Handouts What are Human Rights ? All human beings need certain opportunities and conditions in order to ensure their existence, to lead a respectful life, to realize personal progress, to protect self-identity, and to achieve social equity. They can be simply identified as human rights. Human rights have been recognized ethically as well as legally by society and the state as prerequisites for individual and social benefit. Such opportunities are necessary to live as a rational being in society and to perform the functions expected of human beings by society. Thus human rights are considered as an essential component of the humanity of any person. The freedom and opportunities needed by a person for the realization of her/ his own good as well as the good of society are called rights. Similarly, such opportunities are required for a human being to live as a rational being in society and to properly function the tasks expected of him by society. Thus, rights can be defined in a broader sense as the power recognized by society and state and demanded by us from society in order to realize the common good of society. According to Maurice Cranston (1973:5) “Human rights are a universal ethical right. That is a right that every man and woman should be entitled to at all times and places and that cannot be denied to anyone unless by a serious breach of equity and entitled to every human being for being a human being.” According to Earnest Barker (1999:174-76), “Rights are what is demanded by a person and accepted by society and state” According to this meaning, there are three basic components that describe rights. Firstly, “the rights should be demanded by a person”. This demand should be related to individual as well as common or social good. Secondly, “that demand should have a social acceptance”. It means that this individual demand becomes a right only if it receives a social recognition that it is for social benefit. For example, a person asking for committing suicide is not beneficial either to him or the society. Therefore it does not get a social recognition. Thirdly, there should be “political recognition”. Rights are given a legality and an assurance due to their being protected by a state. If not so, this individual demand becomes merely an ethical right. According to Laski rights means “a set of conditions necessary for man to conduct his social life in a good manner.” According to Johan Galtung, rights mean the essential requirements or rights to be compulsorily possessed by a human being in order to maintain his human nature and to fully develop it. As further explained by him, the rights required by a person to maintain his life, develop a sound physical and mental condition or realize personal development, enjoy freedom, protect his identity or to lead a respectful life are human rights. 97