Human rights play a crucial role in today's international relations. They provide standards to which states must conform when dealing with their own citizens. Non-governmental human rights organizations remind states of their obligations in that field. Without this, human rights would have drifted to the bottom of the international agenda.

The United Nations: Reality and Ideal examines the structure, operation and history of the United Nations. It explains the historical roots of the UN system and its legal and organizational structures and sets out what the organization and its partners do in relation to major global events and issues. This revised and updated edition gives extended attention to peace-maintenance, human rights and economic and social development and examines the special position of the United States.

The United Nations: Reality and Ideal examines the structure, operation and history of the United Nations. It explains the historical roots of the UN system and its legal and organizational structures and sets out what the organization and its partners do in relation to major global events and issues. This revised and updated edition gives extended attention to peace-maintenance, human rights and economic and social development and examines the special position of the United States.

Governments use human rights both as a tool and as an objective of foreign policy. "The Role of Human Rights in Foreign Policy" analyzes conflicting policy goals such as peace and security, economic relations and development cooperation. The use of diplomatic, economic and military means is discussed, together with the role of state actors, intergovernmental organizations and non-state actors.

Governments use human rights both as a tool and as an objective of foreign policy. "The Role of Human Rights in Foreign Policy" analyzes conflicting policy goals such as peace and security, economic relations and development cooperation. The use of diplomatic, economic and military means is discussed, together with the role of state actors, intergovernmental organizations and non-state actors.

Peter R. Baehr discusses the political features and legal aspects of human rights. Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, a great number of international treaties and declarations have seen the light. Non-governmental organizations provide reliable information about violations of human rights. In some parts of the world there are regional supervision mechanisms citizens can turn to when domestic remedies have been exhausted. International criminal tribunals, on the former Yugoslavia and on Rwanda, and truth and reconciliation commissions have been established to implement international humanitarianism and human rights law. However, for many international treaties and declarations, implementation is deficient. Many states, especially in Asia, pay lip service to the universal validity of human rights, but see their supervision as a chiefly domestic affair.