This article deals with the issue of the growing international recognition of human rights, as of the end of the Second World War, and discusses the effects of this process on international politics. In general terms, arguments on the role of human rights within international politics are split between those who believe they are a mere rhetoric masking private interests and those who see them as havingthe potential to transform the international order. Within the current context in which the adoption of stronger coercitive measures for the protection of human rights, such as humanitarian intervention, is under discussion, this issue becomes increasingly complex and all the more pressing.
human rights; humanitarian interventions; international politics; UN