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Human rights were an important concept in Human philosophy, surviving even in the interspecies culture of the Federation.

Trip Tucker argued in 2153 that the poor treatment of Cogenitors in Vissian culture was a question of Human rights, an concern which T'Pol countered by saying the Vissians were not Human, and that his outspokenness on the matter might hamper their captain's efforts to build a productive relationship with the species. (ENT: "Cogenitor")

According to Samuel T. Cogley such important texts as the Bible, the Code of Hammurabi and of Justinian, the Magna Carta,the Constitution of the United States, the Fundamental Declarations of the Martian colonies, the Statutes of Alpha III all spoke of rights, including the rights of the accused to a trial by his peers, to be represented by counsel, the rights of cross-examination, and the right to be confronted by the witnesses against him. During the 2267 court martial of James T. Kirk, he claimed that the last right had been violated because the USS Enterprise computer log had not been consulted. (TOS: "Court Martial")

It was the Federation's position that all planets had a sovereign claim to inalienable Human rights. In 2293, in the days preceding the Khitomer Conference, this position was criticized by Azetbur, daughter of the Klingon Chancellor and soon to be chancellor herself, as racist. She alleged that the term was symptomatic of the Federation being a Homo Sapiens-only club, and the coming annihilation of the Klingon culture should they cooperate with the Federation. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

The Federation Charter, while using text taken from the UN charter, more inclusively changed "fundamental Human rights" to say "the fundamental rights of sentient beings".

In 2368, while the USS Enterprise-D was dealing with the crisis at Moab IV, Jean-Luc Picard argued that refusing those who wanted to leave the colony to do so would violate their Human rights. (TNG: "The Masterpiece Society")

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