President Obama gave these remarks on Nowruz, Persian new year, on March 20, 2012.

The UN General Assembly passed this resolution on February 16, 2012. The press release states, "Strongly condemning continued widespread and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities, the General Assembly today voted overwhelmingly to call on both the Government and allied forces and armed groups "to stop all violence or reprisals immediately".

Adopting an Arab-backed resolution by a recorded vote of 137 in favour to 12 against, with 17 abstentions, the Assembly expressed grave concern at the deteriorating situation in Syria, and condemned a raft of violations carried out by the authorities, such as the use of force against civilians, the killing and persecution of protestors and journalists, and sexual violence and ill-treatment, including against children."

Imre Nagy, prime minister and acting foreign minister of Hungary, sent this telegram on November 1, 1956 to diplomatic missions in Budapest, Hungary. Nagy asks for the withdrawal of Soviet troops, declaring Hungary's neutrality, and denounces the Warsaw Pact.

The UN Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons was adopted on September 28, 1954 and entered into force on June 6, 1960.

The UN released this press release on February 13, 2012; it describes the statement made by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, regarding Syria. Statements by UN delegations follow the her words.

The Darfur Genocide Accountability Act of 2005 (H.R. 1424) was a proposed bill to "impose sanctions against perpetrators of crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and for other purposes". It was introduced on March 17, 2005; the bill did not become law though parts of it appeared in the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (H.R. 3127/S. 1462), that was signed into law in 2006.

The U.S. Department of State released this statement regarding the suspension of embassy operations in Syria on February 6, 2012.

President Obama gave this statement on Syria on February 4, 2012.

Mark P. Lagon and William F. Schulz take a closer look at how liberals and conservatives understand and advance human rights and lay out options for creating a more unified human rights movement focused on resilience and creative policies rather than dogmatism.

Jerome A. Cohen and Jared Genser argue that the case of detained Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng demonstrates how far the Chinese government will go to suppress legitimate criticism by its citizens.

The United States submitted these observations on the relationship between climate change and human rights to the UN Human Rights Council in 2008. The observations were "requested by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in its communications dated June 3 and August 21, 2008…in accordance with Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution 7/23, in order to conduct "a detailed analytical study on the relationship between climate change and human rights."

The ILO Abolition of Forced Labor Convention of 1957 was adopted on June 25, 1957 by the General Conference of the International Labour Organisation and entered into force on January 17, 1959.

The Council of Europe Social Charter was opened for signature on October 18, 1961 and entered into force on February 26, 1965.

The Protocol amending the Slavery Convention was adopted as UN General Assembly resolution 794 on October 23, 1953. It was signed on September 25, 1926 and entered into force on December 7, 1953.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote his theological treatise, Summa Theologica, from 1265 to 1274. This section deals with which actions, in war, are lawful and unlawful.

The UN Global Compact was launched on July 26, 2000 with nine principles. A tenth was added on June 24, 2004. The UN states, "The UN Global Compact's ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption enjoy universal consensus and are derived from The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The International Labour Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and The United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

The UN Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption."

This proposed anti-homosexualitybill was introduced in Uganda's Parliament in October 2009; among its provisions, it states that "A person who commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality shall be liable on conviction to suffer death." The bill has not been voted upon.

Secretary of State Clinton gave these remarks on internet freedom on December 8, 2011.

Secretary of State Clinton gave these remarks on International Human Rights Day, December 6, 2011, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave these remarks with Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon, Burma on December 2, 2011.