The relationship between democracy and human rights is a deeply debated topic, as both are contested concepts with disputed definitions. Historically, human rights evolved from citizenship rights into universal entitlements, and scholar Todd Landman notes they share principles like accountability, inclusion, and non-violent conflict resolution. While the European Convention on Human Rights (Protocol 1, Article 3) explicitly guarantees free elections as a right, not all theorists accept democracy itself as a human right. Conversely, many argue that a limited protection of civil and political rights is necessary for democracy to function, though a "separationist" view holds that the two can exist independently. A key tension arises because popular democratic policies may not always protect the rights of non-citizens or minorities. Ultimately, the relationship ranges from mutual support to inherent conflict, depending on how each concept is defined.