Rights places an obligation on states to act in certain kind of ways.

a. It indicates what a state must do and when should be done.

Example: Right to life ensures citizens to live safely and freely, and if someone harm citizens and prohibit their right then it becomes duty of the state to punish the person.

Right to Life also means right to good quality of life and it is the responsibility of state to pursue policies that may be necessary for healthy life.

b. Rights also indicates what state must not do.

Example: Right to liberty given to a person suggest that state cannot simply arrest anyone on its own will. Hence police required to provide the proofs in case of arrest.

c. Rights ensure that the authority of the state is exercised without violating the sanctity of individual life and liberty. The laws it makes may be enforced with force, but the sovereign state exists not for its own sake but for the sake of the individual.