JULIUS JAY JR B. DASKEO

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights.   Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages. The UDHR is widely recognized as having inspired, and paved the way for, the adoption of more than seventy human rights treaties, applied today on a permanent basis at global and regional levels (all containing references to it in their preambles). 

Here is a summary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) articles:

Preamble

The UDHR is a declaration of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. It is essential to promote the development of friendly relations among nations.

Articles 1-4: Right to Recognition of Human Rights

Article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. 

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.

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.

Articles 5-10: Right to Life, Liberty, and Security

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.

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 a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Articles 11-15: Right to Freedom of Movement and Residence

Article 11: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.

Article 12: Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 13: The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 14: Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

Articles 16-17: Right to Marriage and Family

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.

Article 17: Parents have a duty towards their children and towards each other to secure, respect and promote their well-being and happiness.

Articles 18-21: Right to Property and Education

Article 18: Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

Article 19: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right shall include freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20: Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

Article 21: 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 ballot.

Articles 22-26: Right to Social Security and Social Services

Article 22: Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international cooperation 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: 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.

Article 24: Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as to adequate remuneration for public holidays.

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.

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.

Articles 27-30: Right to Participation in Government and International Cooperation

Article 27: Everyone has the right to participate in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.

Article 28: Everyone is entitled to equal access to public service in his country.

Article 29: Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.

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 in this Declaration.

These articles form the foundation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has been adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and has become a cornerstone of international human rights law.