Human Rights, MUR-ROS
These are the rights that youâre entitled to simply for being human. The term âhuman rightsâ is relatively new, but the concept of human rights had its origins in ancient Greece and Rome. Although the principle of human rights has gained widespread acceptance over the centuries, there has been disagreement over the nature and scope of such rights and their definition. Still, the reality of popular demands for human rights in the early 21st century is undeniable, and a deepening and widening concern for the promotion and protection of human rights on all fronts is now woven into the fabric of contemporary world affairs.
Human Rights Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Murray, John Courtney
Murray, John Courtney was a Jesuit (Society of Jesus) theologian known for his influential thought on church-state......
Murray, Pauli
Pauli Murray was a key figure who helped define the intellectual foundations of the 20th-century civil rights and......
Muste, A.J.
A.J. Muste was a Dutch-born American clergyman best known for his role in the labour and left-wing movements of......
MÄori Representation Act
MÄori Representation Act, (1867), legislation that created four MÄori parliamentary seats in New Zealand, bringing......
NAACP
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the United Statesâ oldest and largest......
Nanda, Gulzarilal
Gulzarilal Nanda was an Indian politician who twice served briefly as interim prime minister, in 1964 following......
Nantes, Edict of
Edict of Nantes, law promulgated at Nantes in Brittany on April 13, 1598, by Henry IV of France, which granted......
Nash, Diane
Diane Nash is an American civil rights activist who was a leading figure in the civil rights movement of the 1950s......
Nathan, Maud
Maud Nathan was an American social welfare leader who helped to found the National Consumers League. Nathan was......
National Action Bloc
National Action Bloc, first Moroccan political party, founded in 1934 to counteract mounting French domination......
National Association of Colored Womenâs Clubs
National Association of Colored Womenâs Clubs (NACWC), American organization founded as the National Association......
National LGBTQ Task Force
National LGBTQ Task Force, American nongovernmental organization founded in 1973 that advocates for the civil rights......
National Organization for Men Against Sexism
National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS), the oldest antisexist menâs organization in the United States,......
National Urban League
National Urban League, American service agency founded for the purpose of eliminating racial segregation and discrimination......
Navalny, Alexei
Alexei Navalny was a Russian lawyer, anti-corruption activist, and politician who achieved international recognition......
Nenquimo, Nemonte
Nemonte Nenquimo is an Indigenous activist, author, and leader of the Waorani people of the Ecuadorian Amazon.......
New Left
New Left, a broad range of left-wing activist movements and intellectual currents that arose in western Europe......
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, legal case in which, on March 9, 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously......
Newton, Huey P.
Huey P. Newton was an American political activist, cofounder (with Bobby Seale) of the Black Panther Party (originally......
Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement, (1905â10), organization of Black intellectuals that was led by W.E.B. Du Bois and called for......
Nicholls, Douglas
Douglas Nicholls was a Yorta Yorta activist, athlete, minister, and politician who sought to establish the rights......
Nichols, Mary Gove
Mary Gove Nichols was an American writer and advocate of womenâs rights and health reform. Nichols is best known......
NIMBY
NIMBY, a colloquialism signifying oneâs opposition to the locating of something considered undesirable in oneâs......
Nivedita
Nivedita was an Irish-born schoolteacher who was a follower of the Indian spiritual leader Vivekananda (Narendranath......
Noonuccal, Oodgeroo
Oodgeroo Noonuccal was an Australian Aboriginal writer and political activist, considered the first of the modern-day......
Norquist, Grover
Grover Norquist is an American political activist and strategist for conservative and libertarian causes, especially......
Northwest Ordinances
Northwest Ordinances, several ordinances enacted by the U.S. Congress for the purpose of establishing orderly and......
Norton, Eleanor Holmes
Eleanor Holmes Norton is an American lawyer and politician who broke several gender and racial barriers during......
Nuremberg Code
Nuremberg Code, a 10-point statement designed to define the limits of permissible medical experimentation on human......
Odum, Howard W.
Howard W. Odum was an American sociologist who was a specialist in the social problems of the southern United States......
Olmos, Edward James
Edward James Olmos is a Mexican American actor, director, producer, and activist known for his gruff voice and......
Ovington, Mary White
Mary White Ovington was an American civil rights activist, one of the white reformers who joined African Americans......
Ozaki Yukio
Ozaki Yukio was a noted democratic politician who was elected to the Japanese House of Representatives a total......
OâDonoghue, Lowitja
Lowitja OâDonoghue is an Australian activist whose lifelong advocacy for Aboriginal rights and reconciliation made......
Pacheco, Gaby
Gaby Pacheco is an Ecuadoran-born American activist who advocated for immigration reform in the United States and......
Paglia, Camille
Camille Paglia is an American academic, aesthete, and self-described feminist known for her unorthodox views on......
Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania
Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), South African organization and later political party pursuing âAfricanistâ......
Pankhurst, Dame Christabel Harriette
Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst was a suffragist leader credited with organizing the tactics of the militant......
Pankhurst, Emmeline
Emmeline Pankhurst was a militant champion of woman suffrage whose 40-year campaign achieved complete success in......
Park, Maud Wood
Maud Wood Park was an American suffragist whose lobbying skills and grasp of legislative politics were successfully......
Parks, Rosa
Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist whose refusal to relinquish her seat on a public bus precipitated......
Parra, Violeta
Violeta Parra was a Chilean composer, folk singer, and social activist, best known as one of the founders of the......
Patkar, Medha
Medha Patkar is an Indian social and environmental activist known chiefly for her work with people displaced by......
Paul, Alice
Alice Paul was an American womenâs suffrage leader who first proposed an equal rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution.......
Paz Estenssoro, VĂctor
VĂctor Paz Estenssoro was a Bolivian statesman, founder and principal leader of the left-wing Bolivian political......
Peltier, Leonard
Leonard Peltier is a Native American (mostly Ojibwa) activist who, after becoming one of the best-known indigenous......
Penal Laws
Penal Laws, laws passed against Roman Catholics in Britain and Ireland after the Reformation that penalized the......
Perkins, Charles
Charles Perkins was an Australian civil servant and activist who was the first Indigenous Australian to head a......
Perry, Troy
Troy Perry is an American religious leader, gay rights and human rights activist, and founder of the Universal......
Persons Case
Persons Case, constitutional ruling that established the right of women to be appointed to the Senate of Canada.......
Pethick-Lawrence, Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence, Baron
Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence, Baron Pethick-Lawrence was a British politician who was a leader of the woman......
PFLAG
PFLAG, American organization representing the interests of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+)......
Phan Khoi
Phan Khoi was an intellectual leader who inspired a North Vietnamese variety of the Chinese Hundred Flowers Campaign,......
Philip, John
John Philip was a Scottish missionary in Southern Africa who championed the rights of the Africans against the......
Plato
Plato was an ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates (c. 470â399 bce), teacher of Aristotle (384â322 bce),......
Plessy, Homer
Homer Plessy was an American shoemaker who was best known as the plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case......
Poona Pact
Poona Pact, (September 24, 1932), agreement between Hindu leaders in India granting new rights to Dalits (low-caste......
Poor Peopleâs Campaign
Poor Peopleâs Campaign, political campaign that culminated in a demonstration held in Washington, D.C., in 1968,......
Powell, Adam Clayton, Jr.
Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was a black American public official and pastor who became a prominent liberal legislator......
Power, Samantha
Samantha Power is an American journalist, human rights scholar, and government official who served on the National......
Prague Spring
Prague Spring, brief period of economic and political liberalization in Czechoslovakia under Alexander DubÄek that......
Prague, Defenestration of
Defenestration of Prague, incident of Bohemian resistance to Habsburg authority that took place on May 23, 1618,......
Press Freedom in the 21st Century
On January 17, 2016, I was released from Evin Prison in Iran, where I had been detained for 544 days simply because......
Privacy Act of 1974
Privacy Act of 1974, U.S. legislation that restricts the dissemination of personal information about an individual......
privacy, rights of
rights of privacy, in U.S. law, an amalgam of principles embodied in the federal Constitution or recognized by......
PĂ©rez Esquivel, Adolfo
Adolfo PĂ©rez Esquivel is an Argentine sculptor and architect, who became a champion of human rights and nonviolent......
Quebec Act
Quebec Act, act of the British Parliament in 1774 that vested the government of Quebec in a governor and council......
Raby, Al
Al Raby was an African American civil rights activist, cochair of the Chicago Freedom Movement in the 1960s and......
Radical Republican
Radical Republican, during and after the American Civil War, a member of the Republican Party committed to emancipation......
Ram, Jagjivan
Jagjivan Ram was an Indian politician, government official, and longtime leading spokesman for the Dalits (formerly......
Ramos-Horta, José
José Ramos-Horta is an East Timorese political activist who, along with Bishop Carlos F.X. Belo, received the 1996......
Ramphele, Mamphela
Mamphela Ramphele is a South African activist, physician, academic, businesswoman, and political leader known for......
Randolph, A. Philip
A. Philip Randolph was a trade unionist and civil-rights leader who was an influential figure in the struggle for......
Rankin, Jeannette
Jeannette Rankin was the first woman member of the U.S. Congress, representing Montana in the House of Representatives......
Ransome-Kuti, Funmilayo
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a Nigerian feminist and political leader who was the leading advocate of womenâs rights......
Rashnu
Rashnu, in Zoroastrianism, the deity of justice, who with Mithra, the god of truth, and Sraosha, the god of religious......
Reagon, Bernice Johnson
Bernice Johnson Reagon is an African American musician and historian whose work ranged from African spirituals......
Reconstruction
Reconstruction, in U.S. history, the period (1865â77) that followed the American Civil War and during which attempts......
Reform Bill
Reform Bill, any of the British parliamentary bills that became acts in 1832, 1867, and 1884â85 and that expanded......
Remembering Malcolm X
Activist Malcolm X would have turned 90 years old on May 19, 2015. A passionate and gifted orator, Malcolm X rose......
Representation of the People Acts
Representation of the People Acts, (1918, 1928) parliamentary acts that expanded suffrage in Britain. The act of......
Reventlow, Christian Ditlev Frederik, Greve
Christian Ditlev Frederik, Greve (count) Reventlow was a Danish state official whose agrarian reforms led to the......
Ricci v. DeStefano
Ricci v. DeStefano, case alleging racial discrimination that was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 29,......
Richards, Cecile
Cecile Richards was an American activist and administrator who was president of the Planned Parenthood Federation......
Riding Freedom: 10 Milestones in U.S. Civil Rights History
On May 4, 1961, a group of seven African Americans and six white people left Washington, D.C., on the first Freedom......
right to repair
right to repair, legal concept that the owner of a piece of equipment, such as a vehicle or an electronic device,......
right, Petition of
Petition of right, legal petition asserting a right against the English crown, the most notable example being the......
Rights, Bill of
Bill of Rights, one of the basic instruments of the British constitution, the result of the long 17th-century struggle......
Rights, Bill of
Bill of Rights, in the United States, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which were adopted as a......
Rivera, Sylvia
Sylvia Rivera was an American civil rights activist who advocated for gay rights and was particularly influential......
Rizal, José
José Rizal was a patriot, physician, and man of letters who was an inspiration to the Philippine nationalist movement.......
Roberts, Ed
Ed Roberts was an American disability rights activist who is considered the founder of the independent-living movement......
Roberts, Owen Josephus
Owen Josephus Roberts was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1930â45). Roberts was......
Robinson, Harriet Jane Hanson
Harriet Jane Hanson Robinson was a writer and woman suffrage leader in the United States. Robinson was a mill operative......
Robinson, Mary
Mary Robinson is an Irish lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the first woman president of Ireland (1990â97).......
Robinson, Randall
Randall Robinson was an American writer and political activist who founded (1977) the TransAfrica Forum (now TransAfrica),......
Robinson, Rubye
Rubye Robinson was an American civil rights activist whose short life proved to be a powerful influence on the......
Roiphe, Anne
Anne Roiphe is an American feminist and author whose novels and nonfiction explore the conflicts between womenâs......
Romero, Ăscar, St
St. Ăscar Romero ; beatified May 23, 2015; canonized October 14, 2018; feast day March 24) was a Salvadoran Roman......
Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Birth of the Civil Rights Movement
On the evening of December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African American seamstress and civil rights activist......