What are human rights?

Contributed by Kate Eastman and current to 1 September 2005

By human rights, we generally mean rights agreed by the international community to be basic human rights. They are rights applying to everyone, regardless of race, gender, age or where they live. For example, the right to a fair trial is recognised as a basic human right. There are a number of measures that governments and courts must implement to ensure that a person coming before the courts receives a fair trial. For example, in Australian criminal cases an accused person who cannot understand or speak English must be provided with an interpreter, free. In serious criminal trials, the government should provide a lawyer for the accused person if they cannot afford one.