Human rights are like armor – they protect us; they are like rules - they tell us how to behave; and they are like arbitrators - we can turn to them. They are abstract - like emotions, and like emotions, they belong to everyone and exist, no matter what happens around them.
They are similar to nature because they can be despised; and with spirit, because they cannot be destroyed. Like time, they treat us all equally: rich and poor, old and young, white and black, tall and short. They offer us respect and require us to treat others with respect. They are like goodness, truth, and justice: we may disagree about their definition, but we recognize them when we see them violated.
A right is a claim that we rightly claim. I am entitled to items in my shopping cart if I have paid for them. Citizens have the right to elect a president if this is guaranteed by their country's constitution, and a child has the right to visit the zoo if his parents promised him that. People have the right to count on all this, provided that the other party has given appropriate promises or guarantees.
However, human rights are higher-level claims with one difference. They are not dependent on promises or guarantees from the other party. A person's right to life does not depend on another person's promise not to kill that person: his life may depend on it, but not the right to life. His right to life depends on only one thing: that he is a human being.
Recognition of human rights means recognition of everyone's right to say: I have these rights, no matter what you say or do, because I am a human being just like you. Human rights belong to all people by birthright. But why shouldn't this claim require some behavior to support it? Why shouldn't we demand that people earn their rights?
Thus, the concept of human rights is based on two main values. The first is human dignity, and the second is equality. Human rights can be understood as something that defines the basic norms necessary to live with a sense of dignity, and their universality follows from the fact that, at least in this respect, all people are equal. We do not have and cannot single out anyone here.
In fact, to accept the concept of human rights, it is enough to accept these two beliefs or values, and hardly anyone would argue with this. This is why the idea of human rights is supported by all world cultures, all civilized governments, all major religions. It is almost universally recognized that the power of the state cannot be unlimited or arbitrary, it must be limited by the need to provide at least minimal conditions to all those under its jurisdiction so that they can live with a sense of human dignity.
It should be noted that the universality of human rights in no way threatens the rich diversity of individuality or cultural differences. Diversity can exist in a society where everyone is equal and equally deserving of respect. Human rights serve as a minimum standard that applies to all people; each state and society can define and apply higher or more specific standards. For example, in the area of economic, social and cultural rights, we must take bold steps to advance the full realization of these rights, but there is no set standard for raising taxes to promote this. Each country or society independently determines such a policy, taking into account its own circumstances.
