Menschenrechte

That people, by virtue of their humanity, have certain rights - freedom, the right to physical integrity, or the right to education - seems self-evident to us. Nevertheless, these rights are repeatedly violated. Matthias Koenig describes how the idea of human rights originated and was gradually institutionalized since the American and French Revolutions - initially in national constitutions, and later in the international human rights protection of the United Nations. He explains how and by whom human rights violations are sanctioned, discusses the normative justifications of human rights, and presents the arguments that are raised in intercultural debates about the content of human rights, their universal applicability, and their political enforceability.