Understanding the difference between Human and Civil rights.

What are Human Rights?

Human rights are rights enjoyed because a person is human and they are recognized as being the inherent rights to freedom from unlawful torture, imprisonment, and execution, regardless of one’s ethnicity, religion, race, and philosophy. This issue came to the forefront after World War II resulting from the six million Jews slaughtered and the many other atrocities in nations leading up to this point.

How do they differ from civil rights?

Civil rights are rights that an individual enjoys by virtue of citizenship. Civil rights have the protection of the constitution. Civil rights protect the individual from discrimination and unjustifiable action by others, government or any organization. Having a philosophical and legal basis, civil rights is an agreement between the nation and the individual.

Human rights are inherent as the result of being human while civil rights are obtained through a constitution of a nation.

The basic purpose of human rights is to preserve the sanctity and human dignity of every person.