rights
the attribution of prerogatives to a person or persons as belonging
properly to them. Their source may derived from being granted in law by an agreed contract between the parties concerned, as in the case of borrowings and purchases, employment, education and health care. Commercial companies, local authorities, and governments all accept the responsibilities of meeting specified contractual obligations. A broader range of 'human rights' was affirmed by the international community in 1948, with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the UN. This has been incorporated in the laws of the European Community, and is in process of being internalised by its national governments. Such rights are specified in the constitution of the United States, as belonging to all its citizens. Not all countries support this notion. For instance, for somewhat different reasons, a political ideology (eg communism) or a religious frame of reference (eg some manifestations of Islam) may give less priority to an individual's position than to that of the community to which s/he belongs. An older tradition, sometimes referring to 'natural rights', has also existed, in which the rights are seen as inalienably human and God-given. Such is the 'Noachic Covenant' (deriving from Noah) tradition, which embraces all humanity and ' every living thing'. In this perspective, certain responsibilities follow for people to live with. The notion of animal rights has been given much attention in recent years. They are derived from consensual agreement on the part of society generally, as it were extending the circle of human recognition to other animal species. Alternatively, they may derive from some form of religious justification. Whatever the source, there is dispute over which living entities are included (rats? fish? mosquitoes?) and the extent of the rights accorded to them (food? conducive environment? survival?).