Title: What are human rights?
Course: Inter-American Human Rights System - 2nd. Edition > Section: Introduction

To begin, describe three of the most important rights that every child should have. Think about your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or children you are close to.

The rights you write down will appear in a group word cloud that will be visible to all members of the group. The rights that are noted most often will appear larger.

Instructions

1. Type the words in the window shown below.
2. Click on the submit button.
3. Finally, you will be able to see the published words at the bottom. If you have any difficulty in viewing, refresh the page in your browser.

Human rights are inherent to all human beings and are protected by international law., y están protegidos por el derecho internacional.

We are all entitled to equal enjoyment of our human rights without discrimination, regardless of our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, skin color, religion, language, or any other identity-marker, such as age, disability, health status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Those rights, whether civil and political (such as the right to life, equality before the law, and freedom of expression); economic, social, and cultural (such as the right to work, social security, and education); or collective (such as the right to development and self-determination), possess the same characteristics.

Human rights are:

- Inherent: we are born with them, no one has to give them to us.
- Universal: they apply to all people regardless of their origin, their customs, their religion, where they live, or any other particular characteristic.

- Inalienable: no one can take them away from us.
- Interdependent: they are all related, so that the violation of one right normally implies the violation of other rights.

Human rights are not aspirations; they are rights that all people have, that are legally protected, and that States are obliged to guarantee and protect. In the Americas, these rights are protected by the American Declaration, the American Convention, and other treaties that protect specific rights.

In other words, human rights are embodied and guaranteed by law, in the form of treaties, customary international law, general principles, and other sources of international law. We will discuss these concepts in the next section.

These international human rights norms establish obligations for the States that are members of the OAS and establish the obligation of States to act in accordance with certain standards, or to refrain from certain actions, in order to promote and protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.

By signing human rights treaties and joining regional bodies such as the OAS, States commit themselves to the obligation and duty under international law to respect, protect, and take measures to guarantee the enjoyment of human rights for all.

- The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights.
- The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses.
- The obligation to guarantee means that States must take measures to ensure that individuals are able to enjoy these rights.