ABSTRACT
Whereas previous eras developed international human rights incrementally, albeit in fits and starts, a new urgency emerged after World War II. Human rights were so massively violated during the war, notably by the mistreatment of civilians, that stern measures after the war seemed imperative. Otherwise, to paraphrase Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson (1892-1954) in his opening statement at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, civilization itself would not survive.
