Published Thursday, December 10, 1998, in the Miami Herald

DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The rights to which all are entitled

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by a vote of 48-0, with eight abstentions, by the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948. It sets forth basic civil, political, social, and economic rights. It declares such rights to be the ``foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world'' and specifically recognizes the equality of men and women. It commits nations to establish an ``effective remedy'' when fundamental rights are violated and specifies that all are entitled to a ``social and international order'' in which their rights and freedoms can be realized.

Nations voting for adoption were Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Burma (now Myanmar), Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Siam (now Thailand), Sweden, Syria, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Abstaining were Byelorussian SSR (now Belarus), Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia), Poland, Saudi Arabia, Ukranian SSR (now Ukraine), South Africa, USSR (now Russia), and Yugoslavia (then incorporating Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia).

Here is a summary of the enumerated freedoms and rights.

All human beings are entitled and have a right to:

  •  Life, liberty, and security of person. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.

  •  Be free from arbitrary arrest, detention, exile, torture, or cruel and degrading treatment or punishment.

  •  A fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal and the presumption of innocence, if charged with a crime. No one shall be found guilty of a crime stemming from an act that was not an offense when it was committed.

  •  Privacy and to be free of ``arbitrary'' interference in family life, the home, correspondence, and honor.

  •  Live where they choose within their country and to travel outside and return to that country. No one can be deprived of their nationality nor denied the right to change it.

  •  Seek asylum from political persecution.

  •  Marry without regard to race, nationality, or religion, and to have children; marriage shall be entered with the ``free and full consent'' of the parties. Men and women are to have equal rights during marriage and dissolution of marriage.

  •  Own property.

  •  Freedom of thought, conscience, religion, to express opinions, and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas.

  •  Peacefully to assemble and form associations.

  •  Elect a government.
  •  Choose employment, receive equal pay for equal work, form and join trade unions.

  •  A standard of living adequate to ensure the health and well-being of himself and family, security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, or old age.

  •  Education, which at the elementary level shall be free and compulsory, and promote understanding, tolerance, and friendship among all nations, races, and religious groups.

  •  Participate in the cultural and scientific life of the community and benefit from their contributions to it.

  •  Entitled to a social and international order in which these rights and freedoms can be realized.

  •  The full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is available on the Internet at: http://www.un.org/rights/

    Copyright © 1998 The Miami Herald