Human Rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being. These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in local, regional, national, and international law. Many of the basic ideas that animated the human rights movement developed in the aftermath of the Second World War. The ancient world did not possess the concept of universal human rights.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

—Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Right to life   - Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. The right to life is the essential right that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being. The concept of a right to life is central to debates on the issues of abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, self defense and war. According to many human rights activists, the death penalty violates this right.

Freedom from torture - Throughout history, torture has been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion. Torture is prohibited under international law and the domestic laws of most countries in the 21st century. It is considered to be a violation of human rights, and is declared to be unacceptable by Article 5 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Freedom from slavery - Freedom from slavery is an internationally recognized human right. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Despite this, the number of slaves today is higher than at any point in history.

Right to a fair trial - As a minimum the right to fair trial includes the following fair trial rights in civil and criminal proceedings:

·                    the right to be heard by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal

·                    the right to a public hearing

·                    the right to be heard within a reasonable time

·                    the right to counsel

·                    the right to interpretation

Freedom of speech           -  Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Freedom of movement  -  Freedom of movement asserts that a citizen of a state in which that citizen is present has the liberty to travel, reside in, and/or work in any part of the state where one pleases within the limits of respect for the liberty and rights of others, and to leave that state and return at any time.

Water -  the human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights. By declaring safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right, the U.N. General Assembly made a step towards the Millennium Development Goal to ensure environmental sustainability, which in part aims to "halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation".

Reproductive rights          - Reproductive rights may include some or all of the following rights: the right to legal or safe abortion, the right to control one's reproductive functions, the right to quality reproductive healthcare, and the right to education and access in order to make reproductive choices free from coercion, discrimination, and violence.

Information and communication technologies -        In March 2010, the BBC, having commissioned an opinion poll, reported that "almost four in five people around the world believe that access to the internet is a fundamental right