Civil and political rights

In the United States, civil and political rights are a class of rights that safeguard an individual's freedom from violation by the government, social organisations, and private persons, respectively. They protect one's right to engage in the civic and political life of society and the state without fear of being discriminated against or repressed by authorities.

In addition to ensuring people's physical and mental integrity, as well as their lives and safety, civil rights also include protection from discrimination on the basis of sex; race; sexual orientation; national origin; colour; age; political affiliation; ethnicity; social class; religion and disability; and individual rights such as privacy and the freedoms of thought, speech; religion; press; assembly; and movement.

Political rights include natural justice (procedural fairness) in the law, such as the rights of the accused, including the right to a fair trial; due process; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy; and rights of participation in civil society and politics, such as freedom of association, the right to assemble, the right to petition, the right to self-defense, and the right to vote. Natural justice (procedural fairness) in the law includes the rights of the accused, including the right

Civil and political rights are the foundational and most important component of international human rights protection. They make up the first section of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (with economic, social, and cultural rights comprising the second portion). The theory of three generations of human rights considers this category of rights to be "first-generation rights," and the theory of negative and positive rights believes them to be "usually negative rights," according to the theory of negative and positive rights.