Human rights are inherent entitlements which come to every person as a consequence of being human. Treaties and other sources of law generally serve to protect formally the rights of individuals and groups against actions or abandonment of actions by Governments which interfere with the enjoyment of their human rights.

The following are some of the most important characteristics of human rights:

• human rights are founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each person;

• human rights are universal, meaning that they are applied equally and without discrimination to all people;

• human rights are inalienable, in that no one can have his or her human rights taken away other than in specific situations for example, the right to liberty can be restricted if a   person is found guilty of a crime by a court of law;

• human rights are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent, for the reason that it is insufficient to respect some human rights and not others In practice, the violation of one   right will often affect the respect of several other rights All human rights should therefore be seen as having equal importance and of being equally essential to respect for the   dignity and worth of every person.