What is rights

Retrieve it. If by any chance you spot an inappropriate image within your search results please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. Term » Definition. Word in Definition. Freebase 3. Editors Contribution 3. The civil rights movement made great changes throughout society. Submitted by MaryC on February 7, Submitted by MaryC on April 4, Anagrams for rights » girths. How to pronounce rights? Alex US English.

David US English. Mark US English. Daniel British. Libby British. Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human beings - they are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most fundamental - the right to life - to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.

The UDHR, which turned 70 in , continues to be the foundation of all international human rights law. Its 30 articles provide the principles and building blocks of current and future human rights conventions, treaties and other legal instruments. The principle of universality of human rights is the cornerstone of international human rights law.

This means that we are all equally entitled to our human rights. This principle, as first emphasized in the UDHR, is repeated in many international human rights conventions, declarations, and resolutions. Human rights are inalienable.

It has also established mechanisms to promote and protect these rights and to assist states in carrying out their responsibilities. The foundations of this body of law are the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , adopted by the General Assembly in and , respectively.

Since then, the United Nations has gradually expanded human rights law to encompass specific standards for women, children, persons with disabilities, minorities and other vulnerable groups, who now possess rights that protect them from discrimination that had long been common in many societies.

Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December by General Assembly resolution A III as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. Since its adoption in , the UDHR has been translated into more than languages - the most translated document in the world - and has inspired the constitutions of many newly independent States and many new democracies.

The human rights that the Covenant seeks to promote and protect include:. The Second Optional Protocol was adopted in The Covenant deals with such rights as freedom of movement; equality before the law; the right to a fair trial and presumption of innocence; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom of opinion and expression; peaceful assembly; freedom of association; participation in public affairs and elections; and protection of minority rights.

In Britain our human rights are protected by the Human Rights Act Find out about our work. The idea that human beings should have a set of basic rights and freedoms has deep roots in Britain. See the British Library's website for more information on these and other icons of liberty and progress. The atrocities of the Second World War made the protection of human rights an international priority. This was the first attempt to set out at a global level the fundamental rights and freedoms shared by all human beings.

Watch our video on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.