Human rights can mean different things to different people, but perhaps the best way of defining human rights is to refer to the body of international human rights law that has come into being over the past five decades. Today, there are literally thousands of ratifications to dozens of human rights treaties—coming out of every region of the world. Solemn declarations by political leaders and others reinforce this international legal regime, and there are numerous institutions that have been created to oversee its implementation. The most broadly based treaties are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights—each of which has been ratified by approximately 150 countries. Regional human rights systems exist in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Other more specialized treaties deal with human rights violations that center on racial discrimination,...