Current Issues in Human Rights and International Relations

Despite the development in international relations following World War II, some critics of the international human rights movement maintain that human rights are not a proper subject of international concern. Among other things, these critics are concerned about the impact of the movement on traditional conceptions of national sovereignty. It is also argued that these organizations based their human rights values on the norms and standard of the industrialized states of Europe and North America. It is reasoned that for the developing countries where state making is the priority, they cannot afford to adopt liberal standards for it would run counter to state interests and will put state structure and institution in grave jeopardy.