When a government violates national or international law related to the protection of human rights, this is termed a human rights violation.

When a violent opposition group carries out a similar action, this is termed a human rights abuse.

The different terminology is used because violent opposition groups in general have not, in a formal legal sense, committed themselves to obeying human rights law, though most governments have committed themselves, in theory, to protecting human rights.

Human rights violations and abuses most often thought of under the term human rights violations include those documented by organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

See also: Human rights in China, Human rights in the United States