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Crimes against humanity are acts of violence that are committed deliberately by a state or on its behalf as part of a widespread or methodical program. These crimes are frequently directed against individuals, whether they are engaged in armed conflict or not. Because of the aggressive nature of these crimes, they are regarded as a significant violation of human rights, which is where the word "human rights violation" comes from. They differ from war crimes in that they are not isolated acts carried out by individual soldiers, but rather they are acts that are carried out in order to further a policy that has been established by a government or an organization. Individuals accused of crimes against humanity were initially brought to justice for the first time during the Nuremberg trials. After the atrocities committed during and in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was at first intended for widespread implementation in international law. (1948). The political pathologies that are associated with crimes against humanity are best illustrated by political groupings or nations that violate or encourage violations of the human rights standards enumerated in the Declaration of Human Rights. Crimes against humanity are now also being investigated by a number of additional international commissions, in addition to being tried in local courts. (such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court). The development of international customary law has been the primary vehicle for the expansion of the legal framework governing offenses against humanity. Crimes against humanity are not currently defined in any international convention; however, the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative is heading an effort around the world to develop a treaty that would define these atrocities.