The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States and the conflict in the Middle East brought to the fore, yet again, the fragile state of our civilization.

Violence and war never solved anything. What can we do to end the cycle of violence? How can reason and tolerance be made a reality?

There is, however, an alternative—one that offers a future of peace and stability if it is applied.

More than fifty years ago, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Soon after, the Declaration inspired the European Convention on Human Rights, one of the most important Conventions in the European Community.

The pages here are to help citizens become more familiar with these human rights covenants, and thus, democratic fundamentals, so that they may apply them to their lives.