What Are Human Rights?

As the title of this book reveals, my project is to ascertain whether freedom of expression, properly conceived, is appropriately regarded as a “right,” or more precisely, as a “human right.” Most of the book will be devoted to asking which of various conceptions of freedom of expression is the most eligible for that status and what range of activities will it protect. This chapter, however, takes up, albeit briefly, the question of what makes anything a “human right.” In other words, what is the conception of a human right that frames my inquiry regarding freedom of expression?

Human Rights as Moral Rights

When one claims a “human right,” what kind of claim is one making, and how might one justify it? The kind of human rights claim I am interested in is one that equates a human right with a moral right that exists apart from any particular legal or institutional arrangement, national, ethnic, or religious identity, tradition, or historical circumstance. Allen Buchanan and David Golove put it this way:

Put succinctly, a human right is a moral right that can be validly invoked by any person at any time or place.

Human rights as moral rights entail obligations on others.