Human rights

In this modern day of political correctness you are entering a controversial area when you discuss human rights. The reason is that human rights are being confused with civil rights, political rights and social rights. The dictionary definition of human rights is narrow and very precise. human right - (law) any basic right or freedom to which all human beings are entitled and in whose exercise a government may not interfere (including rights to life and liberty as well as freedom of thought and expression and equality before the law) Note the bold phrase as it is what keeps the other types of rights from being considered human rights as they are rights designed and implemented by government. The best example is the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which removed the, “separate but equal laws” that had placed restrictions on minorities. The most recent addition to this concept is the idea that health insurance is a civil right. A few years ago the idea that home ownership was a civil right gained popularity and resulted in giving loans to people who could not repay them. These ideas have now become politicized and therein lies the danger. Liberals say they are providing benefits and conservatives say they are creating dependency. If you are writing policy there is a thin line between being inclusive and being political. If I were you I would get some input from the legal department before you publish anything.