In this paper, the role and the impact of non-governmental organizations (NGO) in the protection of human rights will be evaluated. It will be shown that NGOs (domestic or international) have had a significant impact on the emergence of international treaties on human rights. A brief discussion about what human rights are and who exercises them will be presented. Then, the evolution of the human rights concept and its emergence as an issue of global politics will be discussed. In this context, the reasons for why states have become more concerned about human rights violations will be explored. Although a relatively new phenomenon, "human rights" is playing a crucial role in the contemporary world politics. The period covered is from 1945 onwards. Though a number of NGOs existed before 1945, it is not possible to trace out their effective role.