The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. Created soon after the adoption of the UN Charter, the Declaration set out common standards, fundamental human rights that are to be universally protected.
The Declaration recognizes that the “inherent dignity of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world” and is linked to the recognition of fundamental rights towards which every human being aspires, namely the right to life, liberty and security of person; the right to an adequate standard of living; the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution; the right to own property; the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the right to education, freedom of thought, conscience and religion; and the right to freedom from torture and degrading treatment, among others.