As well as being vague, human rights prioritize actions of the government over those of ordinary people - the high murder rate in America is not a human rights violation (what right could be more true than the right to not be killed?) but the relatively less severe execution rate of political prisoners in many other countries is a human rights violation. I live in a country with poor human rights but very good safety against violent crime. I'd much rather be here than in America where I won't be arrested for complaining about the government but I'm likely to be robbed or threatened with a gun if I walk down the wrong street at night. Different harm caused by different groups but one is a human rights violation and the other is not despite both being ultimately under the control of the government.
The effect of this is America can say "we have good human rights, we don't torture political prisoners" and an authoritarian country can say "We have good security, our people don't kill each other". The latter is usually more directly helpful to more people, but the former has somehow become seen as superior.
The effect of this is America can say "we have good human rights, we don't torture political prisoners" and an authoritarian country can say "We have good security, our people don't kill each other". The latter is usually more directly helpful to more people, but the former has somehow become seen as superior.