Natural Law Principles
The concept of human rights is deeply rooted in the idea of ‘natural law’. Natural law comes from the moral principles common 
to all people by virtue of their spiritual or rational nature as human beings.
Natural law is seen by some people as coming from God, though others (like the philosopher Kant) see it as deriving from pure reason. What makes us special is our reason, and our treatment should be determined by the principles of pure reason.
Natural law assumes that there are underlying rational principles of justice and morality that are universal in their nature, and apply in all societies and at any time in history.