When people hear the phrase “human rights”, they think of the highest moral precepts and political ideals. And they are right to do so. They have in mind a familiar set of indispensable liberal freedoms, and sometimes more expansive principles of social protection. But they also mean something more. The phrase implies an agenda for improving the world, and bringing about a new one in which the dignity of each individual will enjoy secured international protection. It is a recognizably utopian program: for the political standards it champions and the emotional passion it inspires, this program draws on the image of a place that has not yet been called into being. It promises to penetrate the impregnability of state borders, slowly replacing them with the authority of international law. It prides itself on offering victims the world over the possibility of a better life. It pledges to do so by working in alliance with states, when possible, but naming and shaming them when they violate the most basic norms. Human rights in this sense have come to define the most elevated aspirations of both social movements and political entities – state and interstate. They evoke hope and provoke action. This paper investigates human rights-focused nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Human rights NGOs have made a substantial global contribution to the promotion and defense of international human rights since the 1940s, when the modern age of human rights began. This paper defines the terms "NGO" and "human rights NGO," categorizes human rights NGOs into different conceptual groups, and then lists and examines characteristics that successful, productive human rights NGOs typically have. It also lists a number of codes of ethics and behavior that were established to support the efficacy, accountability, openness, and legitimacy of human rights non-governmental organizations. Numerous NGOs have embraced these rules, which have been put into effect in a number of nations. This paper makes the case that human rights defenders might gain from taking on the qualities that have been identified as beneficial for human rights NGOs and that are usually included in the codes of ethics and conduct that they emphasize.