Article Twenty-One: Right to Democracy
- Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
- Everyone has the right to 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.
Words defined
- Free
- not being under the rule or control of another
- Government
- the act or process of governing
- Genuine
- actually produced by the alleged source; actual; true
- Suffrage
- the right of voting
- Will
- the collective desire of a group
Article Twenty-Two: Right to Social Security
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.
Words defined
- Dignity
- the quality of being worthy of honor or respect
- Free
- not being under the rule or control of another
- Personality
- the set of qualities that make a person different from other people
Article Twenty-Three: Right to Work and Fair Pay
- 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.
Words defined
- Just
- based on sound reasoning or information
- Remuneration
- the act of offering money in exchange for goods or services
- Supplemented
- to add
- Trade Union
- a labor union; an organization of workers formed to advance its members’ interests in wages, benefits, and working conditions
Article Twenty-Four: Right to Rest and Leisure
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Words defined
- Holidays
- days on which one is exempt from work; vacation
- Leisure
- freedom provided by the cessation of activities, especially time free from work or duties
- Periodic
- occurring repeatedly from time to time
Article Twenty-Five: Right to an Adequate Standard of Living
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.
Article Twenty-Six: Right to Education
- 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.
Words defined
- Compulsory
- mandatory; enforced
- Education
- to provide training by formal instruction and supervised practice, especially in a skill, trade or profession
- Merit
- a person’s qualities and actions regarded as indicating what the person deserves to receive
- Respect
- high or special regard; esteem
- Tolerance
- the act of allowing something
Article Twenty-Seven: Right to Cultural Life & Copyright
- 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.
Words defined
- Cultural
- of or relating to culture; acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities, and broad aspects of science
- Moral
- conforming to a standard of right behavior
- Copyright
- the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of a literary, musical, or artistic work
Article Twenty-Eight: Right to a Fair & Free World
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Words defined
- Entitled
- having a right to certain benefits or privileges
- Order
- a sociopolitical system
- Realized
- to bring into concrete existence; accomplish
Article Twenty-Nine: Responsibility
- 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.
Words defined
- Contrary
- a fact or condition incompatible with another; opposite
- Due Recognition
- acceptance or acknowledgment of a claim, duty, fact, or truth
- Duties
- obligatory tasks, conduct, service or functions that arise from one’s position in life or in a group
Article Thirty: No One May Take Away Your Rights and Freedoms
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.
Words defined
- Declaration
- a formal or explicit statement or announcement
- Destruction
- the action of destroying something, or the state of being destroyed