Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes.

Charles Taylor resolves one of the issues that separate ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ theories of freedom, as these have been initially distinguished in Isaiah Berlin's seminal essay, ‘Two concepts of liberty'.

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals.

They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of society and the state without discrimination or repression.

Civil rights include the ensuring of peoples' physical and mental integrity, life, and safety; protection from discrimination on grounds such as sex, race, sexual orientation, national origin, color, age, political affiliation, ethnicity, social class, religion, and disability;and individual rights such as privacy and the freedom of thought, speech, religion, press, assembly, and movement.