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46-793: Founded in 1982 as the Swedish Helsinki Committee, the original focus of Civil Rights Defenders was to monitor and support the civil rights portion of the Helsinki Accords . In 2009, the organisation changed its name to Civil Rights Defenders and it now works in Sweden, Eastern Europe , Central Asia , Southeast Asia , the Western Balkans , Latin America , and in East & Horn of Africa. Civil Rights Defenders

92-506: A bill of rights or similar document. They are also defined in international human rights instruments , such as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Civil and political rights need not be codified to be protected. However, most democracies worldwide do have formal written guarantees of civil and political rights. Civil rights are considered to be natural rights . Thomas Jefferson wrote in his A Summary View of

138-586: A freedom or a right does not guarantee its inclusion, legality, or protection via a philosophical caveat. It is a very important concept in the Western world and nearly all democratic constitutions protect these freedoms. For instance, the United States Bill of Rights contains the famous guarantee in the First Amendment that laws may not be made that interfere with religion "or prohibiting

184-545: A group focused on fighting racism and Jim Crow. Other things that civil rights have been associated with are not just race but also rights of Transgender and other LGBTQ individuals. These have been fights over sexuality instead of race and focused around whether these individuals may access certain spaces like bathrooms according to their sexual identity or biological sex. Gavin Grimm's fight in Virginia over whether he could use

230-538: A role. Implied or unenumerated rights are rights that courts may find to exist even though not expressly guaranteed by written law or custom; one example is the right to privacy in the United States , and the Ninth Amendment explicitly shows that other rights are also protected. The United States Declaration of Independence states that people have unalienable rights including "Life, Liberty, and

276-494: A sense of contentment and replaces the feeling of helplessness. Apart from bringing ease to the ego of a person, new knowledge and ideas also bring a hope for the future. Freedom of thought is the precursor and progenitor of—and thus is closely linked to—other liberties, including freedom of religion , freedom of speech, and freedom of expression. Though freedom of thought is axiomatic for many other freedoms, they are in no way required for it to operate and exist. The conception of

322-422: Is America's union that represent the working-class people nationwide. Freedom of thought Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought , independent of others' viewpoints. Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by developing knowledge, concepts, theories and assessing them in the given environment. This cognitive proficiency gives

368-510: Is a well-known non-profit organization that helps to preserve freedom of speech and works to change policy. Another organization is the NAACP , founded in 1909, which focuses on protecting the civil rights of minorities. The NRA is a civil rights group founded in 1871 that primarily focuses on protecting the right to bear arms. These organizations serve a variety of causes, one being the AFL–CIO , which

414-458: Is carried out without the use of violence and within an independent human rights organisation.” Previous Defender of the Year Award recipients are: Civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals ' freedom from infringement by governments , social organizations , and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in

460-402: Is that if individuals have fewer political rights than are they more likely to commit political violence such as in countries where individual rights are highly restricted. That is why it is important for countries to protect the political rights of all citizens including minority groups. This extends to racial, ethnic, tribal, and religious groups. By granting them the same rights it helps reduce

506-651: The Edict of Milan in 313, these rights included the freedom of religion; however, in 380, the Edict of Thessalonica required all subjects of the Roman Empire to profess Nicene Christianity. Roman legal doctrine was lost during the Middle Ages, but claims of universal rights could still be made based on Christian doctrine. According to the leaders of Kett's Rebellion (1549), "all bond men may be made free, for God made all free with his precious blood-shedding." In

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552-667: The European Convention on Human Rights states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion." It is impossible to know with certainty what another person is thinking, making suppression difficult. The concept is developed throughout the Bible, most fully in the writings of Saul of Tarsus (e.g., "For why should my freedom [ eleutheria ] be judged by another's conscience [ suneideseos ]?" 1 Corinthians 10:29). Although Greek philosophers Plato and Socrates had discussed freedom of thought minimally,

598-529: The U.S. Bill of Rights (1789). The removal by legislation of a civil right constitutes a "civil disability". In early 19th century Britain, the phrase "civil rights" most commonly referred to the issue of such legal discrimination against Catholics. In the House of Commons , support for civil rights was divided, with many politicians agreeing with the existing civil disabilities of Catholics. The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 restored their civil rights. In

644-736: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which is legally binding on member states of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), "freedom of thought" is listed under Article 18: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. The United Nations ' Human Rights Committee states that this "distinguishes

690-656: The right to a fair trial , (in some countries) the right to keep and bear arms , freedom of religion , freedom from discrimination , and voting rights . They were pioneered in the seventeenth and eighteenth-century during the Age of Enlightenment . Political theories associated with the English, American, and French revolutions were codified in the English Bill of Rights in 1689 (a restatement of Rights of Englishmen , some dating back to Magna Carta in 1215) and more fully in

736-502: The 17th century, English common law judge Sir Edward Coke revived the idea of rights based on citizenship by arguing that Englishmen had historically enjoyed such rights . The Parliament of England adopted the English Bill of Rights in 1689. It was one of the influences drawn on by George Mason and James Madison when drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776. The Virginia declaration heavily influenced

782-651: The Catholic Church such as the possibility of an infinite universe. Unwilling to recant these ideas, Bruno was eventually burned as a heretic in Rome by the Italian Inquisition , in turn becoming a martyr for free thought. Oliver Cromwell is described by Ignaz von Döllinger as "the first among the mighty men of the world to set up one special religious principle, and to enforce it so far as in him lay: ... The principle of liberty of conscience and

828-776: The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789 and the United States Bill of Rights in 1791. They were enshrined at the global level and given status in international law first by Articles 3 to 21 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and later in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . In Europe, they were enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights in 1953. There are current organizations that exist to protect people's civil and political rights in case they are infringed upon. The ACLU , founded in 1920,

874-502: The Rights of British America that "a free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate ." The question of to whom civil and political rights apply is a subject of controversy. Although in many countries citizens are considered to have greater protections against infringement of rights than non-citizens, civil and political rights are generally considered to be universal rights that apply to all persons . One thing to mention

920-423: The Swedish Helsinki Committee changed its name to Civil Rights Defenders, and began working in additional regions of the world with the primary mission to support local human rights groups in repressive countries. They also now act as a watchdog human rights organisation in Sweden. The Natalia Project is an alarm system for human rights defenders at risk that helps to ensure the survival of human rights defenders. It

966-468: The Swedish Helsinki Committee, and then also Chairman of the organisation from 1992 until 2004. Robert Hårdh led the organisation as Secretary General from 2000 until 2009 and then as Executive Director until 2017. After the fall of the Berlin Wall , the organisation also worked to monitor and improve the human rights situation in the former Yugoslavia throughout the conflicts of the 1990s. In 2009,

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1012-715: The United States gathered steam by 1848 with such documents as the Declaration of Sentiment. Consciously modeled after the Declaration of Independence , the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments became the founding document of the American women's movement, and it was adopted at the Seneca Falls Convention, July 19 and 20, 1848. Worldwide, several political movements for equality before

1058-492: The United States, the term civil rights has been associated with the civil rights movement (1954–1968), which fought against racism. The movement also fought segregation and Jim Crow laws and this fight took place in the streets, in public places, in government, and in the courts including the Supreme Court. The civil rights movement was also not the only movement fighting for civil rights as The Black Panthers were also

1104-412: The accused , including the right to a fair trial ; due process ; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy ; and rights of participation in civil society and politics such as freedom of association , the right to assemble , the right to petition , the right of self-defense , and the right to vote . These rights also must follow the legal norm as in they must have the force of law and fit into

1150-435: The area include Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld , and Jean Edward Smith . First-generation rights, often called "blue" rights, deal essentially with liberty and participation in political life. They are fundamentally civil and political in nature, as well as strongly individualistic : They serve negatively to protect the individual from excesses of the state. First-generation rights include, among other things, freedom of speech ,

1196-420: The bathroom of his choice is a well known case in these civil right fights. Another issue in civil rights has been the issue with police brutality in certain communities especially minority communities. This has been seen as another way for minority groups to be oppressed and their rights infringed upon. Outrage has also been a massive result of incidents caught on tape of police abusing and in some cases causing

1242-416: The bearer's location and personal details to enable a local and global response. Each Natalia Project participant receives security training and develops an incident response protocol based on their specific circumstances. Program Participants: Frank Mugisha (Uganda), Olena Shevchenko (Ukraine), Génesis Dávila (Venezuela), Abdifatah Hassan Ali (Somalia). Since 2013, Civil Rights Defenders has organised

1288-403: The civil and political life of society and the state . Civil rights generally include ensuring peoples' physical and mental integrity, life , and safety , protection from discrimination , the right to privacy , the freedom of thought , speech , religion , press , assembly , and movement . Political rights include natural justice (procedural fairness) in law , such as the rights of

1334-602: The claim that an effort to limit the use of words of language is actually a form of restricting freedom of thought. This was explored in George Orwell 's novel 1984 , with the idea of Newspeak , a stripped-down form of the English language alleged to lack the capacity for metaphor and limiting expression of original ideas. More recently, neuroimaging technology has raised concerns about entities possibly reading and subsequently suppressing thought. These concerns form

1380-463: The deaths of people from minority groups such as African Americans. That is why to address the issue has been accountability to police engaging in such conduct as a way to deter other officers from committing similar actions. T. H. Marshall notes that civil rights were among the first to be recognized and codified, followed later by political rights and still later by social rights. In many countries, they are constitutional rights and are included in

1426-460: The edicts of King Ashoka (3rd century BC) have been called the first decree respecting freedom of conscience. In European tradition, aside from the decree of religious toleration by Constantine I at Milan in 313, the philosophers Themistius , Michel de Montaigne , Baruch Spinoza , John Locke , Voltaire , Alexandre Vinet , and John Stuart Mill and the theologians Roger Williams and Samuel Rutherford have been considered major proponents of

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1472-518: The free exercise thereof". U.S. Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo reasoned in Palko v. Connecticut (1937): Freedom of thought... is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom. With rare aberrations a pervasive recognition of this truth can be traced in our history, political and legal. Such ideas are also a vital part of international human rights law . In

1518-559: The freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief from the freedom to manifest religion or belief. It does not permit any limitations whatsoever on the freedom of thought and conscience or on the freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of one's choice. These freedoms are protected unconditionally". Similarly, Article 19 of the UDHR guarantees that "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference". Article 9 of

1564-502: The government intervene to protect individuals from infringement on their rights by other individuals , or from corporations —e.g., in what way should employment discrimination in the private sector be dealt with? Political theory deals with civil and political rights. Robert Nozick and John Rawls expressed competing visions in Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia and Rawls' A Theory of Justice . Other influential authors in

1610-659: The human rights conference, "Defenders' Days", now held in Stockholm every two years. The conference's main aim is to develop human rights activists working within their own repressive countries. Civil Rights Defenders also annually awards the Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award to a human rights defender. According to Civil Rights Defenders, the award is given to someone who “despite the risk to his or her own safety, strives to ensure that people’s civil and political rights are recognised and protected. Their work

1656-418: The idea of freedom of conscience (or "soul liberty" in the words of Williams). Queen Elizabeth I revoked a thought censorship law in the late sixteenth century, because, according to Sir Francis Bacon , she did "not [like] to make windows into men's souls and secret thoughts". During her reign, however, a number of books published by theorist Giordano Bruno spurred controversy, mentioning topics banned by

1702-424: The law occurred between approximately 1950 and 1980. These movements had a legal and constitutional aspect, and resulted in much law-making at both national and international levels. They also had an activist side, particularly in situations where violations of rights were widespread. Movements with the proclaimed aim of securing observance of civil and political rights included: Most civil rights movements relied on

1748-653: The pursuit of Happiness". It is considered by some that the sole purpose of government is the protection of life, liberty , and property. Some thinkers have argued that the concepts of self-ownership and cognitive liberty affirm rights to choose the food one eats, the medicine one takes , and the habit one indulges . Civil rights guarantee equal protection under the law. When civil and political rights are not guaranteed to all as part of equal protection of laws , or when such guarantees exist on paper but are not respected in practice, opposition, legal action and even social unrest may ensue. Civil rights movements in

1794-784: The radical anti-intellectualism enforced in Cambodia under Pol Pot and in Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler , the strict limits on freedom of expression imposed by the Communist governments of the People's Republic of China and Cuba or by Capitalist dictatorships such as those of Augusto Pinochet in Chile and Francisco Franco in Spain. The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis , which states that thought can be embedded in language , would support

1840-456: The repudiation of religious coercion". However, freedom of expression can be limited through censorship , arrests, book burning , or propaganda , and this tends to discourage freedom of thought. Examples of effective campaigns against freedom of expression are the Soviet suppression of genetics research in favor of a theory known as Lysenkoism , the book-burning campaigns of Nazi Germany ,

1886-472: The risk of political violence breaking out. According to political scientist Salvador Santino F. Regilme Jr., analyzing the causes of and lack of protection from human rights abuses in the Global South should be focusing on the interactions of domestic and international factors—an important perspective that has usually been systematically neglected in the social science literature. Custom also plays

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1932-436: The second portion). The theory of three generations of human rights considers this group of rights to be "first-generation rights", and the theory of negative and positive rights considers them to be generally negative rights . The phrase "civil rights" is a translation of Latin jus civis (right of the citizen). Roman citizens could be either free ( libertas ) or servile ( servitus ), but they all had rights in law. After

1978-429: The system of administrative justice. A key feature in modern society is that the more a state can guarantee political rights of citizens the better the states relations are with its citizens. Civil and political rights form the original and main part of international human rights . They comprise the first portion of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (with economic, social, and cultural rights comprising

2024-560: The technique of civil resistance , using nonviolent methods to achieve their aims. In some countries, struggles for civil rights were accompanied, or followed, by civil unrest and even armed rebellion. While civil rights movements over the last sixty years have resulted in an extension of civil and political rights, the process was long and tenuous in many countries, and many of these movements did not achieve or fully achieve their objectives. Questions about civil and political rights have frequently emerged. For example, to what extent should

2070-555: Was founded in 1982 as the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights ( Svenska Helsingforskommittén för mänskliga rättigheter ) to monitor compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act , along with Helsinki Committees for Human Rights in several countries. Gerald Nagler , who also co-founded the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights , was the founder of

2116-549: Was launched in 2013, and is named after Natalia Estemirova , a Russian human rights activist and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award who was abducted and murdered in 2009 while working to document cases of human rights abuses in Chechnya . The device uses cellphone and satellite navigation technology to transmit an alarm signal that its bearer is in acute danger. Triggering the alarm transmits data about

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