Human rights are universal
The most important contribution of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations general assembly 60 years ago, on Dec 10, 1948, was to assert a powerful idea: rights are universal. Rights do not depend on membership of a particular community or citizenship in a certain state. They are not derived from a social contract.
Rather, because rights are universal, they are attributes of all human beings. Indeed, they are part of what makes us human. Each of us may enjoy rights. Those who exercise power may do so only in limited ways. The limits are set by rights.
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America's goal to advance human rights globally has become tainted by questionable actions that increasingly depict its administration as abusers.
The invasion of Iraq is far from over, but America's thoughts are already turning to the question of bringing war criminals to justice
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It should ensure that its own backyard is clean.
Amnesty for Saddam Hussein seems intolerable but condemning thousands to death in order to be able to punish him is intolerable too.