Civil rights are rights that protect people from unwarranted / unfair action by the federal government and/or private organizations and/or individuals. These rights ensure that an individual can participate in the civil life of the state without fear of repression or discrimination.
Some basic civil rights include the following:
* Protection from discrimination on such grounds as religion, gender, race, national origin, sexual orientation, age, immigrant status, etc.
* Ensuring peoples’ physical integrity and safety, etc.
* Equal access to health care, education, culture, etc.
Civil rights make up the first part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which were originally adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Civil rights were some of the first rights to be recognized and ratified. In many countries, such as the US and Canada, they are constitutional rights that are included in a bill of rights. As mentioned, the United Nations also defines civil rights.
Keep in mind that civil rights need not be codified in order to be protected (even though most democracies do in fact have formal written guarantees of civil rights. Why? Civil rights are considered natural rights – those that every man, woman and child are born with. Thomas Jefferson said it best back in 1774 “a free people (claim) their righyts as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.”
Custom can also play a role in identifying civil rights. Indeed, ‘implied” rights are those that courts find exists even if they’re not expressly guaranteed in a bill of rights. A good example of an “implied” rights would be the right to privacy that exists in the US.
A controversial element of civil rights is attributed to the question: who exactly do they apply to? For example, the citizens of many countries actually have greater protection against civil rights infringement than non-citizens.
Where would we be without civil rights? Online gambling would probably be non-existent, and women would not have the right to vote. Our private conversations would be tapped by the government on a daily basis, and Jehovah’s Witnesses wouldn’t be allowed to go door to door anymore.