HUMAN RIGHTS

CONTENT

1. The Meaning of Human Rights
2. Limitations of Human Rights

The Meaning of Human Rights

Human rights are fundamental rights that are essential for human existence and which every citizen is entitled to in full without gender, race, political or religious barriers. These human rights are enshrined in the constitution. Absence of human rights will make life uncomfortable and miserable. In Nigeria, the fundamental human rights of Nigerians are written in Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999).

These rights includes the right to life, right to dignity of the human person, right to personal liberty, etc. These are also enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as postulated by the United Nations Organization (UNO) in 1948 and are embodied in the constitutions of all member states.

Furthermore, human rights are classified into the following broad groups:

(i) Natural rights, which entails rights that a person is born with (right to life);

(ii) Political rights, which has to do with the rights that allow a person to participate in the politics and government of his country (such as right to vote and be to be voted for);

(iii) Social rights, which deal with the desire of human beings to interact with others (such as right to freedom of assembly and  freedom of movement);

(iv) Economic rights, which deal with the right to transact businesses, make profit and invest money (such as the right to acquire and own property).