An international declaration, adopted in 1948 by the General Assembly of the UN (with Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the six Soviet members, Belarussian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, abstaining). It declares that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are entitled to the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration without discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, political opinion, or religion. The rights enumerated include civil rights, such as freedom of expression, conscience, movement, peaceful assembly, and association, and economic and social rights such as those to work, to an adequate standard of living, to education, and to participation in cultural life. The exercise of an individual’s rights and freedoms is limited only by respect for the rights and freedoms of others. The Declaration is not legally binding but it has underpinned the activities of the UN, affected national and international law, and influenced debates on human rights. In 1966 the General Assembly adopted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which embody the rights in the Declaration and have legal force.