Human rights are those expressed in international human rights treaties, which reflect the shared and agreed upon norms and standards to which all acceding nations (or “State Parties”) commit to uphold. There are 18 core human rights treaties and protocols. Many of the rights articulated in those treaties reflect the freedoms and liberties borne out of the American experience and enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, including freedoms of assembly and expression, due process rights, the rights of citizenship, and equal protection under the law.

International human rights law is grounded in the premise that State Parties to international human rights treaties take on the obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights and duties described therein, typically by aligning domestic laws with their treaty commitments:

● To respect a right means the state should itself refrain from interfering with its realization (e.g., for the right to education, putting in place laws that require basic primary education)
● To protect a right means to ensure others do not interfere or deny someone for realizing their right (e.g., for the right to education, ensuring that do not deny young girls the right to go to school)
● To fulfill a right means the state should take proactive measures to ensure a right is realized (e.g., funding primary education and holding public educators accountable).

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