human rights

Abduction refers to the criminal taking or capture of an individual against their will or without their consent, generally by means of persuasion, fraud or force.

Abuse is an action that intentionally causes harm or injures another person. This can refer to physical abuse, psychological abuse, mental abuse, or child abuse (see below). 

Abuse is also to misuse something—e.g., abuse of process. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an organization founded in 1920, with the mission of defending and preserving the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The ACLU currently has more than 1.7 million members, 500 staff attorneys, thousands of volunteer attorneys, and several offices throughout the United States. 

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Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) was passed by the 107th Congress “to deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, provide for an effective death penalty, and for other purposes.” To accomplish this goal, some of the AEDPA provisions include increasing penalties for crimes involving explosives or terroris

• AEDPA

Generally, biological experiments are experiments conducted on people without their consent; however, they are defined contextually based on what is occurring in the present situation. For instance, in Perez v. Sharp, the forced sterilization of criminals was considered a biological experiment.

Birthright citizenship is the principle that all people born in a territory of a state automatically become citizens of that territory with a few limited exceptions.

See Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

[Last reviewed in December of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a form of criminal punishment in which a convicted criminal is put to death by the State as a

Child pornography (CP) is any sexual depiction of a minor. Title 18, Section 2256 of the U.S. Code defines child pornography as “any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means . . .

Civil liberties are freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution (primarily from the First Amendment). They are natural rights that are inherent to each person. While they are commonly referred to as "rights," civil liberties operate as restraints on how the government can treat individuals under its jurisdiction.