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There is a high bar for something to be considered a human right. Loosely put, it must be among the things we as humans need in order to lead healthy, meaningful lives, like freedom from torture or freedom of conscience.

Human rights is a universal standard. It is a component of every religion and every civilization.

Human rights will be a powerful force for the transformation of reality when they are not simply understood as externally defined norms of behavior but are lived as the spontaneous manifestation of internalized values.

The thing about talking about human rights is that when one bears in mind the sharp end of it, one does not want to worry too much about semantics.

The real or supposed rights of man are of two kinds, active and passive; the right in certain cases to do as we list; and the right we possess to the forbearance or assistance of other men.

The idea that being human and having rights are equivalent - that rights are inherent - is unintelligible in a Darwinian world.

Just as man can't exist without his body, so no rights can exist without the right to translate one's rights into reality, to think, to work and keep the results, which means: the right of property.

Human rights are not a privilege granted by the few, they are a liberty entitled to all, and human rights, by definition, include the rights of all humans, those in the dawn of life, the dusk of life, or the shadows of life.

A right is not what someone gives you; it's what no one can take from you.

Right action tends to be defined in terms of general individual rights and standards that have been critically examined and agreed upon by the whole society.