Costa Rican president Jose Figueres proclaimed that the development of human rights in the post-World War II era made it “the best spent period in the history of mankind,” and many scholars have extended that, characterizing the last 250 years of history as bringing a revolution in human rights around the world. Would you agree or disagree? Support your answer by explaining the history and worldwide impact of the call for human rights: Why did a human rights movement begin when it did, evolve over the centuries, and assert itself as it did in the latter half of the 20th century? What did it achieve along the way? (as detailed as possible)

The post–World War II era was hardly the golden age of human rights, but people were becoming more aware of human rights abuses. Dictatorships in the Soviet Union, China, North Vietnam, and Cuba regularly punished political dissidents. The postwar period of Communist dictatorships as well as rightist strongmen led to many people being persecuted for their religious beliefs or political views. While other periods in history also experienced human rights abuses—for example, Jews in Europe had been persecuted for centuries—the period after the Holocaust saw greater awareness of these situations, and more people were willing to speak out against them.
While there were sporadic calls against human rights abuses in the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, it took the slaughter of Armenians by Turks in World War I for the term "genocide" to enter into mainstream vocabulary. After the Holocaust, many people more proactive about speaking out against mass killings. Even then, many slaughters went relatively unpunished as they were considered secondary to diplomatic efforts during the Cold War.
In the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the definition of human rights has evolved. While it used to only protest mass killings, it now pertains to protecting rights for minority and threatened groups as well. Some see human rights as safeguards that provide a certain level of security and well-being. While the punishments for human rights violations are not universal, as the definition of human rights is not universal from country to country, it is apparent that the world has advanced in its thinking about human rights since the end of World War II, at least in terms of awareness of people who may be in danger.