Th e implementation of human rights is in crisis world-wide. Th e annual reports of Amnesty International , Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations continue to reveal widespread gross violations of human rights in numerous countries the world over. Democracy is non-existent or a sham in many countries. National resources are squandered by despotic rulers instead of being used to satisfy the basic economic and social needs of their people. Corruption is rife. Th e judiciary lacks the strength, the means, or the will to protect human rights in many places. National human rights institutions are non-existent or non-performing in a number of cases. Countries ratify human rights treaties without making the slightest attempt to give eff ect to them. Self-righteous representatives gather in the halls of the United Nations and use their majorities to insist that countries grossly violating human rights be treated with kid gloves through dialogue and cooperation, instead of through forthright condemnation of atrocities. Th e UN Human Rights Council does little for the actual protection of human rights, and its Universal Periodic Reporting Process, for the time being, lacks teeth. Th e situation is dire.