The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has inspired a body of international human rights law. International law is defined as the system of rules regarding peace, war and neutrality which many nations consider binding in their relations with each other.

Among the most important are the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Both came into force in 1976.

Along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ICCPR and ICESCR comprise the “International Bill of Human Rights.”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was also the inspiration for the European Convention on Human Rights, one of the most important Conventions in the European Community. It was adopted in 1953 by the Council of Europe, a body now composed of 45 states and founded to strengthen human rights and promote democracy and the rule of law.

The Convention is enforced by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Another organization concerned with enforcement of human rights is the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE is an inter-governmental body which consists of more than 50 European countries, as well as the United States and Canada.

The OSCE has developed a series of treaties which have recognized the vital need for infusing human rights principles into agreements considered essential to resolving conflicts.

The Church of Scientology International’s Human Rights Office in Brussels is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) with the OSCE. Its staff regularly participate in human rights sessions organized by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE and other intergovernmental bodies and also organize regular roundtables and conferences on human rights themes.