Declaration on the Human Rights of
Individuals Who are not Nationals
of the Country in which They
Live
Adopted by General Assembly resolution
40/144 of 13 December 1985
The General Assembly,
Considering that the Charter of the United
Nations encourages universal respect for and observance of the
human rights
and fundamental freedoms of all human beings, without distinction as to race,
sex, language or
religion,
Considering that the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights proclaims that all human beings are born free and
equal in
dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms
set forth in that
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,
Considering that the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights proclaims further that everyone has the right to
recognition
everywhere as a person before the law, that all are equal before the law and
entitled without any
discrimination to equal protection of the law, and
that all are entitled to equal protection against any
discrimination in
violation of that Declaration and against any incitement to such
discrimination,
Being aware that the States Parties to the
International Covenants on Human Rights undertake to guarantee
that the
rights enunciated in these Covenants will be exercised without discrimination
of any kind as to race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status,
Conscious that, with improving communications
and the development of peaceful and friendly relations among
countries,
individuals increasingly live in countries of which they are not nationals,
Reaffirming the purposes and
principles of the Charter of the United
Nations,
Recognizing that the protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms provided for in international
instruments should
also be ensured for individuals who are not nationals of the country in which
they live,
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Proclaims this Declaration:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Declaration, the term
"alien" shall apply, with due regard to qualifications made in
subsequent
articles, to any individual who is not a national of the State in which he or
she is present.
Article 2
1. Nothing in this Declaration shall be
interpreted as legitimizing the illegal entry into and presence in a State
of
any alien, nor shall any provision be interpreted as restricting the
right of any State to promulgate laws and
regulations concerning the entry
of aliens and the terms and conditions of their stay or to establish
differences
between nationals and aliens. However, such laws and
regulations shall not be incompatible with the
international legal
obligations of that State, including those in the field of human rights.
2. This Declaration shall not prejudice the
enjoyment of the rights accorded by domestic law and of the rights
which
under international law a State is obliged to accord to aliens, even where this
Declaration does not
recognize such rights or recognizes them to a lesser
extent.
Article 3
Every State shall make public its national
legislation or regulations affecting aliens.
Article 4
Aliens shall observe the laws of the State in
which they reside or are present and regard with respect the
customs and
traditions of the people of that State.
Article 5
1. Aliens shall enjoy, in accordance with
domestic law and subject to the relevant international obligation of the
State in which they are present, in particular the following rights:
(a) The right to life and security of person;
no alien shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention; no
alien
shall be deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in
accordance with such
procedures as are established by law;
(b) The right to protection against arbitrary
or unlawful interference with privacy, family, home or
correspondence;
(c) The right to be equal before the courts,
tribunals and all other organs and authorities administering
justice and,
when necessary, to free assistance of an interpreter in criminal proceedings
and , when
prescribed by law, other proceedings;
(d) The right to choose a spouse, to marry, to
found a family;
(e) The right to freedom of thought, opinion,
conscience and religion; the right to manifest their religion or
beliefs,
subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to
protect public
safety, order, health or morals or the fundamental rights
and freedoms of others;
(f) The right to retain their own language,
culture and tradition;
(g) The right to transfer abroad earnings,
savings or other personal monetary assets, subject to domestic
currency
regulations.
2. Subject to such restrictions as are
prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society to
protect national security, public safety, public order, public health or morals
or the rights and freedoms of others,
and which are consistent with the
other rights recognized in the relevant international instruments and those
set
forth in this Declaration, aliens shall enjoy the following rights:
(a) The right to leave the country;
(b) The right to freedom of expression;
(c) The right to peaceful assembly;
(d) The right to own property alone as well as
in association with others, subject to domestic law.
3. Subject to the provisions referred to in
paragraph 2, aliens lawfully in the territory of a State shall enjoy the
right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose their residence within the
borders of the State.
4. Subject to national legislation and due
authorization, the spouse and minor or dependent children of an alien
lawfully residing in the territory of a State shall be admitted to accompany,
join and stay with the alien.
Article 6
No alien shall be subjected to torture or to
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and, in
particular, no
alien shall be subjected without his or her free consent to medical or
scientific experimentation.
Article 7
An alien lawfully in the territory of a State
may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in
accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons of national
security otherwise require, be
allowed to submit the reasons why he or she
should not be expelled and to have the case reviewed by, and be
represented
for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons
specially designated by the
competent authority. Individual or collective
expulsion of such aliens on grounds of race, colour, religion, culture,
descent or national or ethnic origin is prohibited.
Article 8
1 . Aliens lawfully residing in the territory of
a State shall also enjoy, in accordance with the national laws, the
following rights, subject to their obligations under article 4:
(a) The right to safe and healthy working
conditions, to fair wages and equal remuneration for work of
equal value
without distinction of any kind, in particular, women being guaranteed
conditions of work not
inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for
equal work;
(b) The right to join trade unions and other
organizations or associations of their choice and to participate
in their
activities. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other
than those prescribed
by law and which are necessary, in a democratic
society, in the interests of national security or public
order or for the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others;
(c) The right to health protection, medical
care, social security, social services, education, rest and
leisure,
provided that they fulfil the requirements under the relevant regulations for
participation and that
undue strain is not placed on the resources of the
State.
2. With a view to protecting the rights of
aliens carrying on lawful paid activities in the country in which they are
present, such rights may be specified by the Governments concerned in
multilateral or bilateral conventions.
Article 9
No alien shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or
her lawfully acquired assets.
Article 10
Any alien shall be free at any time to
communicate with the consulate or diplomatic mission of the State of
which
he or she is a national or, in the absence thereof, with the consulate or
diplomatic mission of any other
State entrusted with the protection of the
interests of the State of which he or she is a national in the State
where
he or she resides.
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