Define It
acronym noun: a word formed from the first letters of a series of words -- NGO is an
acronym for non-governmental organization
affirmative action noun (1965): an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities
of members of minority groups and women
alien noun (14th century) [Latin alienus & alius: different, other]:
a foreign-born resident who has not become a citizen see naturalize
asylum noun [Greek asulon: sanctuary]: a place that provides protection and safety
civil liberty noun (1644): freedom from an arbitrary denial of rights by the government
civil rights noun (1721): rights regarding personal liberty; a citizen's nonpolitical rights;
see political rights
codify verb (1800): to establish a rule or custom as a law; especially, to put international
into written form
collective rights noun: rights that apply to a group of people to protect its interests
and identity
convention noun (15th century): a binding agreement between countries; synonymous with
treaty and covenant; a declaration is less binding
covenant noun: (14th century): a binding agreement between countries; synonymous with
treaty and covenant; a declaration is less binding
country of first asylum noun: a nation that has granted asylum
to a refugee while that person considers more permanent asylum in another country
cultural relativism noun: the idea that all cultures are equally worthy of respect, that no one culture is superior to another; see ethnocentrism
cultural rights noun: rights that allow a person to participate in, preserve and develop
her or his cultural identity
custody noun (15th century) [Latin custos: guarding]: immediate charge and control
of a criminal suspect or detainee
customary international law noun: a body of unwritten law that is binding
on nations because enough nations accept the custom as if it were international law
declaration noun: a sincere but nonbinding statement of opinion or intent;
a convention, covenant or treaty expresses the same idea but is binding law
between countries
deport verb (1598) [Latin de- + portare: carry away]: to force a person
to leave a country
detain verb [Latin de- + tenere: to hold]: to hold a person in
custody without charging a crime; to hold an alien while authorities decide on
deportation
detainee noun (ca. 1928): a person held in custody , usually for
political reasons; or, an alien awaiting a decision from authorities as to whether
he or she will be allowed to stay or will be deported
disappear verb: to remove a dissident or other person from sight; disappearances
are usually carried out by the government, and "the disappeared" are often held in secret prisons
or killed and their bodies anonymously buried
displaced person noun (ca. 1944): a person who has been forced by conditions of
war or natural disaster to seek refuge elsewhere in her or his own country; see
refugee
dissident noun (1534) [Latin dis- + sedere: to sit apart, to disagree]:
a person who disagrees with the government
economic rights noun: rights that allow a person to participate in the economic life of his or her
country
emigrate verb (1778) [Latin e- + migrare: to move out]: to leave
one's home country; see immigrate and immigrant
environmental rights noun: rights that promote living in a safe and healthy environment
ethnocentrism noun (ca. 1890): the idea that one's own culture or country is superior to all others, and that this superiority allows it to impose its values on other cultures; see cultural relativism
exile noun (14th century): forced removal from one's home country
forced repatriation noun: the act of forcing a refugee
to return to her or his country of origin, citizenship or allegiance
genocide noun (1944): the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic or political group
grass roots movement (1880): people working at a local level to achieve
specific political or social change, or any non-governmental movement that monitors
governments to ensure that those governments are abiding international law, the human
rights framework or other codes of conduct
green card noun (1969): an identity card that grants a person the right to live in the
United States
home country noun: a person's country of birth, citizenship or allegiance; see indigenous and country of first asylum
homophobia noun (1969) [Latin homo: man + Greek phebesthai:
fright]: irrational fear of homosexuals or homosexuality
human rights: all the rights entitled to people by virtue of the fact that they are
human; a synonym of natural rights
human rights framework: that set of all human rights documents and the ideas that support
those documents, such as interdependence and universality
immigrant noun (1789): a person who comes from another country to reside in a new
country
immigrate verb (ca. 1623) [Latin in- + migrare: to move in]: to enter into
a new country; see emigrate and immigrant
inalienable: adjective (1645) [French in- + alienable: not alienable]:
incapable of being surrendered; inalienable rights belong to all abd cannot be taken away
under any circumstances; see The Declaration of Independence
indigenous adjective (1646) [Latin indigena: native]: native; indigenous
peoples are those who are the original or natural inhabitants of a country
indivisible adjective (14th century) [Latin in- + divibilis: not divisible]:
not divisible; rights are indivisible in that they are equal in importance: one cannot deny
a person a right because that right is considered less important
interdependence noun: a relationship between things or ideas such that they cannot be separated; rights are interdependent in that denying one right means that related rights are consequently also denied
international law noun (ca.1828): a body of rules that control or affect
the rights of nations in their relations with each other; see customary
international law
legal rights noun: rights established by law and that can be defended in a court of law
member states noun: nations that are members of the United Nations
migrate verb [Greek ameibein: to change]: to move from one country to
another
migrant noun: a person who has moved from one country to another
naturalize verb: to grant citizenship to an immigrant
natural rights noun: all the rights entitled to people by virtue of the fact that they are
human; a synonym of human rights
NGO noun: acronym for non-governmental
organization: NGOs are formed by grass roots movements to
address human needs and conditions such as poverty, education, malnutrition, all manner
of rights and the needs of particular abused populations
nonbinding adjective: having no legal bearing; a nonbinding statement is one
of opinion, intent or moral end, but does not have the weight of a law; see declaration, convention,
covenant, and treaty
political rights noun rights that allow a citizen to participate in the political life of
his or her country; see civil rights
protocol noun (1541) [Greek prot- + kollan: (roughly) first page, as in
the first draft of a list, law or guideline]: a treaty that adds specfics to an existing treaty
ratify verb (14th century) [Latin ratus: determined]: to confirm, to
formally approve; when a state ratifies a treaty, it agrees to
uphold the rights in that treaty and abide by the intent of the treaty
refoulement noun: the situation in which a refugee is forced to return
to her or his home country even though that person has a reasonable fear of being unjustly
mistreated; see forced repatriation
refuge noun (14th century) [Latin re- + fugere: to escape]: a place of
shelter and protection from danger or distress
refugee noun (1685) [Latin refugium: refuge]: a person who has fled to
another country, usually because he or she fears persecution in the home country
repatriate verb (ca. 1611) [Latin repatriare to go back
to one's country]: to return a person back to his or her own country of origin,
citizenship or allegiance; see forced repatriation
reservation an official statement from a member nation (or states party) of the United Nations
that that nation disagrees with a specific aspect of a treaty that is otherwise accepted
resettlement noun: the process of settling refugees from a
country of first asylum to a more permanent asylum country
resettlement camp noun: a place in a country of first
asylum where refugees wait until they can move to a country of permanent residency
resident alien noun: a foreign person who has been granted the right to live and work in the
United States; see green card
sanctuary noun (14th century) [Latin sanctus: sacred] a place of
refuge and protection
self-determination (ca. 1680): free choice; a decision by the people of a territorial unit
to establish their own political structure, especially without pressures from other governments
and concerns
signatory noun: a government bound with others by a signed
convention
social rights rights to social security such as food, shelter and health care;
related to economic rights
state noun: a political unit that has a fixed territory and a system
of government; often a synonym of nation and country
states party a country that has agreed to (has ratified) a
convention of the United Nations
treaty noun [Latin tractare: to treat]: a binding agreement between
countries; synonymous with convention and covenant; a declaration is less binding
xenophobia noun (1903) [Greek xeno stranger, foreigner + phebesthai fright]:
fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners
universality noun (14th century) [Latin universalis: universe]: existing everywhere under all conditions; the universality of rights means that they apply to all cultures throughout time -- these rights should not be denied anywhere at any time
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