Article 17 - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (English version)

This piece is part of a collection of 30 xylographs, produced by the multimedia artist Otávio Roth (1952-1993), that graphically express the content of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The series took two years to reach completion, with each piece printed on handmade paper created by the artist himself. Driven by the desire to democratize access to the Charter, Otávio Roth synthesized its message in graphic pieces that facilitate the understanding and memorization of the Charter’s content.

Roth was the first living artist invited to exhibit at the United Nations. His prints have been on permanent display at UN headquarters in New York, Geneva and Vienna since 1981. In addition to the English series, the artist produced other series in Japanese, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian and Danish, using techniques as diverse as crayon, watercolor and pulp painting.

About Article 17
The Australian Aboriginal people have no written language, and they pass on their traditions through stories recounted orally. As the elders recite, others draw icons in the sand representing beliefs, events and places where water and food can be found. When the ceremony is over, the sand is mixed up so that the secrets are preserved. In a trial in the year 2000, the Aboriginal people were given the title to a vast territory in Western Australia’s Great Victoria Desert. The court deemed the territory to be the ancestral home of the Spinifex people, accepting the paintings as proof of their claim in place of a formal deed. Kirsten Anker, an expert on Indigenous Law, said that for this group, “the painting is not just a fact about law, it is law.” Article 17 of the Declaration guarantees the right to property. This is another right included in the document in reaction to Holocaust-era atrocities, when property was confiscated from Jews and others, often to enrich Nazi authorities.