Human Rights Glossary

Protection granted by a state to a foreign national who has left their home country as a political refugee.

Individual rights protected by law from unjust governmental or other interference, such as freedom of speech and religion.

Widespread or systematic attacks directed against civilian populations, including murder, enslavement, torture, and persecution.

The view that human rights standards should be understood and applied within specific cultural, religious, and historical contexts.

Unwritten rules of international law derived from consistent state practice carried out with a sense of legal obligation.

The partial revocation or temporary suspension of certain human rights obligations by a state during a declared emergency.

The legal requirement that the state must respect all legal rights owed to a person, ensuring fair treatment through the judicial system.

The systematic forced removal or extermination of an ethnic, racial, or religious group from a geographic area.

The deliberate killing of a person by governmental authorities or agents without lawful judicial process or legal authority.

Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

A legal principle that requires a person under arrest to be brought before a judge, preventing unlawful detention.

The inherent worth of every human being that forms the philosophical foundation of all human rights.

Rights that cannot be surrendered, transferred, or revoked, belonging to every person by virtue of being human.

A person forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders, as opposed to a refugee who crosses an international boundary.

Peremptory norms of international law from which no derogation is permitted, such as prohibitions on genocide, torture, and slavery.

An authorization granted by a UN body to a special rapporteur or working group to investigate and report on a specific human rights issue or country.

The principle that prohibits states from sending individuals back to a country where they face serious risk of persecution, torture, or death.

The formal process by which a state consents to be bound by an international treaty, making it legally obligatory.

A person who has fled their country owing to a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.

Compensation or restitution provided to victims of human rights violations, which may include financial payments, restitution of property, or symbolic measures.

The principle that all persons and institutions are accountable to laws that are publicly enacted, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated.

The authority of a state to govern itself without external interference, sometimes invoked to resist international human rights oversight.

A legal time limit within which proceedings must be initiated. Under international law, there is no statute of limitations for genocide or crimes against humanity.

A committee of independent experts that monitors the implementation of a core international human rights treaty by reviewing state reports.

The principle that human rights are applicable to all people everywhere, regardless of culture, religion, nationality, or any other distinguishing characteristic.