Human Rights Poem (48): The White House

The White House, Claude McKay
Your door is shut against my tightened face,
And I am sharp as steel with discontent;
But I possess the courage and the grace
To bear my anger proudly and unbent.
The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet,
A chafing savage, down the decent street;
And passion rends my vitals as I pass,
Where boldly shines your [...]

Human Rights Quote (80): Impunity

(source)
I deeply hope that the horrors humanity has suffered during the 20th century will serve us as a painful lesson, and that the creation of the International Criminal Court will help us to prevent those atrocities from being repeated in the future. Statement made by Luis Moreno-Ocampo on the occasion of his election as first [...]

Human Rights Quote (79): Hate Crime

(source)
We must send a clear and strong message to all who would commit crimes of hate: it is wrong, it is illegal, and we will catch you and punish you to the full force of our laws. Al Gore
A hate crime (or a bias crime) is a crime committed against a person that is motivated, [...]

Human Rights Quote (77): Civil Disobedience

(source: http://www.freewebs.com/phamho/literature.html)
An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Civil disobedience is a dangerous thing. Laws are [...]

Human Rights Facts (47): Sharia

The term Sharia literally means “path” or “way” (”way to the water source”). So, originally, it wasn’t a legal code or a set or rules as it is now. With the passing of time, the word has come to mean the body of legal rules which were produced through a very long process of scholarly [...]

Human Rights Quote (56): Habeas Corpus and Guantanamo

“The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times. To hold that the political branches may switch the Constitution on or off at will would lead to a regime in which they, not this court, say what the law is.” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the US Supreme Court, [...]

What Are Human Rights?

Human rights are rights which belong to humanity, to all persons of all cultures, nations, states, color, gender etc., whether or not the legal system in which they live explicitly protects these rights. And which belong to all of us equally. No one has more or less rights than the next person.
Human rights are therefore [...]

What is Democracy? (16): Self-Government and Self-Legislation

Self-government (the equality of rulers and ruled, government of the people by the people instead of government of the people by an elite sprung from the people) is an important value because it gives people control over their own lives. Most people want to be masters of their own lives and want to be involved [...]

Human Rights Quote (34): Racism

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important. Martin Luther King Jr.

Human Rights Quote (15): Rights and the Law

You are a human being. You have rights inherent in that reality. You have dignity and worth that exists prior to law. Lyn Beth Neylon
Rights do indeed exist before and above the law. However, the role of natural rights in moral claims, important as it is, is not enough. Only the state, by way of [...]