Eleanor Roosevelt, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
US former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt chair of the drafting committee, holding a Universal Declaration of Human Rights poster in English (1949) UN Photo

On 10 December 1948, the United Nations took a major step towards preserving the freedoms of every human being by adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The charter proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being -- regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or status.

Drafted by representatives of diverse legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the declaration establishes the equal dignity and worth of every person.

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world," former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt famously said of the document and contents. "Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

The declaration consists of 30 articles affirming an individual's rights, but is not legally binding. They are more or less considered guidelines by which fellow human beings should be treated. Find an abbreviated list of its tenets below:

Article 1: Right to equality

Article 2 : Freedom from discrimination

Article 3: Right to life, liberty and personal security

Article 4: Freedom from slavery

Article 5: Freedom from torture and degrading treatment

Article 6: Right to pecognition as a person before the law

Article 7: Right to equality before the law

Article 8: Right to remedy by competent tribunal

Article 9: Freedom from arbitrary arrest and exile

Article: 10 Right to fair public hearing

Article 11: Right to be considered innocent until proven guilty

Article 12: Freedom from interference with privacy, family, home and correspondence

Article 13: Right to free movement in and out of the country

Article 14: Right to asylum in other countries from persecution

Article 15: Right to a nationality and the freedom to change it

Human Rights
Migrants hold a sign that says 'where is the human rights' as they take part in a small protest in Horgos, Serbia in 2015 -- Representational image Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Article 16: Right to marriage and family

Article 17: Right to own property

Article 18: Freedom of belief and religion

Article 19: Freedom of opinion and information

Article 20: Right of peaceful assembly and association

Article 21: Right to participate in government and in free elections

Article 22: Right to social security

Article 23: Right to desirable work and to join trade unions

Article 24: Right to rest and leisure

Article 25: Right to adequate living standard

Article 26: Right to education

Article 27: Right to participate in the cultural life of community

Article 28: Right to a social order that articulates this document

Article 29: Community duties essential to free and full development

Article 30: Freedom from state or personal interference in the above rights