The primary emphasis of many of the organizations listed here is to advocate on behalf of victims of human rights violations. These violations may include war crimes, torture, slavery, denial of basic needs for survival, ethnic discrimination or denial of self-determination (e.g. apartheid). Almost all countries in the world today have ratified the principle international treaties of international human rights and humanitarian (armed conflict) law. In the case of grave breaches, there is no statute of limitations for prosecution of the perpetrators and they may be apprehended in any country they visit, even if they are government officials.

However, the laws are only as good as their enforcement. In addition to the more recently formed international tribunals, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights oversees this huge task of enforcement. Eleanor Roosevelt was instrumental in giving birth to the U.N. commission, along with the Frenchman Rene Cassin, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for authoring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Today, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights draws considerable attention from governments, many of whom are anxious to minimize their liability for violations. Their delegates engage in damage control lobbying each year at the sessions in March and August, held at the U.N. offices in Geneva. It is only thanks to the efforts of nongovernmental organizations (NGO's ), along with a few socially conscious governments, that resolutions continue to be adopted condemning human rights violators. Although progress through the committees moves slow, such resolutions occasionally lead to action by the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council. For instance, U.N. intervention in the war in El Salvador, during the 1980's, led to an end to that conflict when rebelling factions became part of the government. The Commission also played a role in bringing about an end to apartheid in South Africa, and had in recent years pressed for an end to crippling economic sanctions targetted against the civilian population of Iraq. In this last endeavor, the commission failed, and sanctions were only lifted after the U.S. invasion. In the case of genocide in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Darfur, as well as Israel's occupation of Palestinian region, the commission has been woefully ineffective in stimulating any action.

TheU.N. Commission on Human Rights official website contains a searchable database of reports, resolutions and other documents relating to its activities