It has been over 50 years since the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed by most governments in the world and yet the abuses continue to grow.
Freedom of Speech and Human Rights are taken for granted in the west, but recent years have seen conditions deteriorate around the world. As early as 1997 for example, Human Rights conditions were reported to remain unchanged compared to previous years, or in some countries, actually worsen, around the world. In 1998 for example, the UN reported that even though over a hundred governments had agreed to help outlaw some of the worse violations of rights, torture was still on the increase.
As the “New World Order” marched on towards the new century it did not look as bright and cheerful for most peopleas we would have imagined, or hoped, it to be.
With the war on terror triggered by the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, the situation for human rights seems to have deteriorated, with not only terrorists committing human rights violations, but also powerful governments who are sacrificing rights for security. Amnesty International, in its 2004 report noted the set back for international values of human rights:
