Human rights Definition

Understand Human Rights: Learn about universal, indivisible, and inalienable rights.

Fill in the blanks The definition of human rightsA right is something to which you are entitled. There are many types of rights including moral rights, customary rights, legal rights, human rights, domestic rights and international rights.Human rights are fundamental rights. They are things to which every human being is entitled for just being a human being. Generally, it is recognised that human rigths are:- universal (that is, to be enjoyed by all individuals regardless of their nationality, gender, race or status)- indivisible (that is, all human rights are equally important)- inherent (that is, the birthright of all humands and are to be enjoyed by all people simply by reason fo their humanity).- inalienable (that is, people cannot agree to give them up or have them taken away).The indivisibility and universality of human rights is recognised in the Charter of the United Nations, 1945 and in the Universal Declaration of Human Righs 1948.Types of human rightsThere are three types of human rights:- civil and political rights- economic, social and cultural rights- collective rights, such as environmental and peace rights and the rights to self-determination.Civil and political rightsCivil and political rights are also called 'first generation' because they were the first to be recongised historically.- Civil rights are entitlements belonging to all humans and are to do with being a free citizen of a nation (for example freedom of thought and freedom of religion).- Political rights are entitlement belonging to all humans are to do with full participating in government (for example the rights to vote).Many civil and political rights are considered 'negative' rights because the state, rather than performing certain actions, is required to refrain from certain actions against the individual in order to protect these rights. These 'negative' civil and political rights include the right to freedom from slavery; freedom from torture or from cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment etc.Economic, social and cultural rightsEconomic, social and cultural rights are known as 'secondgeneration rights because they came to be recognised after civil and political rights. They are concerned with the material and cultural wellbeing of people.Environmental rights, peace rights and the right to self-determinationEnvironmental and peace rights, along with the collective right of self-determination, are all examples of 'third generation' rights, which have emerged in recent years. These 'third generation' rights, do not necessarily belong to the individual, as do other human rights, but rather to 'peoples' as a whole, In other words, these rights are collective rather than individual in nature.