American Declaration of the Rights
and Duties of Man, O.A.S. Res. XXX, adopted by the Ninth International
Conference of American States (1948), reprinted in Basic Documents
Pertaining to Human Rights in the Inter-American System, OEA/Ser.L.V/II.82
doc.6 rev.1 at 17 (1992).
WHEREAS:
The American peoples have acknowledged the dignity of the
individual, and their national constitutions recognize that juridical and
political institutions, which regulate life in human society, have as their
principal aim the protection of the essential rights of man and the creation of
circumstances that will permit him to achieve spiritual and material progress
and attain happiness;
The American States have on repeated occasions recognized
that the essential rights of man are not derived from the fact that he is a
national of a certain state, but are based upon attributes of his human
personality;
The international protection of the rights of man should be
the principal guide of an evolving American law;
The affirmation of essential human rights by the American
States together with the guarantees given by the internal regimes of the states
establish the initial system of protection considered by the American States as
being suited to the present social and juridical conditions, not without a
recognition on their part that they should increasingly strengthen that system
in the international field as conditions become more favorable,
The Ninth International Conference of American States
Preamble
All men are born free and equal, in dignity and in rights,
and, being endowed by nature with reason and conscience, they should conduct
themselves as brothers one to another.
The fulfillment of duty by each individual is a prerequisite
to the rights of all. Rights and duties are interrelated in every social and
political activity of man. While rights exalt individual liberty, duties
express the dignity of that liberty.
Duties of a juridical nature presuppose others of a moral
nature which support them in principle and constitute their basis.
Inasmuch as spiritual development is the supreme end of
human existence and the highest expression thereof, it is the duty of man to
serve that end with all his strength and resources.
Since culture is the highest social and historical
expression of that spiritual development, it is the duty of man to preserve,
practice and foster culture by every means within his power.
And, since moral conduct constitutes the noblest
flowering of culture, it is the duty of every man always to hold it in high
respect.
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CHAPTER ONE
Rights
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Article I.
Every human being has the right to life, liberty and the
security of his person.
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Right to life, liberty and personal security.
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Article II.
All persons are equal before the law and have the rights
and duties established in this Declaration, without distinction as to race,
sex, language, creed or any other factor.
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Right to equality before law.
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Article III.
Every person has the right freely to profess a religious
faith, and to manifest and practice it both in public and in private.
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Right to religious freedom and worship.
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Article IV.
Every person has the right to freedom of investigation, of
opinion, and of the expression and dissemination of ideas, by any medium
whatsoever.
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Right to freedom of investigation, opinion, expression and
dissemination.
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Article V.
Every person has the right to the protection of the law
against abusive attacks upon his honor, his reputation, and his private and
family life.
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Right to protection of honor, personal reputation, and
private and family life.
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Article VI.
Every person has the right to establish a family, the
basic element of society, and to receive protection therefor.
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Right to a family and to protection thereof.
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Article VII.
All women, during pregnancy and the nursing period, and
all children have the right to special protection, care and aid.
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Right to protection for mothers and children.
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Article VIII.
Every person has the right to fix his residence within the
territory of the state of which he is a national, to move about freely within
such territory, and not to leave it except by his own will.
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Right to residence and movement.
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Article IX.
Every person has the right to the inviolability of his
home.
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Right to inviolability of the home.
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Article X.
Every person has the right to the inviolability and
transmission of his correspondence.
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Right to the inviolability and transmission of
correspondence
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Article XI.
Every person has the right to the preservation of his
health through sanitary and social measures relating to food, clothing,
housing and medical care, to the extent permitted by public and community
resources.
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Right to the preservation of health and to well-being.
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Article XII.
Every person has the right to an education, which should
be based on the principles of liberty, morality and human solidarity.
Likewise every person has the right to an education that will prepare him to
attain a decent life, to raise his standard of living, and to be a useful
member of society. The right to an education includes the right to equality
of opportunity in every case, in accordance with natural talents, merit and
the desire to utilize the resources that the state or the community is in a
position to provide. Every person has the right to receive, free, at least a
primary education.
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Right to education.
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Article XIII.
Every person has the right to take part in the cultural
life of the community, to enjoy the arts, and to participate in the benefits
that result from intellectual progress, especially scientific discoveries.
He likewise has the right to the protection of his moral and material
interests as regards his inventions or any literary, scientific or artistic
works of which he is the author.
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Right to the benefits of culture.
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Article XIV.
Every person has the right to work, under proper
conditions, and to follow his vocation freely, in sofar as existing
conditions of employment permit.
Every person who works has the right to receive such remuneration as will, in
proportion to his capacity and skill, assure him a standard of living
suitable for himself and for his family.
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Right to work and to fair remuneration.
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Article XV.
Every person has the right to leisure time, to wholesome
recreation, and to the opportunity for advantageous use of his free time to
his spiritual, cultural and physical benefit.
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Right to leisure time and to the use thereof.
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