Human rights

Human rights are rights and freedoms that all people should have.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
— Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)^[1]

Today, the ideas of human rights are protected as legal rights in national and international law.^[2] They are seen as universal, which means they are meant for everyone, no matter what their race, religion, ethnicity, nationality, age, sex, political beliefs (or any other kind of beliefs), intelligence, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity are.

Every person has all of these rights, it is not possible to only grant some of them:

All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and related. The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis.
— Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, World Conference on Human Rights, 1993

History

The idea of human rights originated from ideas found in religion and philosophy in Western Europe. The modern Western idea of human rights started in the European Enlightenment. In the 16th century, some people started suggesting that everyone had the religious and political right to choose their religion and their leaders. This sort of thinking was important in the English Civil War. After the war, the philosopher John Locke argued that people should have a certain set of human rights. These ideas were also important in the American revolution and the French revolution in the 18th century.

In the 19th century, John Stuart Mill was an important philosopher who also thought about human rights. He said that people should be able to control their own bodies and minds. He talked about three special ideas:

freedom of speech
freedom of assembly
freedom to seek happiness, while not hurting others.

Hegel was a philosopher who wrote about the idea of free will. He believed that in order to have freedom, a person should be able to:

own property
make contracts with other people
make moral promises to people
live with anyone
get protection from laws
have a voice in government

Laws

Because people believe that human rights are important, countries make laws to protect them. These laws say that governments cannot take away people's basic rights. They make sure people who take away other people's rights are punished. However, many countries in the world do not protect the human rights of their people.

Some major political groups and countries have made statements that promote human rights. Many governments and international groups punish human rights violators by refusing to trade with them, or even helping groups that want to overthrow their governments.

Some of the important places that human rights laws are written is in constitutions. The United States Constitution and Constitution of France are two of the oldest set of laws based on human rights.

In 1948 the United Nations made the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is a widely respected document that lists what the United Nations believes are human rights. It is not a law, but two important agreements have been written based on its ideas:

These are United Nations human rights Covenants: agreements between people or countries. The countries who sign these two covenants agree to follow them.

In addition to those Declaration and Covenants, there are many treaties and documents made by United Nations and other international organizations. Those treaties and documents are called "International human rights law".

List of human rights

Not everyone agrees on what the basic human rights are. It is clear that few countries permit all these rights. Also, there are countries in which the rights are not illegal, but nothing is done to promote them. Here is a list of some of the most recognized rights:

Fundamental rights

See the article Fundamental rights

Right to live
To be a citizen of a country
Right to housing
Right to a fair trial
To own property

Safety

Safety from violence (physical, mental and sexual)
To seek asylum if a country treats you badly
Fair trial, and to be considered innocent until proven guilty

General life freedoms

The right to get an education
Health care (medical care)
To believe and practice the religion a person wants
To be protected one's privacy

Rights related to sexuality and procreation

Right to marriage and family
Equality of both males and females; women's rights
Not be forced into marriage
The right to express orientation

Political freedoms

The right to express yourself: free speech
To vote
To peacefully protest (speak against) a government or group
To petition

Abuses

Human rights abuses are when a person is hurt in a way that violates (goes against) his/her human rights. Human rights abuses are also often called human rights violations.

Examples of human rights abuses or violations are:

Arresting someone because they said the government is doing bad things
Not letting people practice their religion
Genocide
Not letting a member of a country vote.

Many people, groups, and countries think protecting human rights is very important. But not everyone in the world believes in human rights. If people who do not believe in human rights have political power they can hurt many people. Even if these people have no political power, they can be violent to other people. There are many people who work to protect everyone's human rights; some of these are government groups, and some are not with any government. They are sometimes called human rights organizations. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are examples of human rights organizations.

In the UK, every Act of Parliament must comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. Nonetheless, a person can challenge an Act if it violates the convention. However, the Government are not bound to change the law due to incompatibility, and they have the power to pass a law that contravenes with the Human Rights, if they wish.

Related pages

References

↑ UDHR 1948
↑ Nickel 2010

Other websites

[UDHR-1] UDHR 1948

[2] Nickel 2010

[1]

[2]

v t e Substantive human rights
What is considered a human right is in some cases controversial; not all the topics listed are universally accepted as human rights
Civil and political	Equality before the law Freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention Freedom of assembly Freedom of association Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment Freedom from discrimination Freedom of information Freedom of movement Freedom of religion Freedom from slavery Freedom of speech Freedom of thought Freedom from torture Legal aid LGBT rights Liberty Nationality Personhood Presumption of innocence Right of asylum Right to die Right to a fair trial Right to family life Right to keep and bear arms Right to life Right to petition Right to privacy Right to protest Right to refuse medical treatment Right to resist Right of self-defense Right to truth Security of person Suffrage right to be a candidate Right to homeland
Economic, social and cultural	Digital rights Equal pay for equal work Fair remuneration Labor rights Right to an adequate standard of living Right to clothing Right to development Right to education Right to food Right to health Right to a healthy environment Right to housing Right to Internet access Right to property Right to public participation Right of reply Right to rest and leisure Right of return Right to science and culture Right to social security Right to water Right to work
Sexual and reproductive	Abortion Family planning Freedom from involuntary female genital mutilation Intersex human rights LGBT rights Sexual and reproductive health Right to sexuality
Violations	Crimes against humanity Genocide War crimes

v t e International human rights organisations and institutions
Types	Human rights group Human rights commission Human rights institutions Truth and reconciliation commission
International institutions	Committee on the Rights of the Child Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities International Criminal Court Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights UN Human Rights Committee UN Human Rights Council UN Security Council
Regional bodies	African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights African Court of Justice European Court of Human Rights European Committee for the Prevention of Torture Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Multi-lateral bodies	European Union Council of Europe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Organisation of American States (OAS) UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) International Labour Organization (ILO) World Health Organization (WHO) UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) UN Population Fund (UNFPA) UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) UN Development Programme (UNDP) Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
Major NGOs	Amnesty International FIDH Human Rights Watch Emergency NGO Human Rights First
ICRC – organization with special status based on Geneva Conventions	International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

v t e Law
Core subjects	Administrative law Civil law Constitutional law Contract Criminal law Equity Evidence International law Criminal procedure Property law Public law Statutory law Tort
Other subjects	Bankruptcy Competition law Consumer protection Cyberlaw Financial regulation Intellectual property International human rights Law of war Military law Probate Estate Will and testament Public international law Trust law
Sources of law	Constitution Divine right Divine law Human rights Natural law Natural and legal rights Case law Precedent
Law making	Codification Decree Edict Legislation Delegated legislation Regulation Repeal Treaty Statutory law Statute Act of Parliament Act of Congress (US)
Legal systems	Civil law Common law Religious law Canon law Jewish law Sharia Roman law Rule of law Statutory law
Jurisprudence	Adjudication Court-martial Fiqh Lawsuit/Litigation Legal opinion Judge Justice of the peace Magistrate Judgment Judicial review Jurisdiction Jury Justice Attorney Barrister Lawyer Legal representation Prosecutor Solicitor Trial Trier of fact Verdict
Legal institutions	Bureaucracy Court Executive Judiciary Law enforcement Legal education Law school Legislature Military Police Political party Tribunal
Category Index

Authority control
National	Spain France BnF data Germany Israel United States Japan Czech Republic
Other	NARA