ABSTRACT
The inability of governments to achieve a maximization of human rights objectives should not be surprising, for the most elementary concept of human rights requires by its very nature a diminution of state power. Individuals did not become subjects of international law until the creation of the United Nations and the proclamation of the Universal Declaration along with the Genocide Convention. Henry Kissinger 's main contribution to the cause of international human rights was Basket Three of the Helsinki Agreement, more properly designated as the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Excluding the European community, which one might argue is actually undergoing a slow but perceptible process of political unification – at least in a federal sense – the success of human rights doctrines is largely due to a combination of government pressures, public opinion, and moral suasion.
