Romania at the turn of the 20th century was a very progressive country and had strong human rights roots: it was, for instance, one of only seven countries in Europe to have abolished the death penalty during peacetime.Adams, Robert. The Abuses of Punishment, p.150. Macmillan (1998), . However the image of Romania was later tarnished internationally by severe violations of human rights during successive dictatorship systems: that of Ion Antonescu during World War II; and the following communist Romania regime which included executions of political 'enemies' in the 1950s, and later on, the infamous natalist policy of Nicolae Ceaușescu, with its resulting abuse of unwanted children in Romanian orphanages, as well as the extreme control of everyday life through practices such as phone bugging, and other abuses of the communist Securitate. Human rights improved greatly after the Romanian Revolution.
