Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Human rights abuse refers to any violation or infringement upon the basic rights and freedoms that every individual is entitled to. It includes actions such as torture, discrimination, censorship, and unlawful detention.
Civil liberties are fundamental rights and freedoms granted to individuals by law, such as freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and privacy. Human rights abuses often involve violations of civil liberties.
Authoritarianism is a form of government characterized by strong central authority and limited political freedoms for citizens. Human rights abuses tend to be more prevalent in authoritarian regimes where individual liberties may be suppressed.
Genocide: Genocide refers to the deliberate extermination or systematic destruction of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group. It represents one extreme form of human rights abuse where mass killings occur based on identity-based discrimination.