What are Civil and Human Rights? Human rights are universal basic freedoms and privileges of all human beings regardless of irrelevant factors such as where people happen to live or their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or sex. Human rights are sometimes called "natural rights."   Under the umbrella of human rights are spokes of protection, privilege and personal power given to all citizens by law. These spokes, bestowed by nations on those within their territorial boundaries, are called “civil rights.”   In the United States, for example, civil rights are guaranteed in the Constitution, in the amendments to the Constitution in federal statutes, in state constitutions and statutes and even in the ordinances of counties and cities.   Examples of constitutionally-protected liberties in the United States include the right to free speech,  to gather in groups in public, to petition the government for action, to follow a religion of one’s choice, to speedy trial, and to be free from testifying against one’s self,  from searches without just cause and cruel and unusual punishments.   The United Steelworkers affirms its commitment to promote the cause of human rights and to erase all forms of discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, national origin, citizenship, gender, age, disability and sexual orientation.