His own writings during his tenure emphasized the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as an embodiment of the international conception of human rights . During his acceptance speech for the Humanist of the Year from the American Humanist Association in 2000 , he said " The fact is that the world community has never been able to agree upon the divine basis for human rights or a basis derived from natural law . But there is a third broad way to justify human rights which , while it does n't provide them with the status of God 's endorsement or nature 's sanction , does ground them in the human community . That third way goes by many names — pragmatism , communitarianism , and post-modernism among others — but is ultimately nothing more than an expression of the humanist impulse . " Also during his tenure , the increasing economic ties with China led to scrutiny and debate about China 's policies regarding human rights . During his testimony to the United States House , he criticized the increased use of the death penalty as well as the use of imprisonment and torture against democratic activists and ethnic and religious minorities . In particular in arguing against continued MFN status with China , he said " the message is clear , good trade relations in the midst of human rights violations is acceptable to the United States . " The events of the September 11 attacks , and the subsequent expansion of the United States counter-terrorism efforts were the subject of his 2003 book '' Tainted Legacy : 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights '' which finds him criticizing both the government 's use of torture , which he credits with inspiring terrorists , as well as some of his human rights activist colleagues for failing to frame terrorism and genocide as a human rights issues
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
William F. Schulz