Human rights claims are based upon the idea that all humans possess the same basic rights, no matter what their differences are, and that these rights put us in a reciprocal relationship of obligation to one another. Since human rights are the common birthright of every human being, respect is owed to all. Yet despite the widespread nature of this ideal, human rights are still widely denied, evaded, or ignored around the world.

In World Report 2013, the largest human rights organization in the United States presents its 23rd annual review of practices in more than 90 countries and territories around the globe. Here is what Human Rights Watch seeks to do:

• "Stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice."

• "Investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable."

• "Challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law."

• "Enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all."

In a thought-provoking essay, Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, ponders the events in the Middle East and North Africa known as the Arab Spring. He notes the difficulties in the region in building a right-respecting state and concludes "the path ahead may be treacherous, but the alternative is to consign entire countries to a grim future of oppression."

Other threats to human rights are addressed in three essays:

• "Without Rules: A Failed Approach to Corporate Accountability" by Chris Albin-Lackey examines the need to protect workers and others affected in dire ways by the lack of regulation of corporate actions in their own self-interest.

• "Lives in the Balance: The Human Cost of Environmental Neglect" by Juliane Kippenberg and June Cohen probes the destructiveness unleashed on citizens when governments respond to environmental crises.

• "The Trouble with Tradition: When 'Values' Trample over Rights" by Graeme Reid looks at ways in which the old way of doing things often leads to the denial of women's human rights.

These pieces are followed by photo essays from Nigeria, Russia, and Greece.