Human rights are first of all ethical principles. They are ethical norms for the treatment of individuals. But human rights are also principles for action. For example, when human rights are worded in the passive in international instruments, such as "no one shall be subjected to torture", this also means that no one should torture. This is where I connect human rights with action
"human rights is about how we treat other people" --ArildV (talk) 15:57, 23 February 2013 (UTC)
"Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being.", Wikipedia.