What are Human Rights?

Human Right are literally, the rights that one has simply because one is human. This deceptively simple idea has profound social and political consequences.

Human Rights, because they rest on nothing more than being human, are universal, equal, and inalienable. They are held by all human beings, universally. One either is or is not human and thus has or does not have human rights, equally. And one can no more lose these rights than one can stop being a human being - no matter how inhuman the treatment one may suffer. One is entitled to human rights and is empowered by them.

Human Rights, being held by every person against the state and society, provide a framework for political organization and a standard of political legitimacy. In a context in which they are systematically denied, claims of human rights may be positively revolutionary. Even in societies where human rights are generally well respected, they provide constant pressure on governments to meet their standards.