The abolition of the death penalty in the US was one of the key human rights challenges facing society at the end of the 20th century, according to the secretary general of Amnesty International, Mr Pierre Sane.
In Dublin over the weekend for the annual conference of Amnesty's Irish section, Mr Sane reserved his strongest criticism for the growing popularity of US executions. He said Ireland and the EU should be showing leadership on such human rights issues.
"Public opinion in the US has bought into the propaganda that the death penalty is necessary to overcome crime. With the execution of Karla Faye Tucker earlier this year, a new threshold has been passed.
"Here was someone who was white, female, young, Christian and charismatic - she must have been the most non-executable person in the US in terms of class and race. Yet a few weeks later, another woman was executed in an atmosphere of total indifference."
Founded 37 years ago, Amnesty has defended human rights worldwide by highlighting violations by governments and opposition groups and by insisting on a hard-line definition of human rights.
Mr Sane (49), from Senegal, has been secretary general since 1992. He believes things are getting both better and worse for the upholder of human rights. "People are more sensitised to human rights issues and standards. But at the same time, there is a fatalistic acceptance that these things happen, and that there's nothing we can do about them."
Governments have also retreated. "There's a lot of hypocrisy around, between stated principles and the actions government take."
He cited the example of asylum policy in the West. "There are about 25 million refugees in the world but the proportion that reach Europe is utterly insignificant. Europe is not taking its share of the burden. Governments hide behind public opinion in their countries while ignoring their role in shaping this."
He welcomed the Northern Ireland Agreement but said past human rights abuses must be tackled in the context of any settlement. "We are glad there is to be a commission of inquiry into Bloody Sunday but there must also be a proper inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane, as well as an investigation into extra-judicial killings."