Article 26 - 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 26
In 2002, when the Kenyan Government announced free primary education for all, Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge decided to enroll in the first grade. He was an 84-year-old great grandfather who wanted to learn to read the Bible to find out if the pastors were quoting from it correctly. He was taken to New York to address the Millennium Development Summit on the importance of free primary education. Article 26 of the Declaration makes free primary education universal and is often seen as a right on children. But as Maruge showed, people of all ages can seek and benefit from basic education and literacy. This right is enhanced and expanded in several international conventions, particularly the International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child - ratified by all countries except the United States.