Human Rights aim to secure for all individuals the necessary conditions to lead a minimally good life. They are a set of moral and legal guidelines that allow recognition and respect people's dignity by promoting, and protecting, recognition of individuals' values, identity and ability to ensure an adequate standard of living. The ultimate validity of human rights is recognized to be non-conditional and supra-national.

Public authorities, national and international, are responsible to ensure that all human beings are given the basic conditions to enjoy a human life in dignity. UN Member States, by adhering to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, gradually, to the whole body of UN human rights documents, recognize that human rights come before the consideration of strict national sovereignty.

One of the main features of international human rights law is the principle of universality, settled by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Human rights are not only universal but also inalienable, meaning that no one should be deprived of them except in specific situations and according to due process.

Human rights are also indivisible, interrelated and interdependent. They are all linked together, meaning that the improvement and promotion of one right lets the others advance, while the privation of any of them affects the others.

Fundamental principle of human rights law is non-discrimination, meaning that they belong to every human being whichever their color, ethnic group, sex, religion or other personal features and beliefs are (article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) . The principle of non-discrimination goes together with the principle of equality between all the human beings (article 1).

Human rights imply also obligations. While States have the obligation to respect, protect and fulfill human rights, individuals have the obligation to respect other peoples' rights in order to reach full achievement of human rights for all.