"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brother- hood." - Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.
Extra-judicial executions were reported in at least 69 countries last year; disappearances have left the fate of hundreds of thou- sands of people in at least 39 countries unknown . . . - Amnesty International report "I think I can be a bridge-builder . . . I do intend to stand up to the bullies." - Mary Robinson, speaking after taking up the post of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Fifty years ago next December, a world weary of "barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind" signed up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
But as the above quotations show, the barbarity singled out in the preamble of the Declaration continues.
The scale of the task facing Mrs Robinson is staggering. As Des O'Malley has predicted, she will be "internationally reviled" if she proves to be as effective in her new job as she was as President.
"Where major economic and political interests are at stake, almost every state will employ any sophistry to justify the infringement of human rights," he says.
And it isn't just the Saddams and the Kim Il-Jongs of this world who break the rules. As Salman Rushdie wrote this year, when ideals come up against "the powerful banalities of what is called `reality' - trade, money, guns, power - then it's freedom that takes a dive".
Mrs Robinson has already run into a few bullies, and found that they tend to punch their weight. The Algerian government screamed hysterically every time she dared to criticise its appalling human rights record.
By this month, though, the new High Commissioner showed she had learned a trick or two about international politics. After three feel-good visits to Rwanda when she was President, the last thing the regime there expected from her was criticism.
But the powers in Kigali were clearly taken aback by the stinging rebuke she delivered before leaving the country.
The UN's Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda (HRFOR) has found its way blocked at every turn. Earlier this year, five of its field monitors were murdered in the east of the country.
Across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it's the same story. The UN team investigating mass killings of Rwandan Hutu refugees during the civil war this year has been repeatedly obstructed.
The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, said earlier this month that it was the "universality" of human rights that gave them their strength. But with the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration about to begin, there is anything but unanimity about a definition of the concept.
Newly prosperous Asian nations in particular argue the merits of economic improvements over individual political freedoms.Mrs Robinson has tried to bridge this divide by stressing economic, cultural and developmental rights as well as political freedoms. China's achievement in taking 200 million people out of absolute poverty has to be set against its treatment of dissidents or its occupation of Tibet, her advisers say.
This approach, however, has drawn accusations that she is "soft-pedalling" on human rights from the more hawkish elements in Western politics.
Faced with the awesome size and power of China, European resolve seems to crumble. The EU is divided on whether to take a tough line on human rights, and faces another embarrassing split when the issue is voted upon at the Human Rights Commission next year.
Against smaller offenders such as Myanmar/Burma, the West has acted with greater determination. But even here, it took an undercover television crew to reveal that Dunnes Stores was selling shirts made in a military-run factory in the country.
In Ireland, the new Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Liz O'Donnell, has added human rights explicitly to her brief. The coming year will see many events organised to celebrate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration. But the task facing Mrs Robinson, Ms O'Donnell and other leaders will be to move beyond the platitudes and take meaningful action to reduce human rights violations.