Precisely because citizenship rights have
been historically tied to the nation-state, it is
often thought that the rights of aboriginal
and native groups, stateless people, refugees
and children may be better served by human
than by social (citizenship) rights. Aboriginal
rights against postcolonial states are the
typical example. In Australia, the doctrine of
terra nullius meant that after 1788 the
Aborigines became invisible and were treated
as de facto migrants who could only claim
rights as aliens. In the twentieth century,
international legal institutions were often
pitted against the state under the banner of
human rights legislation to protect the rights
of people who were not covered by a state.
Similarly, people who were in conflict with
a nation-state which they did not recognize
as having legal jurisdiction would often
appeal to human rights as a form of protection.
For example, the British government
has been frequently embarrassed by human
rights criticism of its actions in Northern
Ireland against the IRA and other nationalist
groups.