This was written by the U.N. but never formally adopted….I think it is beautiful,

find at http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

 

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.

Article 2.

• 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.

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 defence.
• (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, nor to attacks upon his honour 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 to 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
  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 favourable 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 favourable 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 of 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.