Article 19 - 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 19
Due to the rights affirmed in Article 19, we all have the right to form our own opinions and to express and share them freely. Human Rights Watch says that “Freedom of speech is a bellwether: how any society tolerates those with minority, disfavored or even obnoxious views will often speak to its performance on human rights more generally.” This right supports many others, such as freedom of religion, peaceful assembly and the ability to participate in political matters, but freedom of expression is not unlimited, being invalid in cases of child pornography, perjury, blackmail and incitement to violence, for example.