The Arab Spring was a historical turning point for human rights, ushering in a new era where human rights are universally accepted as the basic foundation of successful governance. That was the message conveyed at a panel held last Friday at the Brookings Institute on "Human Rights and the Arab Awakening: Assessing the United Nations Response." Keynote speakers included Kyung-wha Kang, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council. Both Deputy High Commissioner Kang and Ambassador Donahoe spoke about the Arab Spring as an occasion to truly cement human rights as the "third pillar" of the work of the U.N.