORENO
L. A. PODESTA COSTA
D. ANTOKOLETZ

Venezuela:
LUIS CHURION
J. R. MONTILLA

Uruguay:
A. MANE
JOSE PEDRO VARELA
MATEO MARQuEs CASTRO
DARDO REGULES
SOFIA ALVAREZ VIGNOLI DE DEMICIIELI
TEOFILO PINEYRO CHAIN
LUIS A. DE HERRERA
MARTIN R. EcnEcoYEN
JOSE G. ANTUNA
J. C. BLANCO
PEDRO MANINI RIOS
RODOLFO MEZZERA
OCTAVTO MORATO
LUIS MOROQUIO
JOSE SERRATO

Paraguay:
JUSTO PASTOR BENITEZ
MARIA F. GONZALEZ

Mexico:
B. VADILLO
M. J. STERRA
EDUARDO SUAREZ

Panama:
J. D. AROSEMENA
MAGIN PONS
EDUARDO E. HOLGUIN

Guatemala:
M. ARROYO

Brazil:
LUCILLO A. DA CUNHA BUENO
GILBERTO AMADO

Ecuador:
A. AGUIRRE APARICIO
H. ALBORNOZ
ANTONIO PARRA V.
C. PUIG V.
ARTURO SCARONE

Nicaragua:
LEONARDO ARGUELLO
M. CORDERO REYES
CARLOS CUADRA PASOS

Colombia:
ALFONSO LOPEZ
RAIMUNDO RIVAS

Chile:
MIGUEL CRUCHAGA
J. RAMON GUTIERREZ
F. FIGUEROA
F. NIETO DEL RIO
B. COHEN

Peru:
(with the reservation set forth)
ALFREDO SOLF Y MURO

Cuba:
ALBERTO GIRAUDY
HERMINIO PORTELL VILA
ING. NOGUEIRA

Source:
Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America 1776-1949
Compiled under the direction of Charles I. Bevans LL.B.
Assistant Legal Advisor Department of State
Volume 3 Multilateral 1931-1945
Department of State Publication 8484
Washington, DC : Government Printing Office, 1969