The West has many destructive traditions of its own. The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, for example, has little to say about the rights of communities. What it says about the rights of individuals, such as the rights to freedom from torture or imprisonment without a fair trial, was nonetheless valid for this group. Members felt that, cultural differences not-withstanding, they were prepared to nail their colours to the human rights mast, and agreed that it was important to be open about the values informing any intervention. It is the basis for an end to killing and to all forms of degrading treatment of persons.
Respect is needed too for the natural environment, often terribly degraded by war.
The war-free, economically developed countries, responsible for much of the damage through bombing, who are the major consumers and polluters, are guilty of double standards when they make high demands for the rest of the world in relation to the environment.