Can Groups Have Human Rights?

Janna Thompson (La Trobe University)

Abstract:  Some groups possess legal rights. Groups can acquire moral rights and duties as the result of their agreements or actions. Groups may also possess rights that are justified by their political circumstances. Recognizing such rights might be the best way of ensuring that their members are treated as equal citizens. But can any group claim a human right? Can it claim, for example, a right to self-determination that has an equivalent meaning and force as an individual’s right to life and liberty? In this essay I will present and examine a fundamental objection to group rights as human rights. By showing how this argument can be refuted, I will demonstrate how human rights can be defended for groups of some kind.