Article 18 - 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 18
The UDHR was very progressive for its time in stating that believers of all religions and those holding secular beliefs should coexist peacefully, with their rights guaranteed by the State and without the presumption of any national or State-sponsored religion. “The obligation of the State is to guarantee freedom of religion, and that implies dealing with all of them on equal footing,” said Ricardo Alarcón, Cuba’s former foreign minister. Less well known is the role played by religious organizations in bringing about and supporting the human rights movement. In South Asia, Hinduism inspired Mahatma Gandhi’s long march for India’s liberation. Roman Catholics in Poland and Lutherans in East Germany were at the forefront of the struggle against authoritarianism in the late 20th century. Roman Catholics in Latin America pressed for social justice with liberation theology.