The International Human Rights regime cannot be adequately grasped without an appreciation of its intimate relation to and reliance on international organizations. Before World War II, international law safeguarding human rights was sparse. States limited their legal obligations to declarations of intent and to a small quantity of conventions. The Nuremberg Trial and the 1945 United Nations (UN) Charter held centre stage in the human rights regime until 1948, when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

Many global and regional human rights conventions have since been concluded. Critics argue these did not make any actual difference in reality. Others contend that international regimes can improve respect for human rights in state parties, particularly in more democratic countries. However, this intricate web of organs, institutions and processes developed as a result of the UN, provided a window of opportunity to place human rights on the international legal agenda. In this regard, this paper will attempt to assess and analyse the efficacy of the UN in the promotion and enforcement of human rights norms.

The UN Charter contains many provisions pertaining to human rights that essentially internalize these rights. They impose obligations on member states to promote human rights and to cooperate with the UN, with an aspiration to define and codify those rights. The UDHR is a landmark achievement in the