The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

"Human rights are what reason requires and conscience demands."
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights set the premise for all efforts in the field of human rights and developed the basic philosophy for the legally binding international insturments that followed, including instruments addressing the rights of ethnic minorities, women's rights and, most recently the rights of the child.

There are 30 articles included in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights such as (5 Articles mentioned here):

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

Article 12: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence nor to the attacks upon his honour and reputation.

Article 15: Everyone has the right to a nationality

Article 21: Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely choosen representativess.

For the complete text of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and more detail on the above Articles, please go to:

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights or email udhr@ohchr.org