Civil and political rights are a class ofrights that protectindividuals'freedom from infringement bygovernments,social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of society and thestate.
The phrase "civil rights" is a translation of Latinjus civis (right of the citizen). Roman citizens could be either free (libertas) or servile (servitus), but they all had rights in law.[3] After theEdict of Milan in 313, these rights included the freedom of religion; however, in 380, theEdict of Thessalonica required all subjects of the Roman Empire to profess Nicene Christianity.[4] 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 ofKett's Rebellion (1549), "all bond men may be made free, for God made all free with his precious blood-shedding."[5]
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 theHouse of Commons, support for civil rights was divided, with many politicians agreeing with the existing civil disabilities of Catholics. TheRoman Catholic Relief Act 1829 restored their civil rights.[7]
In the United States, the term civil rights has been associated with thecivil rights movement (1954–1968), which fought against racism.[8] 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.[9] The civil rights movement was also not the only movement fighting for civil rights as The Black Panthers were also 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 the bathroom of his choice is a well known case in these civil right fights.[10]
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 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.[11]
The question of to whom civil and political rights apply is a subject of controversy. Although in many countriescitizens 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 allpersons. One thing to mention 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.[12] 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 the risk of political violence breaking out.[13]
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.[14]
TheUnited States Declaration of Independence states that people have unalienable rights including "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness". It is considered by some that the sole purpose of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property.[15]
Civil rights guarantee equal protection under the law. When civil and political rights are not guaranteed to all as part of equal protection oflaws, or when such guarantees exist on paper but are not respected in practice, opposition, legal action and evensocial unrest may ensue.
Worldwide, severalpolitical movements forequality before 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:
thecivil rights movement in the United States, where rights of black citizens had been violated;
Most civil rights movements relied on the technique ofcivil resistance, usingnonviolent methods to achieve their aims.[26] In some countries, struggles for civil rights were accompanied, or followed, bycivil 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 the government intervene to protect individuals from infringement on their rights by otherindividuals, or fromcorporations—e.g., in what way shouldemployment discrimination in theprivate sector be dealt with?
There are current organizations that exist to protect people's civil and political rights in case they are infringed upon. TheACLU, founded in 1920, is a well-known non-profit organization that helps to preserve freedom of speech and works to change policy.[29] Another organization is theNAACP, 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 theAFL–CIO, which is America's union that represent the working-class people nationwide.[30]
^A useful survey is Paul Sieghart,The Lawful Rights of Mankind: An Introduction to the International Legal Code of Human Rights, Oxford University Press, 1985.
^Mears, T. Lambert,Analysis of M. Ortolan's Institutes of Justinian, Including the History and, p. 75.
^Fahlbusch, Erwin and Geoffrey William Bromiley,The encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 4, p. 703.
^"Signatures to the Seneca Falls Convention 'Declaration of Sentiments'". American History Online, Facts On File, Inc.
^Cullen-DuPont, Kathryn. "Declaration of Rights and Sentiments".Encyclopedia of Women's History in America, 2nd ed. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2000. American History Online.[ISBN missing][page needed]
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Global Freedom Struggle ~ an online multimedia encyclopedia presented by the King Institute at Stanford University, includes information on over 1000 civil rights movement figures, events and organizations
Arnold, Eric K. "The BLM Effect: Hashtags, History and Race." Race, Poverty & the Environment, vol. 21, no. 2, 2017, pp. 8–15. JSTOR,The BLM Effect: Hashtags, History and Race. Accessed 11 Apr. 2023.
Estes, Carroll L. "Women's Rights, Women's Status, Women's Resistance in the Age of Trump." Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, vol. 41, no. 4, 2017, pp. 36–44. JSTOR,Women's Rights, Women's Status, Women's Resistance in the Age of Trump. Accessed 11 Apr. 2023.
