Human rights are the fundamental freedoms and dignity that every person is born with. They are not privileges that can be granted or denied by a powerful group, but something everyone is entitled to simply because they are humans. Human rights are also the basic standards by which we judge people’s actions and treat them fairly. Everyone has a duty to protect others’ human rights and support them when they are violated.
Most people recognise some of their rights – they know, for example, that they have the right to live and work in safety, that they can have food and shelter, and that they have a right not to be tortured or killed. But few people realise the extent of their rights, or how they can be protected. Even fewer realise that human rights are not just about protecting individuals, but about bringing societies into a more just and peaceful place.
In 1948, following the atrocities of World War II and the establishment of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was established to provide a common understanding of what everybody is entitled to. The Declaration states, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should be treated accordingly.”
The concept of human rights is not new – it can be traced back at least to ancient Greece, where Sophocles’ Antigone character was reproached for defying King Creon’s order to bury her brother, but insisted that she was acting in accordance with the laws of nature and God. The idea of human rights has become widely accepted, although it is not legally binding on any government (see Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for more information).
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