Human rights violations occur when any state breaches any part of the international human rights or humanitarian law.
Human rights abuses are monitored by United Nations committees, national institutions and governments and by many independent non-governmental organizations. These organizations collect evidence and documentation of alleged human rights abuses and apply pressure to enforce human rights laws.
Only a very few countries do not commit significant human rights violations, according to Amnesty International. There are a wide variety of databases available which attempt to measure, in a rigorous fashion, exactly what violations governments commit against those within their territorial jurisdiction.
Wars of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide, are breaches of International humanitarian law and represent the most serious of human rights violations. When a government closes a geographical region to journalists, it raises suspicions of human rights violations.