Human rights

"Rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status."
(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, What are human rights?, visited 2010-09-08)

Human rights are available to all persons equally, by virtue of their humanity. They specify the minimum conditions for human dignity.

Human rights usually include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.

These rights were set forth by the United Nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).