I think it's not helped. Richard Goldstone, the first chief prosecutor of the Yugoslav and Rwandan tribunals, was very fond of saying that politics lies at the centre and the margins of international law, and if one doesn't understand the politics, one will not be able to understand and grasp the law. International relations are multi-led. Every state will have its strategic partners, its most-favoured nations, bilateral relations and multilateral relations, and, of course, that will inform other areas of the international firmament, positively and negatively. At the same time, states have certain responsibilities.
What we've seen and what gives me hope is that, when the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—or the International Bill of Rights or the children's universal declaration—was signed in 1966, the United States, China, a large part of the rest of the world didn't sign up, but they did eventually. Then it may be an issue of signing but not implementing.
The point is that one has to realize the small step for mankind, the giant leap for humanity, or whatever, from going to the moon. The reality is that we have to make humble steps to get to the destination we want. I think the fact that we have 123 states, so the majority of the world, is something to applaud. Of course, powerful states, popular states, whether it's the United States of America or Russia or China or Pakistan or India...one has to work. This may be a generational project, but it's a project worth putting the effort into and aspiring to deliver on.