It is not uncommon to hear people refer to all sorts of bad situations as violations of human rights. The term “human rights” is often used quite loosely, divorced from its narrow yet correct meaning that refers to provisions in various international declarations and treaties issued under the auspices of the United Nations. As one public health lawyer observes:

It is, of course, true that there are all sorts of legal rights, as well as moral rights, that pertain to human beings in general, as well as in the specific context of research. But this wide array of general rights are only human rights in the sense that they apply to humans and not, say, animals. The strict meaning of “human rights” refers chiefly to those rights stipulated in documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1966), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1979). In addition, human rights lawyers maintain that human rights can be identified in international custom and treaties, the decisions of treaty bodies, and organizations that contain human rights as a central aspect of their mandate. Treaty laws may become customary international law if widely enough observed. The discussion of human rights in this chapter accords with this meaning of the term, as elucidated by human rights lawyers.