As far as the Russia-Ukraine war, isn’t that ostensibly why we are there? to protect the rights of Ukraine citizens?

I've noticed that the U.S. cares a lot about human rights when it's in the nation's interest to do so. In foreign policy, human rights seems to be a useful cover to assume the moral high ground. Plus, the U.S. has a somewhat iffy human rights record too, so I'm having a difficult time seeing human rights as this great motivator.

So, what makes something a human right? If you and I disagree on whether something is a human right, why should one view prevail? I tend to think that human rights are reasoned into existence by how we want the world to be, but that wanting doesn't necessarily equal a right. That also raises the issue of human rights being the subject of collective wants rather than possessing an independent existence with a universal application.