Chapter 1: Introducing human rights

1.1 What are human rights?

Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity.

Mother Teresa

Human rights belong to everyone. They are the basic rights we all have simply because we are human, regardless of who we are, where we live or what we do. Human rights represent all the things we need to flourish and live together as human beings. They are expressed in internationally agreed laws, and cover many aspects of everyday life ranging from the rights to food, shelter, education and health to freedoms of thought, religion and expression.

The roots and origins of human rights and the struggles to bring them about lie deep in the history of many different societies, civilisations and individuals. However, the first universally agreed statement of human rights did not emerge until 1948, with the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ (UDHR). The UDHR is the most famous, most translated, and probably most important, human rights document. All other human rights laws take the UDHR as their starting point – it is the foundation of modern human rights law.

1.2 What human rights do we have?

1.3 Who has responsibilities for human rights?

Human rights are based on the principle that we all have human rights – we are all ‘rights holders’. When an individual has a right, there is a corresponding ‘duty bearer’, usually the state, who is responsible for making sure that right is respected, protected and fulfilled. By the state, in broad terms we mean the government and those acting on its behalf. Human rights prevent states from doing certain things, like not treating you in a degrading way. They also require states to take certain actions to make sure your rights are protected and fulfilled, like taking steps to protect your life and improve your quality of life.

This doesn’t mean that human rights have nothing to say about the responsibilities of individuals, or our relationships with each other. Human rights recognise that we all live alongside each other, and everyone else has rights too. If we compromise others’ human rights, we are subject to laws that may limit our own rights as a result. For example, if someone is convicted of burgling your home, it is likely that they will be sent to jail, restricting their right to liberty. We will explore the concept of balancing rights, and when they can be limited or restricted, in more detail in chapter 3.

Move onto the next chapter to find out more about human rights laws and how they work in practice.