Human rights
Human rights are an intellectual concept that states that all humans have specific rights, entirely by virtue of their status as human beings.
The U.S. Declaration of Independence says that people are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." [1]
This is based on the statement that every person is entitled to "life, liberty and the pursuit of property", which was altered to "happiness" to avoid conflicts with slavery (slaves could not own property).
The United Nations issued, in 1948, a list of human rights they deem inherent and inviolable.[2] However, a number of totalitarian regimes continue to violate human rights, even when they have ratified the list. Many organisations and NGOs such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House are dedicated to reporting on and exposing human rights violations.