Human rights
Human rights is an intellectual concept that everyone has specific privileges simply because they are human beings.
The U.S. Declaration of Independence says that people are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." [1]
This is based on the statement that every man is entitled to "life, liberty and the pursuit of property", but was altered to "happiness" to avoid conflicts with slavery (slaves could not own property).
The United Nations and Amnesty International have developed a list of some thirty human rights they deem inherent and inviolable.[2] However, a number of totalitarian regimes continue to violate human rights, even when they've ratified the list.