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Guides
index
INCORE
guide to Internet sources on Human Rights
Compiled
by Niall Whelehan (December 2004)
Contents
An abundance
of material is available on the internet relating to the rapidly
expanding field of Human Rights. INCORE has chosen a number of
sites that provide substantive information; that is, sources that
provide actual information rather than comment and analysis. However,
the latter are not always excluded. Our list of prime sources is
essentially a list of sources with the greatest substantive content.
INCORE does not intend to provide an extensive catalogue of links
to all the material currently available, rather a number of particular
sites have been chosen. This list does not imply an endorsement
by INCORE of the views expressed in any of these sources.
Primary
sources
Human Rights and Ireland
News Sources and Secondary Information
Newsgroups
Research Centres, Academic Institutes,
and Educational Programmes
Non Governmental Organisations
This is a short
list of internet sources which have a lot of content relating directly
to Human Rights. This list does not imply a recommendation of the
sources or an endorsement of the views expressed in any of these
sources. It is a select list drawn from the other categories in
this document.
United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
This site provides invaluable and extensive material on human rights
and international law.
http://www.ohchr.org/
The content is
exhaustive and can be overwhelming to sift through; however, a
lot of the primary documents are essential to those in the field.
Of notable interest are:
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action
Resolutions
of the Commission on Human Rights
Report
of the World Conference on Human Rights
International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Convention
on the Elimination of all Forms of discrimination against Women
International
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination
Slavery
Convention: status of ratifications, reservations and declarations
Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees
Other
areas of interest can be found under:
Convention
for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Human
Rights Issues
Commission
on Human Rights
Thematic
and Country Reports
International
Human Rights Instruments
Treaty
Bodies Database
Country
Mandates
International Courts and Tribunals
European
Court of Human Rights
International
Criminal Court
International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
International
Court of Justice
Inter-American
Court of Human Rights
The Special
Court for Sierra Leone
UNCHR
Fact Sheets
These documents are designed to complement the UN’s ongoing work
in the field and to answer the common questions that arise concerning
their work. Some of the most notable inclusions are The International
Bill of Human Rights Fact Sheet (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs2.htm)
and Advisory Services and Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human
Rights Fact Sheet (http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs3.htm).
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/2/chr.htm
United
Nations Human Rights Treaty System
This site provides access to documents and information from the UN human
rights treaty system and clearly categorises documents and materials
by state, by category, and by theme or subject matter.
www.bayefsky.com
Draft
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
The
General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The
Arab Charter on Human Rights
Universal
Islamic Declaration of Human Rights
The
Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam
African
Charter on Human and People’s Rights
The
Khartoum Declaration on Africa’s Refugee Crisis
International
Labour Organisation
The website of the ILO offers significant information and documents for
the human rights researcher. It gives background information on international
labour standards and the ILO conventions on fundamental human rights.
http://www.ilo.org/
Of particular
note is the International
Labour Standards and Human Rights page.
European
Human Rights Internet Site EHRIS
EHRIS offers direct access to basic human rights materials on a number
of selected European countries. Northern Ireland and Turkey are currently
included in the project. Both national and international documents are
included.
http://www.law.qub.ac.uk/humanrts/ehris/ehrishome.html
States
of Emergency Database
Hosted by the HRC at Queen’s in Belfast, the States of Emergency
Database is a legal database which contains legislative texts and other
relevant information on states of emergency in Northern Ireland, China,
El Slavadore, India, Malaysia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and East
Timor.
http://www.law.qub.ac.uk/humanrts/emergency/emerghome.html
LEXIS/NEXIS
LEXIS is a commercial site that offers boolean and ‘natural language’ searching
of several libraries and files that contain the full-text versions of
United Nations instruments and documents.
http://www.lexis.com/xchange/.
Council
of Europe, Human Rights Web
The Human Rights Web of the COE gives direct links to important documents
and activities related to human rights in French and English. This resource
also contains information about the treaties of the Council of Europe
http://conventions.coe.int. In addition to human rights treaties, the
site contains treaties related to social matters, bioethics, penal, public
and international law and other subject areas.
http://www.coe.int/T/E/Human_rights/
African
Human Rights Resource Center
This site contains the full-text of many important documents promulgated
by the Organisation of African Unity or related to human rights in Africa. One
important document related to human rights is the African Banjul Charter
on Human and Peoples' Rights http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/z1afchar.htm.
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/africa/index.html
Organization
of American States
This site contains a great deal of information about the OAS, its charter,
resolutions, annual report of the Secretary General, treaties and conventions,
speeches and statements and press releases. The homepage provides a search
engine and access to several documents in areas such as human rights.
Available in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
http://www.oas.org/
Human
Rights Databank.
Founded in the US in 1976, Human Rights Internet is a centre for the
exchange of information within the worldwide human rights community.
HRI has its headquarters in Ottawa, Canada and provides the Human Rights
Databank: a collection of documents, some of which are unavailable elsewhere
on the web. Organised by theme and by country, the HRD is a useful instrument
for locating documents.
http://www.hri.ca/doccentre/
Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights
This site contains links to many primary documents as well as commission
publications.
http://www.cidh.oas.org/
Electronic
Information System for International Law - EISIL.
This expanding EISIL site is organised into twenty-one categories and
provides a comprehensive, detailed and easily navigable guide to primary
documents and web resources for researching various human rights related
topics as well as the different regional systems. The EISIL homepage
http://www.eisil.org/ offers a similarly comprehensive database on broader
themes of general international law, international organisations, criminal
law, environmental law, and economic law.
http://www.eisil.org/index.php?sid=902082441&t=sub_pages&cat=185
The
American Society of International Law – ASIL
A guide to electronic resources on international human rights law. The
site is organised according to primary sources and secondary sources,
bibliographic locations, and catalogues available for the use of researchers.
Numerous important documents relating to the field of human rights may
be found here, while research methodologies and academic literature are
also provided.
http://asil.org/resource/humrts1.htm
University
of Minnesota Human Rights Library.
The electronic library of the University of Minnesota is an important
resource for researchers working in the field of human rights. Available
in Arabic, French, Spanish, Russian, and Japanese, this site provides
access to over 18,000 documents relating to UN HR documents, treaties
and other instruments for international law, regional materials, bibliographies,
topic guides, resources on refugee and asylum seekers. The site also
contains links to over 4,000 other sites. The Human Rights Resource Center
http://www.hrusa.org/ offers an introduction to HR education materials
and a guide to training workshops on the implementation and administration
of human rights law. http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/
Abo
Akademi University – Institute for Human Rights – Library.
The library of the Institute holds a large collection of human rights
literature. The library database FINDOC contains over 33,000 entries
and is available on the internet, free of charge.
http://trip.abo.fi/aadb/findoc/welcomee.htm
Netherlands
Institute of Human Rights SIM Database
This site provides a significant collection of primary treaties from
several human rights bodies, including the UN.
http://www.uu.nl/uupublish/homerechtsgeleer/onderzoek/onderzoekscholen/sim/english/instruments/22884main.html
Amnesty
Ireland
Irish office of the well known international human rights NGO.
http://www.amnesty.ie/
British–Irish
Human Rights Centres’ Network.
The network was established in light of the incorporation of the European
Convention on Human Rights in both states and in light of devolution.
It comprises of Human Rights Centres from England, Northern Ireland,
Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Its objectives are the exchange of information
and the encouragement of inter-disciplinary research on human rights
and related themes in each of the jurisdictions. The network is also
concerned with research and information at the European and international
levels. The network is open to all third level Human Rights bodies on
the two islands.
http://www.law.qub.ac.uk/humanrts/network/index.htm
Committee
on the Administration of Justice
The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ was established in
1981 and is an independent non-governmental organisation affiliated to
the International Federation of Human Rights. The Committee seeks to
secure the highest standards in the administration of justice in Northern
Ireland by ensuring that the government complies with its responsibilities
in international human rights law.
http://www.caj.org.uk/
British
Irish Rights Watch
Established in 1992, the BIRW is a NGO that monitors the human rights
dimension of the conflict in Northern Ireland. It aims to generate an
awareness of human rights law and issues through the distribution of
articles and reports and the organisation of seminars and lectures. The
BIRW is based in London.
http://www.birw.org/
Equality
Authority of Ireland
The Equality Authority is an independent body set up in 1998 that investigates
discrimination in employment, vocational training, advertising, collective
agreements, the provision of goods and services and other opportunities
to which the public generally have access on grounds of gender; marital
status; family status; age; disability; race; sexual orientation; religious
belief; and membership of the Traveller Community.
http://www.equality.ie/
Equality
Commission for Northern Ireland
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is an independent public
body established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Commission's
general duties include working towards the elimination of discrimination;
promoting equality of opportunity and encouraging good practice; promoting
affirmative / positive action; promoting good relations between people
of different racial groups; overseeing the implementation and effectiveness
of the statutory duty on public authorities; keeping the relevant legislation
under review.
http://www.equalityni.org/.
Equality
Tribunal
The Equality Tribunal is the impartial forum to hear or mediate complaints
of alleged discrimination under equality legislation. It is independent
and quasi-judicial and its decisions and mediated settlements are legally
binding. The equality legislation prohibits discrimination on 9 grounds
- gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion,
age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community.
http://www.equalitytribunal.ie/
Irish
Anti-Racism Campaign
The Anti Racism Campaign (ARC) is an open and democratic alliance of
people who came together to combat the anti-refugee and anti-immigrant
hysteria initiated and encouraged by many politicians and sections of
the media. Unaffiliated with any political party, ARC supports equal
rights for Travellers, refugees and immigrants and welcomes the advent
of greater ethnic diversity as a positive development for Irish society.
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/arc.html
Irish
Centre for Human Rights, Galway.
Founded in 2000 the ICHR is the only centre of its kind in the Republic
of Ireland. Whilst the Centre is autonomous in both its physical location
and day-to-day operations, its academic staff are members of the Faculty
of Law at the National University of Ireland, Galway, with whom the Centre
is linked. While the ICHR is mainly an academic body that offers postgraduate
courses, summer schools, and research publications, it does engage in
advocacy projects outside of Ireland. Some of these include the EU-China
Project, the Refugee and Asylum Legal Support Unit, the Model Transitional
Codes for Post Conflict Criminal Justice Project and the Reasonable Accommodation
Project.
http://www.nuigalway.ie/human_rights/
Irish
Council for Civil Liberties
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (An Chomhairle um Chearta Daonna)
is an independent non-governmental organisation that works to promote
and defend human rights and civil liberties. It was founded in 1976 by,
among others, Mary Robinson, Kader Asmal and Donal Barrington.
http://www.iccl.ie/
Irish
Human Rights Commission
The Human Rights Commission was established in July 2001. It was set
up as a direct result of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and under
the Human Rights Commission Acts 2000 and 2001, which set out the powers
and functions of the Commission. Under the Good Friday Agreement, the
IHRC, along with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, is charged
with promoting and protecting human rights in its respective jurisdiction
and working together with the NIHRC to improve the protection of human
rights on the island of Ireland.
www.ihrc.ie
Irish
Law Site
Resource guide to Irish Law hosted by the Law Faculty in University College,
Cork.
http://www.ucc.ie/ucc/depts/law/irishlaw/index.shtml
Irish
Refugee Council
Based in Dublin and Ennis, the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) is an independent
non-governmental organisation (NGO) which was set up in 1992. It aims
in to ensure that all aspects of Ireland's asylum and refugee policy
and practice (legal, social, economic and cultural) fully respect international
law and the human rights of asylum-seekers and refugees, and to promote
public awareness and understanding of asylum and refugee issues.
http://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/
Irish
Traveller Movement (ITM)
ITM was established in 1990 and now has over eighty Traveller organisations
from all parts of Ireland in its membership. ITM consists of a partnership
between Travellers and settled people committed to seeking full equality
for Travellers in Irish society. ITM was formed to be a national
platform, through which Travellers and their organisations are enabled
to highlight the issues faced by Travellers and to press for real solutions;
to debate ideas and formulate and promote culturally appropriate initiatives;
to provide those active at a local level with support and solidarity;
to develop alliances at national level; and, to challenge the many forms
of individual, structural and institutional racism with which Travellers
have to deal.
http://www.itmtrav.com/
Human
Rights Consortium
The Human Rights Consortium was established in 2000 to encourage widespread
community participation in the consultation process on the proposed Bill
of Rights for Northern Ireland. It holds a membership of over 100 NGOs,
community groups and trade unions.
http://www.billofrightsni.org/
Human
Rights for Change
HRfC is a NGO comprised of human rights activists and international legal
scholars who seek to promote the protection of human rights through reporting
and documenting human rights issues, increasing awareness through the
dissemination of information, advocacy and lobbying, creative action,
education, monitoring the media and by providing legal assistance, in
particular to NGOs in the developing world. This group believes that
global inequalities and imbalances can be redressed through the protection
and promotion of universal human rights.
www.humanrightsforchange.org
Human
Rights Unit, Irish Dept. of Foreign Affairs
Human rights section in the Dept. of Foreign Affairs. The site contains
some useful primary documents relevant to the field.
http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/policy/hr/default.asp?m=p
National
Network of Refugee, Asylum & Immigrant Support Groups
Integrating Ireland is an independent network of community and voluntary
groups working in mutual solidarity to promote and realise the human
rights, equality and full integration in Irish society of asylum seekers,
refugees and immigrants. Established in 2000, the membership-based network
currently comprises of over 160 organisations from all over Ireland,
North and South.
http://www.integratingireland.ie/
Northern
Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders
NIACRO is a voluntary organisation that aims to reduce crime and its
effects on communities while respecting the rights of offenders. The
association engages in community work among young offenders and families
of offenders and strives to influence policy makers and effect public
change.
http://www.niacro.co.uk/
Northern
Ireland Commissioner for Children’s Rights
NI Commission to safeguard and promote the rights and best interests
of children and young persons under the principles set out in the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
http://www.niccy.org/
Northern
Ireland Human Rights Commission
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission came into existence on 1
March 1999. It was created by section 68 of the Northern Ireland Act
1998, in compliance with a commitment made by the British Government
in the Good Friday Agreement. The Commission has a full-time Chief Commissioner
(Brice Dickson) and five part-time Commissioners. Its role is to promote
awareness of the importance of human rights in Northern Ireland, to review
existing law and practice and to advise the Secretary of State and the
Executive Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly on what steps need
to be taken to fully protect human rights in Northern Ireland.
http://www.nihrc.org/
Online
Network of Irish Non-profit Organisations
Activelink works with non-profit organisations to develop online communications
in the public interest and to promote action and participation.
http://www.activelink.ie/
Pat
Finucane Centre for Human Rights and Social Change
The PFC is named in memory of Pat Finucane, a human rights lawyer from
Belfast who was murdered on 12 February 1989 by the pro-British UDA.
Pat had successfully challenged the British Government over several important
human rights cases. One of those involved in his murder, Brian Nelson,
was working for the Force Research Unit, an undercover unit of British
Military Intelligence. The PFC provides information on HR issues relating
to Northern Ireland, reports, and a news service.
http://www.serve.com/pfc/
Pavee
Point
Pavee Point is a partnership of Irish Travellers and settled people working
together to improve the lives of Irish Travellers through working towards
social justice, solidarity, socio-economic development and human rights.
This site provides information on Travellers’ rights and needs
under Irish legislation while also giving a bibliography of literature
relating to Travellers’ history and culture.
http://www.paveepoint.ie/pav_home_a.html
Queen’s
University Belfast, Human Rights Centre.
Queen’s University hosts a variety of academic courses, public
lectures, training workshops and seminars in the field of human rights.
The HRC supports regular conferences in collaboration with other universities,
institutions, and NGO’s. This site also provides a database of
the status of human rights conventions regarding the UK and Ireland.
http://www.law.qub.ac.uk/humanrts/
Transitional
Justice Institute, University of Ulster
The recent establishment of the Transitional Justice Institute at the
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland provides a physical base from
which to develop and attract international scholars and liaise with policy
makers in local and international institutions. It also plays a key role
in taking legal research in Northern Ireland to the centre of international
stages.
http://www.transitionaljustice.ulster.ac.uk/
Reports
relating to Human Rights in Ireland.
Report
on the Situation of Fundamental Rights in Ireland (Jan 2004)
Under the auspices of the E.U. Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental
Rights, this report monitors the situation of fundamental rights in Ireland
on the basis of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Compiled by Donncha
O’Connell and David Keane, this report assesses Irish performance
in the areas of civil freedoms and rights, justice, equality, solidarity
and human dignity.
http://www.cpdr.ucl.ac.be/cridho/RapportsEnvoy%E9sCOM2003PDF/RapportsEnvoy%E9sCOM2003PDF/CFR-CDF.repIrland.2003.pdf
International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Concluding
Observations of the Human Rights Committee on Irelands First
National Report under the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights
Concluding
Observations of the Human Rights Committee on Irelands Second
National Report under the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights
International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
First
National Report under the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights
Concluding
Observations of the Economic and Social Council on Ireland's
First National Report under the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights
Second
National Report under International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights
Concluding
Observations of the Economic and Social Council on Ireland's
Second National Report under the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights.
News
Sources and Secondary Information
Derechos:
Human Rights News and Actions.
Weekly summaries of the most important and perhaps less reported human
rights news, as reported by wire services, newspapers and human rights
organisations. To join write to hrb@derechos.org with a message saying
'subscribe briefs'.
http://www.derechos.org/news/
One-World
News Service.
This is a UK-based news service in partnership with numerous NGOs, and
has a number of recent reports, which are based around the theme of Human
Rights.
http://www.oneworld.net/section/current
Amnesty
International Press Releases
News reports of one of the better known human rights organisations.
http://www.amnesty.org/news/
Media
Alerts.
The latest press releases from Human Rights First, formerly the Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights. Up to date commentaries on both international
and domestic US issues are provided in regular bulletins.
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/media/media_room.htm.
Rights
Wire.
Human Rights First's free electronic newsletter, published bi-weekly,
Rights Wire provides analysis of timely human rights issues and opportunities
to take action on them.
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/rights_wire/rightswire.htm
Asylum
Protection News.
Human Rights First's updates on issues related to refugees and asylum-seekers.
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/asylum/torchlight/newsletter/prot_news.htm
Human
Rights Watch
HRW is a NGO that strives to prevent discrimination, to uphold political
freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring
offenders to justice. It investigates and exposes human rights violations
and holds abusers accountable.
The HRW site contains regularly updated news releases.
http://www.hrw.org/
Human
Rights Brief
The Human Rights Brief is an official publication of the Center for Human
Rights and Humanitarian Law at Washington College of Law, American University.
The current issue and all back dated issues are available on-line.
http://www.wcl.american.edu/pub/humright/brief/index.htm
Flashpoint
A Human Rights magazine from the Human Rights Interactive Network, with
articles and extracts taken from a wide range of publications and
press releases.
http://www.webcom.com/hrin/magazine.html
Freedom
of Expression News
Regional and international news reports from the International Freedom
of Expression Exchange (IFEX).
http://www.ifex.org/
IRIN
News.
Human Rights news reports from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, with a focus on specific regions in Africa and
Asia.
http://www.irinnews.org/
ICRC
News
Humanitarian news updates from the International Committee for the Red
Cross.
http://www.icrc.org/eng/news
International
Helsinki Federation for Human Rights Appeals and Statements
Valuable reports and statements on recent events related to human rights
from the IHF.
http://www.ihf-hr.org/welcome.php
Digital
Freedom Network: News Articles and Press Releases
Digital Freedom Network (DFN) is a non-profit group that seeks to promote
human rights for all countries. This site contains regular reports and
commentaries on contemporary human rights issues.
http://www.dfn.org/
La
Agencia de Información Fray Tito para América
Latina (Adital)
Adital strive to bring up to date reports and commentaries on humanitarian
issues and popular movements in Latin and South America.
http://www.adital.com.br/site/index.asp?lang=ES
Puentes
Reports and comment on human rights in Argentina.
http://www.puentes.8k.com/
La
Insignia -Derechos Humanos
Spanish website aimed at giving updated reports on human rights abuses
world wide.
http://www.lainsignia.org/ddhh.html
Human
Rights Tribune.
A Quarterly magazine aimed at the Human Rights Community. Although essentially
a subscription based magazine, it does offer a number of on-line features
articles of both current and back editions.
www.hri.ca/tribune/issueSearch.asp
Human
Rights Media: News Info.
HRM is an informational forum that deals with news related to human rights
and provides investigations, reports, dossiers, and opinion on human
rights issues. HRM does not provide up to date reporting; rather, it
reviews and gives comment on significant events and situations presented
in the media.http://www.rightsmedia.org/
US
Dept. of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
The US State Department’s annual reports on human rights, organised
by country, are available on the Dept. website. These reports are extremely
detailed and in some cases quite lengthy. They are a valuable resource,
particularly for countries which normally receive little press coverage.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003
Note: Other sources described in this guide which are not primarily news
sources also provide news.
Newsgroups
and discussion groups
Usenet newsgroups;
soc.rights.human
Discussion on human rights & activism.
clari.news.issues.human_rights
Discussions relating to freedom, civil rights, human rights.
fido7.su.human.rights
Human rights based topics.
fj.soc.human-rights
Discussion about human rights, bioethics and discrimination.
Abo
Akademi University: Institute for Human Rights
Founded in Helsinki in 1985, this institute has established a range of
courses to those working in the field of Human Rights. On offer are two
and three week courses throughout the year on international law and humanitarian
issues and the institute participates in the European Master's Programme
in Human Rights and Democratisation with the Abo Law department. Since
2002 the Institute is coordinating a Finnish Graduate School in Human
Rights Research with five four-year doctoral positions.
www.abo.fi/institut/imr/
British
Institute of Human Rights, King’s College, London.
BIHR conducts research relating to human rights, with a particular focus
on marginalised and vulnerable communities and the development of a human
rights culture. Their activities include a public education programme,
HR workshops, conference sessions and forms of specialised education
for both the public and voluntary sector. Through their international
law programme they strive to reform current legislation. The BIHR does
not offer academic courses.
http://www.bihr.org/
Centre
de recherches et d'études sur les droits de l'Homme
et le droit humanitaire.
Based between the Universities of Rouen and Paris sud, CREDHO adopts
an interdisciplinary approach to human rights research and works in partnership
with several professional and public bodies in the area of HR law, penal
law, and international law. This site also provides a comprehensive list of
study opportunities in the human rights field in France.
http://www.credho.org/
Centre
for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Pretoria offers a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation
in Africa which focuses specifically on human rights within an African
framework. The one year course is divided into two semesters. The first
semester is taught while during the second semester students are expected
to undertake a dissertation or accredited courses at a partner university.
http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/llm1.html
Center
for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Washington DC.
Based at the Washington College of Law, American University, this centre
is host to a number of training programs and conferences. The centre
offers an International
Legal Studies Master’s Program, training courses in gender
and indigenous rights and workshops on contemporary crisis. The Human
Rights Brief is also published by the centre.
http://www.wcl.american.edu/humright/center/
Columbia
University: Center for the Study of Human Rights
This centre fosters an interdisciplinary approach that involves staff
and students from a variety of backgrounds. Training initiatives such
as the Human
Rights Advocates Training Program provide instruction for ten activists
each year while both undergrad
and postgrad courses are offered in collaboration with a variety
of departments on human rights, civil rights, constitutional challenges,
freedom of religion, and social justice.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/humanrights
European
Masters Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation, Venice.
This Master’s Degree Programme is divided into two semesters. During
the first semester students are taught together in Venice, by lecturers
from the participating universities, and practitioners from IGOs and
NGOs. At the end of the first semester, within a training period of three
weeks with regard to human rights in field operations, a one-week field
trip is organised. In the second semester, students undertake supervised
research at one of the participating universities. This research is undertaken
in a country other than the student’s own. A “mobility grant” is
provided to all students in order to facilitate this exchange.
http://www.emahumanrights.org/template.asp?idlink=212
Instituto
de Derechos Humanos Pedro Arrupe, Bilbao.
Based at the Universidad de Deusto, the IDHPA is a non-profit institution
that maintains a focus on the challenges facing the Basque country. They
offer two postgraduate programmes in the HR field: Master’s
in International Humanitarian Action and a European Master’s in
Human Rights and Democratization.
http://www.idh.deusto.es/
Inter-American
Institute for Human Rights, Costa Rica.
On offer are two one-year taught master’s programmes: Master of
Arts in International Law and the Settlement of Disputes and Master of
Arts in International Law and Human Rights. These programmes are offered
in collaboration with the RWI in Sweden and the Max Planck Institute
in Heidelberg, Germany.
http://www.iidh.ed.cr/
International
Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
A Canadian centre which encourages and supports the promotion, development
and strengthening of democratic and human rights institutions and programmes.
http://www.ichrdd.ca/
Irish
Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, Galway.
Founded in 2000 the ICHR is the only centre of its kind in the Republic
of Ireland. The Centre presently offers LL.M. programmes in International
Human Rights Law and International Peace Support Operations and has a
Cross-Border Programme in Human Rights Law (LL.M.) and Human Rights and
Criminal Justice (MSSc/LL.M.), in conjunction with Queens University
of Belfast. Students may also undertake a PhD
programme at the ICHR which may be funded by the centre’s fellowships.
Institute
of Peace & Conflict Studies,
The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) was established in
August 1996 in New Delhi as an independent think tank devoted to studying
security issues relating to South Asia. Over the years leading strategic
thinkers, academicians, former members of the Civil Services, Foreign
Services, Armed Forces, Police Forces, Paramilitary Forces and media
persons (print and electronic) have been associated with the Institute
in its endeavour to chalk out a comprehensive framework for security
studies - one which can cater to the changing demands of national, regional
and global security.
www.ipcs.org/
Mediterranean
Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation,
Malta.
This is a one year multi-disciplinary programme is coordinated by the
University of Malta on behalf of a partnership of Universities and Human
Rights institutions from both sides of the Mediterranean, and is funded
by the European Commission. The master’s is divided into a taught
semester with daily lectures and a research semester during which students
undertake a supervised dissertation at a partner institution or in Malta.
http://home.um.edu.mt/laws/entrance/index.html
Netherlands
Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht
Established in 1981, the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM)
is based at the University of Utrecht. They offer training workshops,
summer schools and a PhD programme in the HR field. This site also contains
some useful resources for researching documentation.
http://www.uu.nl/uupublish/homerechtsgeleer/onderzoek/onderzoekscholen/sim/english/18199main.html
Office
of Human Rights Studies and Social Development, Mahidol University,
Bangkok.
The OHRSD offer the International Master’s of Human Rights and
Social Development, the only graduate degree in human rights in South
East Asia. The programme consists of two semesters of coursework followed
by a semester of individual research.
http://www.humanrights-mu.org/study.php
Peking
University Law School: Research Centre for Human Rights.
In 2002, PULS Research Centre for Human Rights, which is the first academic
institution on human rights in China, developed a human rights programme
for master students which is implemented in cooperation with the Raoul
Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights in Lund Sweden. Within the current
Master of International Law programme at the university there is a human
rights component in Research Direction.
http://www.hrol.org/hrmp/english.php
Queen’s
University Belfast, Human Rights Centre.
Queen’s University hosts a variety of courses in the field of human
rights, both academic and professional development. The centre offers
a Master’s programmes in Human Rights Law and Human Rights and
Criminal Justice, both of which can be undertaken as cross
border projects with the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway.
Training workshops and seminars in HR are also managed by the centre.
http://www.law.qub.ac.uk/humanrts/
Raoul
Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law,
Lund, Sweden.
The RWI was founded in 1984 and is a leading institution in Human Rights
research while Lund also houses a one of the largest research libraries
for HR studies in Europe. The institute has developed two master’s
programmes in the field: Master’s in International Human Rights
Law and Master’s in International and Human Rights and Intellectual
Property Rights. Furthermore, the RWI acts in the capacity of partner-institution
to several international universities.
http://www.ldc.lu.se/raoul/
Scuola
Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa.
The Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento, at Sant’Anna,
in Pisa, offers a one year master’s programme in Human Rights and
Conflict Resolution. The programme consists of an intensive six month
semester of lectures and workshops (Feb-July) after which the student
is required to begin an internship with a relevant international organization
(Sept-Dec).
http://www.sssup.it/sssup/jsp/section.jsp?sec_id1=503&sec_id2=64442&lang=it
Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute
SIPRI conducts research on questions of conflict and cooperation of importance
for international peace and security, with the aim of contributing to
an understanding of the conditions for peaceful solutions of international
conflicts and for a stable peace. The Institute produces an annual yearbook
and several other publications, while issuing reports and data pertinent
to the HR field.
www.sipri.org/
Transnational
Foundation for Peace on Future Research
Based in Lund, Sweden, the TFF is a think-tank for transnational peace.
They are involved in peace research, conflict-mitigation and education
and their website offers analyses, commentaries, ideas and debates. TFF
does field work in the Balkans, Iraq, Burundi and elsewhere while providing
lectures, training and courses. It publishes books and reports.
www.transnational.org/
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of page
Agir
Ensemble pour les Droits de l’Homme
AEDH is an international NGO created in 1989 and based in France. It
aims to defend and promote human rights and create effective means for
democratic development internationally.
http://www.aedh.org/
Albanian
Centre for Human Rights
This NGO promotes knowledge and education in HR in Albania and provides
training programmes and seminars. ACHR also regularly issues publications
relevant to the field.
http://www.achr.org/en/index.html
Al-Haq
Established in 1979 by a group of Palestinian lawyers, Al-Haq works in
the investigation and reporting of human rights violations in the
occupied Palestinian territories.
http://asp.alhaq.org/zalhaq/site/home.aspx?ln=en
Amnesty
International
Well known international NGO, which hosts extensive material on the issue
of Human Rights, as well as ongoing international campaigns.
http://www.amnesty.org
Arab
Association for Human Rights
NGO that works primarily with the Palestinian Arab communities in Israel.
Their activities involve reporting human rights issues, weekly press
reviews, and educational projects.
http://www.arabhra.org/
Arab
Organisation for Human Rights
HR organisation based in Egypt that engages in field missions to release
political prisoners and offer legal assistance. It is also involved with
the Arab Institute for Human Rights.
http://aohr.org/
Asociacion
pro Derechos Humanos de Espana, APDHE
Madrid based NGO that works to investigate and report human rights abuses
on national and international levels.
http://www.eurosur.org/apdhe/principal.html
Association
of Citizens for Human Rights Protection, Mostar, ZGP.
Association ''ZGP'' Mostar is a non-political, non-partisan local NGO.
It is also a multiethnic organisation the work of which includes members
of all three constituent peoples (Bosnians, Croats and Serbs). The geographical
area of their work is Herzegovina-Neretva Canton and the Central Bosnia
Canton.
http://www.progressive-bih.com/zgp/eindex.htm
Association
for Civil Rights in Israel.
ACRI was founded in 1972 as a non-political and independent body, with
the goal of protecting human and civil rights in Israel and in the territories
under Israeli control. It aims to address human violations among all
communities and religions in Israel and the occupied territories.
http://www.acri.org.il/english-acri/engine/index.asp
Associazione
Diritti Umani – Sviluppo Umano.
Padova based organisation that works in the areas of local democracy,
immigration, social marginalization and education relating to HR. Connected
to the Human Rights Centre at the University of Padova.
http://www.centrodirittiumani.unipd.it/adusu/
Croatian
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, Zagreb .
Established in 1993 the CHC aims to protect and promote human rights
in Croatia. Their activities include working with and receiving of individuals
whose rights have been abused and publishing facts and reports through
their bulletin and other publications.
http://www.open.hr/com/hho/english/homhrv.htm
Cyprus
Human Rights and Education Network
NGO that promotes HR education at a local level and promotes intercultural
understanding for all communities in Cyprus.
http://www.humanrights-edu-cy.org/
Egyptian
Organisation for Human Rights
Founded in 1985 in Cairo, this organisation monitors both governmental
and non-governmental violations of human rights in Egypt. EOHR seeks
the reform of legislation, social justice, an end to discrimination and
works in co-operation with the UN and other international bodies.
http://www.eohr.org/
Foundation
for Human and Humanitarian Rights Lebanon
Inter-party and inter-ethnic forum of activists concerned with the rights
and freedoms on local, regional and international levels.
http://www.fhhrl.org.lb/
Human
Rights Consortium, NI
The Human Rights Consortium was established in 2000 to encourage widespread
community participation in the consultation process on the proposed Bill
of Rights for Northern Ireland.
http://www.billofrightsni.org/
Human
Rights for Change
HRfC is a group of human rights activists and international legal scholars
who seek to promote the protection of human rights through reporting
and documenting human rights issues, increasing awareness through the
dissemination of information, advocacy and lobbying.
www.humanrightsforchange.org/
Human
Rights First
HRW is a US based NGO that supports the work of human rights activists
and strives to create accountability in the US and abroad in terms of
international law.
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/
Human
Rights Foundation of Turkey
HRFT was mainly established to provide medical and psychological assistance
to survivors of torture and to document human rights violations in Turkey.
The HRFT has established five treatment and rehabilitation centres for
torture survivors in the provinces of Ankara, Istanbul, Adana and Diyarbakir.
In these centres, teams consisting of physicians, psychiatrists, social
workers and medical secretaries offer medical services to torture survivors.
http://www.tihv.org.tr/eindex.html
Human
Rights Internet
International NGO, documentation centre, and publishing house.
http://www.hri.ca
Human
Rights Watch
One of the more well-known international non-governmental organisations
working in the field, the United States based HRW investigates violations
of human rights and strives to uphold international law. Its work includes
the production of the annual HRW World
Report and also reports on
the state of human rights by country and by theme. Furthermore, HRW provides
updated articles and commentaries on specific case-studies and contemporary
issues.
http://www.hrw.org/
Institut
de Drets Humans de Catalunya
Humans Rights institute based in Barcelona that promotes human rights
through conferences, seminars and dissemination of information.
http://www.idhc.org/
International
Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
With its base in Vienna, the IHFHR is a vast network of NGOs that that
act to protect human rights throughout Europe, North America and Central
Asia.
http://www.ihf-hr.org/
International
Human Rights Observer Pakistan
The IHRO aim to promote Human Rights Education and create consciousness
in respect of right and liabilities among individuals and work for the
rectification and implementation by Pakistan of Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and other related chartered covenant and protocols.
http://ihro.org.pk/
Kurdish
Human Rights Project
Active NGO that promotes human rights throughout the Kurdish regions
of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and the former Soviet Union.
http://www.khrp.org/
Liberty
Liberty is a UK based human rights and civil liberties organisations.
It was founded as the National Council for Civil Liberties in 1934
and has continued to promote equal rights for 70 years. Liberty provides
legal assistance and bring cases to the UK courts and the European
Court of Human Rights.
http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/
Ligue
Algerienne pour la Defense des Droits de L’Homme LADDH
Algiers based NGO dedicated to the documentation and report of human
rights violations in Algeria, with respect to the 1989 constitution,
and internationally. This site contains some reports and analysis of
relevant contemporary events.
http://www.fidh.org/dz2003/laddh/
One-World
Service
This is a UK-based news service in partnership with numerous NGOs. This
site provides a comprehensive directory to NGO’s involved in the
field.
http://www.oneworld.net/section/partners/
Organisation
Marocaine des Droits Humains
Based in Rabat, this NGO works principally with human rights issues in
Morocco and closely cooperates with La Federation Internationale des
Droits de l’Homme in Paris.
http://www.omdh.org/
Palestinian
Human Rights Monitoring Group
PHRMG was established in 1996 as a response to the state of democracy
and human rights under the Palestinian Authority. PHRMG aims to document
human rights violations committed against Palestinians in the West Bank,
Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, regardless of who is responsible.
http://www.phrmg.org/
Statewatch
Based in London, Statewatch is an NGO that monitors the state of social
justice and civil rights in Europe.
http://www.statewatch.org/
Sudan
Human Rights Association SHRA
NGO with the main objective of ensuring that the rights of the Sudanese
people, especially refugees, displaced persons, and prisoners of war
are recognized and protected.
http://www.ned.org/grantees/shra/index.html
Tibetan
Centre for Human Rights and Democracy
Based in Dharamsala, India, TCHRD’s objective is to highlight the
human rights situation in Tibet and to promote principles of democracy
in Tibetan community.
http://www.tchrd.org/
Torturaren
Aurkako Taldea
Non Governmental Organisation based in the Basque region, whose principal
objective is the eradication of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishments or treatment.
http://www.stoptortura.com/quienI.php
Uganda
Human Rights Network
NGO that strives to create the recognition, respect and defence of human
rights, the rule of law and democratic governance for the attainment
of freedom, peace and sustainable development at a national and regional
level.
http://www.hurinet.or.ug/
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