Some governments in western Europe have tended to see human rights as a foreign policy issue. This has often placed the mandate under the Ministry for Foreign Affairs – implying problems in this field could only be found in other countries. They have ratified international treaties as an act of good will, rather than recognising that these norms are relevant and useful in their own country, too. They have reacted with surprise when criticised European and international human rights mechanisms and sometimes in response even attempted to undermine these very mechanisms.