Chapter 9
Chapter 9. Human Rights
Amnesty International presented a 10-point agenda for a durable peace based on Human Rights. These 10 points (reproduced in Exhibit 2) are a thoughtful and articulate vision for peace. It is in fact impossible to envision a peace that would work without human rights. A peace agreement was sadly attempted via the signed agreements between Israel and the PLO in Oslo that disregard basic rights enshrined in the Fourth Geneva Conventions (refugees rights, illegal settlement activities, collective punishment) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is becoming clear that future peace agreements will fail if they do not provide respect for Human Rights. Amnesty International press release on March 26, 2001 was titled "Developing a Human Rights Agenda for Peace." In part, it stated:
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 Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty International calls unreservedly for the full enjoyment of the human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for all people. A major flaw of the process that began with the Oslo Agreement of 1993 was that peace was not founded on ensuring respect and protection for human rights. The past months have shown more clearly than ever that if human rights are sacrificed in the search for peace and security there will be no peace and no security. Even if the human rights agenda is not the only answer, it must be part of the solution 1
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Inalienable human rights include two categories that are interrelated and indivisible: civil and political rights on one hand and economic, social and cultural rights on the other 2. Some self-interested parties want to limit human rights to those that they consider non-threatening to their economic or social powers. Society members not only have rights but also responsibilities to uphold these rights for others. To the degree that these rights and responsibilities are honored, society functions. The misunderstanding concerning concepts of social Darwinism fails to understand that even under Darwin's theory of evolution, selection can operate not only at the individual level but at group level (what is called group selection). In other words the presence of these rights are a given whether one believes they are given by our creator or are advantageous to societies that have them (creating less frictions and allowing development in a sustainable manner). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR; Exhibit 2) provides a unique document outlining these civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. This has become the consensus of nations and people although many chose to emphasize only portions of this remarkable document.
The UDHR actually lays out what would it take to bring peace to this Land of Canaan. No agreement signed can be valid without basic recognition of basic human rights. Like Amnesty International, the UN Commission on Human Rights stated in 15 March 2000:
A final consideration seems to be in order with reference to the fact that any agreement between the Occupying Power and a body representing the occupied civilian population is null and void if it violates the terms of the Fourth Geneva Convention. In other words, while protection of human rights and humanitarian law should never become an obstacle in the way of a peace process, an ultimate solution should not be achieved to the detriment of human rights. Indeed, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms must be considered part and parcel of any viable peace process as they are a condition sine qua non of any enduring peace 3.
Thus, a good benchmark used by human rights organizations is this Universal Declaration, which was also ratified by most countries including Israel and the US. In reading this declaration, one is struck by the incredible number of provisions violated by Israel (See Exhibit 2 for the text of the declaration). Let us let the statements from human rights organizations themselves address some of the issues, beginning first with the issue of civilian killings. Palestinian attacks by sub-national groups on Israeli civilians are addressed in Chapter 8 on "Terrorism and Violence." We will also not address here the massive human rights violations involving ethnic cleansing that occurred both between 1947 and 1949 and in 1967 (these are addressed in Chapter 4). In this Chapter we address killing civilians and other violations by the state of Israel as they remain a great obstacle to a peace based on International law and human rights.
In an open letter addressed to leaders of U.S., E.U., Israel, P.A., and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (June 6, 2001), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called for the dispatch of international human rights monitors despite Israeli objections. They stated:
the clashes between Israelis and Palestinians since October 2000 have been marked by systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Civilians have been the main victims of the violence, and an immediate priority must be to bring such violations to an end. At least 470 Palestinians have been killed, most of them unlawfully by Israeli security forces when their lives and the lives of others were not in danger. More than 120 Israelis have been killed, most of them civilians deliberately targeted by armed groups and individuals. The death toll includes more than 130 children 4.
The letter goes on to document abuses of Human Rights both by the Israeli government and the settlers and also by individual and groups of Palestinians. The letter said that the joint Israeli-Palestinian Authority security committees have not been able to address these recurrent human rights and humanitarian law violations on their own.
Torture
The use of torture by Israeli authorities has been well documented by Human Rights organizations. In fact torture as method of obtaining confessions was considered legal in Israel for 52 years until an ambiguous Israeli high court decision of September 6,1999. Israel's High Court of Justice issued a unanimous decision that ruled that the violent interrogation techniques used by the Israeli General Security Service (GSS) against Palestinian detainees were illegal. Yet, the Court refrained, from defining them as torture and advised that such practices might be acceptable if specifically authorized by new legislation. In February 2000, the head of the GSS abandoned his request for legislation of "special" interrogation methods. Yet, the Israeli Attorney-General reiterated the promise, to grant legal protection to any interrogator who uses "special means" in individual cases. The United Nations Committee Against Torture while noting improvement in the situation following the 1999 high court decision, stated that a further need for improvement in light of continuing allegation by human rights organizations and individuals of situations amounting to torture would be to change Israeli law to remove "necessity as a possible justification to the crime of torture" 5. The high court decision of September 1999, has not brought Israel to compliance with basic international human rights law. The Associated Press reported that Danes were incensed over the appointment of Carmi Gilon, the previous director of Israel's Shin Bet services (the secret service that engaged in torture) as ambassador to Denmark. He continued to defend torture and boasted that he "authorized about 100 cases of torture while heading Shin Bet" 6
Amnesty International wrote in regard to the issue of torture:
Amnesty International's briefing to the Committee UN Committee Against Torture stated that, since the September 1999 High Court of Justice judgment which banned interrogation methods constituting torture, there has been strong evidence that these methods - including sleep deprivation often seated in painful positions; prolonged squatting on haunches; painful handcuffing - are now being used again.
We regret that notwithstanding the High Court of Justice's 1999 ruling and the Committee Against Torture's clear statement in 1997 that these methods constitute torture, the State of Israel, in its report to the Committee, continues to deny this.
Amnesty International also called on the Committee Against Torture to declare that the demolition of Palestinian homes constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture. The European Court of Human Rights has deemed Turkish demolition of houses to constitute inhuman treatment in breach of Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights .... Amnesty International also considers that other forms of collective punishment carried out by the Israeli authorities, including the prolonged closures of towns, villages and whole areas, denying freedom of movement to Palestinians, and prolonged curfews might also fall under Article 16 of the Convention 7.
Targeting Civilians
Contrary to the propaganda about accidental shootings, all human rights organizations have concluded that Israeli forces indeed target non-combatants (civilians) and intentionally shoot children when Israeli lives are not threatened.
In a Press Release B'Tselem stated: "In every city and refugee camp that they have entered, IDF soldiers have repeated the same pattern: indiscriminate firing and the killing of innocent civilians, intentional harm to water, electricity and telephone infrastructure, taking over civilian houses, extensive damage to civilian property, shooting at ambulances and prevention of medical care to the injured" 8.
Physicians for Human Rights USA investigated the high number of Palestinian deaths and injuries in the first months of the Intifada and blamed both Israelis and Palestinians for unneeded deaths. It concluded though that: "the pattern of injuries seen in many victims did not reflect IDF Israel Defense Forces use of firearms in life-threatening situations but rather indicated targeting solely for the purpose of wounding or killing" 9.
The same group sent forensics experts and an orthopedic surgeon in one investigation and concluded that the Israeli army "has used live ammunition and rubber bullets excessively and inappropriately to control demonstrators, and that based on the high number of documented injuries to the head and thighs, soldiers appear to be shooting to inflict harm, rather than solely in self-defense" 10.
Amnesty International stated that it is "gravely concerned at recent reports of random shelling and shootings by the Israeli Defense Force in Palestinian residential areas, among them Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm, Bethlehem and Beit Jala, which has left at least 25 Palestinians killed, among them several children, and scores of others injured, in retaliation for the killing of the Israeli Minister of Tourism, Rehavam Zeevi on 17 October" 11.
Human Rights Watch issued a report on Israeli atrocities in Jenin stating in part:
civilians were killed willfully or unlawfully by the Israeli military. . . . which used Palestinian civilians as ‘human shields’ and used indiscriminate and excessive force. . . . The abuses we documented in Jenin are extremely serious, and in some cases appear to be war crimes. Criminal investigations are needed to ascertain individual responsibility for the most serious violations 12.
Besides human rights organizations, occasional reports in Israeli and US media stated what Palestinians have been experiencing.
In an interview with Ha'aretz reporter Amira Hass, an Israeli sniper described the commands he receives from his superiors as "Twelve and up, you're allowed to shoot. That's what they tell us" 13.
Yediot Aharonot quoted Tal Etlinger, a "border guard" trained to quell demonstrations as stating that riots at Um Al Fahm (where scores of unarmed Palestinian citizens of Israel were shot and many killed by snipers) were much less violent than Jewish riots (such as in Tiberias) which were "much worse … but we handle Jewish riots differently … to a demonstration like this we know in advance to come without weapons … These are the orders from above, and we use only gas" 14.
The Washington Post also had this to say: "Iyad was shot because he ran too fast. Nshat was shot because he missed his ride. Ronny was shot for throwing a stone. And Abdel Kareem was shot where his two friends died. Iyad, Nshat, Ronny and Abdel Kareem had never met before. But these four young Palestinians now see one another daily, as patients at the Abu Raya Rehabilitation Center" 15.
Human Rights as Cornerstone for Peace
Amnesty and Human Rights Watch issued press releases asking the international community to act to end the daily violations of Human Rights in the Israeli Occupied Palestinian areas. They asked for an end Israel's policy of closures and house demolitions, which collectively punish entire populations and devastate their livelihoods. According to a report by Amnesty International in December 1999, 2650 Palestinian houses have been destroyed since 1987 by Israel in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, on the pretext of not having building permission. Further thousands of acres owned by Palestinians have been confiscated to build settlements in the occupied territories in contravention to the 4th Geneva convention Article 49 stating that the “Occupying Power shall not transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” 16. A colonization project based on the ideas of Zionism and creation of a Jewish state has resulted in removal of over 70% of Palestinians from their homes and lands. This colonization project results in direct violations of basic human rights. The latest and most visible (literally and figuratively) manifestation of the basic violations of human rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the so called "security barrier" that Israel is now building inside the West bank and surrounding Palestinian cities and towns.
The barrier is not a security fence built along the Green line (borders prior to June 1967). Instead, this is a huge project of walls, ditches, electrified fences, towers, and exclusion zones snaking its way through the most fertile Palestinian areas in the West Bank. Its length is some 1000 km at a total cost of about $1.2 billion dollars. It is leaving shrunken Palestinian areas isolated in ghettos/bantustans and with the primary objective of expanding the illegal Israeli settlements 17.
The UN Commission on Human Rights reported its findings with respect to Israeli violation of the principles and bases of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories. It stated in part:
The Occupying Power’s confiscation of land and properties belonging privately and collectively to the Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories is a dominant feature of the occupation and an essential component of population transfer carried out by Israel. This practice violates the long-established international law principle of the unacceptability of the acquisition of territory by force, as well as specific resolutions concerning Israel’s confiscation of land and settlement activities. Since 1967, Israel has confiscated land for public, semi-public and private use in order to create Israeli military zones, settlements, industrial areas, elaborate "by-pass" roads, and quarries, as well as to hold "State land" for exclusive Israeli use. Estimates place the proportion of Palestinian land confiscated by Israel at some 60 per cent of the West Bank, 33 per cent of the Gaza Strip, and at least 32.5 km2, or approximately 33 per cent of the Palestinian land area in Jerusalem 18.
When completed, the apartheid wall becomes the de facto borders of the so-called "Palestinian State" which will exist in at least four cantons (Northern West Bank, Southern West Bank, Jericho, and Gaza Strip). These cantons would continue to be surrounded by confiscated lands under Israeli control and would be dependent on the good will of Israeli leaders for water, access, and most other elements of national sovereignty. Palestinian refugees and displaced people would be told to accept that might makes right and that as such they would have to accept to forfeit their inalienable right to return to their homes and lands. This is obviously not a tenable situation nor one that can last long. It is a recipe for continued bloodshed and injustice. As Amnesty and other human rights organizations pointed out, the only durable solution would come if it respects human rights. Towards this, a re-reading of Amnesty's 10-point agenda for peace (Exhibit 2) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Exhibit 3) should become a cornerstone of any peace agreement. Pretending that human rights can be shelved while getting security or peace is the worst form of self-delusion.
Notes to chapter 9
1. http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/2001/israel03262001.html
2. A. R. Chapman, Reinterpreting Rights and Responsibilities, in K. W. Hunter and T. C. Mack (eds), International Rights and Responsibilities for the Future (Praeger: Westport, CT, 1996).
3. UN Commission of Human Rights. Fifty-sixth session, Question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine. Report on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, submitted by Mr. Giorgio Giacomelli, Special Rapporteur, pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/2 A. http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2000/documentation/commission/e-cn4-2000-25.htm
4. Human Rights Monitors Needed in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Open Letter from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to Leaders of U.S., E.U., Israel, P.A., and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (New York and London, July 6, 2001) http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/07/isr-0706-ltr.htm
5. Elizabeth Olson, U.N. Panel on Torture Urges Further Steps by Israel, The New York Times, November 26, 2001.
6. Associated Press July 11, 2001.
7. Amnesty International, Israel/Occupied Territories: Israel fails to address increasing use of torture, Press RElease 23 Nov, 2001, http://www.ppsmo.org/press%20folder/e2001/press11.htm
8. B'Tselem, A Deadly Pattern Press Release, 12 March 2002, http://www.btselem.org/
9. http://www.phrusa.org/research/forensics/israel/update_commentary.html
10. Physicians for Human Rights, Medical Group Examines Use of Force in Israel, Gaza and West Bank; Issues Conclusions on Death of ‘Issam Judeh, Press release, Nov 13, 2000 http://www.phrusa.org/research/forensics/israel/Israel_force.html
11. Amnesty International, Amnesty International Urges Israel to Stop Attacks on Palestinian Areas, 23 October 2001 press release, http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/2001/israel10232001.html
12. Human Rights Watch , Israel/Occupied Territories: Jenin War Crimes Investigation Needed. Human Rights Watch Report Finds Laws of War Violations, 3 May 2002, http://hrw.org/press/2002/05/jenin0503.htm
13. Amira Hass, Don't Shoot Till You Can See They're Over the Age of 12, Ha'aretz, 20 November 2000.
14. Yediot Aharonot Hebrew Edition, 17 November 2000.
15. Keith Richburg, Washington Post, November 30, 2000; Page A01
16. Amnesty International, Israel and the occupied territories: Demolition and dispossession: the destruction of Palestinian homes. 8 December 1999, Report is available at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engMDE150591999
17. Gush Shalom report and maps on the wall, http://gush-shalom.org/thewall
18. UN Commission of Human Rights. Fifty-sixth session, Question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine. Report on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, submitted by Mr. Giorgio Giacomelli, Special Rapporteur, pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/2 A. http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2000/documentation/commission/e-cn4-2000-25.htm
Recommended Readings
Norman Finkelstein, Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, New and Revised Edition, (New York: Verso Books, 2003)
Exhibit 2. Ten principles that Amnesty International articulated for a durable peace based on human rights (AI release 26 March 2001):
1. Everybody has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Extrajudicial executions, suicide bombings or other attacks against civilians, excessive lethal force and targeting of residential areas have violated the right to life of hundreds. The life of each individual must be protected. The authorities must prohibit unlawful killings. Opposition groups must equally not carry out unlawful killings. Every killing must be investigated and the perpetrators of any unlawful killing should be brought to justice in fair trials. The Palestinian Authority should abolish the death penalty.
2. No one should be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Torture and police brutality has been frequent both in Israel and under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. Torture, brutality by the security forces, and all other cruel treatment or punishment should be eradicated; any cases of torture or ill treatment should be immediately independently and thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice in fair trials. Incommunicado detention should be ended and all detainees should have prompt access to lawyers and family.
3. No one should be subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention. In Israel detainees have been held without charge or fair trial in administrative detention; under the Palestinian Authority hundreds have been held without charge or trial even after the Palestinian High Court of Justice has ordered their release. Such arbitrary detention has often been carried out in the name of the fight against "terrorism". All political prisoners held without charge or trial should be tried in fair trials or immediately released.
4. Everyone has the right to a fair trial. In Israel the trials of Palestinians in military courts have diminished defendants' rights to fair trials. Under the Palestinian Authority the State Security Court hands down sentences in summary trials in flagrant violation of fair trial rights. Palestinian military courts have also held unfair trials. Laws and practice in Israel, the Occupied Territories and the Palestinian Authority must ensure respect for the right to fair trial as enshrined in international human rights standards.
5. All persons are free and equal in dignity and rights. There should be no distinction or discrimination against anyone on the grounds of ethnic origin, religion, sex or other status in the enjoyment of human rights and freedoms. Discriminatory laws and practices should be abolished including those that have caused the destruction of Palestinian houses and property.
6. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement. The past seven years have witnessed profound and flagrant denials of the right to freedom of movement. The closures are a grave human rights violation targeted against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. The occupied territories have become a land of barriers between town and town and between village and village. Palestinian towns and villages have been cut off from the outside world for days and often weeks; trenches have been dug round Jericho and Ramallah. The great majority of the inhabitants of Gaza have been enclosed for years as though in a prison and Palestinians from the Occupied Territories are unable to enter Jerusalem without a permit. Even those seeking medical treatment have frequently been barred entry. The Israeli Government denies entry to Gaza to its own citizens. These barriers to free movement should now be removed.
7. Everyone has the right to return to his or her country. The right to return is an individual human right which cannot be given away as a political concession. Palestinians in exile should be given the choice to exercise such a right and return to Israel, the West Bank or Gaza Strip as appropriate. Palestinians should also be allowed to choose other durable solutions, such as integration in their host country or resettlement in a third country. Those who choose not to return are entitled to compensation. Those returning should also receive compensation for lost property. The same rights relating to return and compensation should also be given to Israelis who fled or were forced out of Arab and other countries.
8. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, opinion and expression. Under the Palestinian Authority critics of the authority or the peace process have been harassed, arrested and imprisoned, often without charge or trial. The Israeli authorities have restricted the movement of human rights activists and journalists have been shot at. Peaceful expression of ideas and opinions which does not constitute advocacy of violence, hatred, slander or libel should be guaranteed and any person detained solely for the expression of conscientiously held beliefs should be released immediately and unconditionally.
9.Women have the right to full equality. The freedom of women is limited by discriminatory codes and practice. Equality of women should be enshrined in law and practice.
10. There should be no impunity for human rights abuses. Allegations of human rights abuses should be promptly, impartially and thoroughly investigated and perpetrators brought to justice in fair proceedings.
Source: Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street, WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/2001/israel03262001.html
Exhibit 3. Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations (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, color, 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 is 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 defense.
(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, or to attacks upon his honor 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 a 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 the 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 favorable 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 favorable 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 and 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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