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HUMAN RIGHTS: GENERAL RESOURCES    

This guide highlights resources dealing with a broad range of human rights issues and includes the following: “Gateways,” advocacy associations/organizations (both broad-based, topic-specific and population-specific), academic sources (including research institutes), government sites, international law sites.  It includes sites which address both contemporary/ongoing human rights violations/concerns and historical ones.  Scope is international, regional and country-specific.

This guide was created with Internet accessibility in mind.  Wherever possible, freely available resources have been included.  Some sites contain links to restricted databases, however.

This page is highly selective in its selection of sites.  Lack of inclusion of other worthy sites does not reflect on the validity or importance of these sites, since there are thousands of noteworthy sites from government sources, academia and advocacy associations/ organizations.  It is also good to remember that since many of these sites are comprehensive in nature, there is an inevitable amount of overlap and duplication.


Amnesty International (AI)

•  Established in 1966, AI “… is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights,” with over 1.8 million members/supporters/subscribers in over 150 countries/territories
•  “AI is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion”
•  “No funds are sought or accepted from governments”
•  “Current Campaigns” provides information on AI’s ongoing initiatives, which include prevention of domestic violence, arms control, eradicating torture, death penalty, refugees/migrants, globalization; information on previous campaigns archived from 2000
•  “Library” is an “online documentation archive” consisting of thousands of reports/news releases from 1996 to the present; browsable by country, region, sub-region and “theme” (31 topics); also searchable
•  “Resources & Links” links to human rights-oriented websites which are topic-specific or country-specific; also links to AI’s International Offices and local groups
•  Also available in Arabic, French and Spanish
•  Along with Human Rights Watch (HRW), AI is one of the pre-eminent human rights advocacy organizations active on a global basis
•  Outstanding; provides an enormous amount of analysis/commentary and news on worldwide human rights issues, regionally, sub-regionally, by nation and by topic; highly recommended


BUBL LINK: Catalogue of Internet Resources: Human Rights

•  Links to 48 human rights-related sites for “gateways,” advocacy groups/organizations, government sites, international humanitarian law, monitoring reports, topic-specific campaigns
•  Each link is annotated; includes a brief description; author/sponsoring body, “resource type”
•  International in scope
•  Excellent; does an admirable job of presenting many of “the basics” for this area; great place to begin research


Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (CHGS)

•  Online since 1997, the CHGS is an “Independent Center” affiliated with the Department of History, University of Minnesota
•  The CHGS provides access to a variety of resources which deal with the Holocaust and other genocides, both contemporary/ongoing and historical
•  “Virtual Museum of Holocaust and Genocide Art” provides extensive online art exhibits and online “museums”
•  “Histories, Narratives, Documents” contains documents/documentary evidence and personal accounts of the Holocaust and other 20th century genocides, both contemporary/ongoing and historical
•  “Educational Resources” includes links/information on multi-media resources, curriculum/teaching instructional materials, events/forums, advisories about “Unreliable Web Sites”
•  “Links & Bibliography” links to over 130 sites on the Holocaust, other 20th century genocides (Armenia, the Ukraine, Cambodia, East Timor, Darfur, the Balkans); also includes links to human rights violations in the U.S. (Native Americans, slavery, Japanese-American Internment); contains an extensive bibliography, most of which concentrates on the Holocaust
•  Outstanding; all aspects of this site are well-designed, but it is especially useful for its concentration on educational/curriculum/instructional resources and links to virtual “museums;” highly recommended


Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ)

•  Sponsored by the New York University School of Law
•  Founded in 2002, the CHRGJ offers programs, clinics and additional resources dealing with human rights issues; includes information on conferences/events/seminars, initiatives/projects, courses/clinics/fellowships, publications
•  “Human Rights Links” section “…is not meant as a comprehensive list of all the valuable work being done in the field of Human Rights,” but it comes close, with hundreds of sites for research centers, national human rights commissions, regional institutions, courts/tribunals, UN affiliates, intergovernmental organizations, international NGO advocacy organizations, issue-specific sites, region-specific sites and country-specific sites
•  Outstanding; the information on the Center is enlightening, but the cornucopia of links is probably the best place on the Web for locating human rights information on specific countries


Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

•  Maintained by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State
•  “Human Rights 2005” provides reports “… that describe the performance of 196 countries in putting into practice their international commitments to human rights”
•  Each country report includes a discussion of all or some of the following human rights issues: rights/freedoms (press, speech, assembly, religion, association), judicial concerns/rights (fair trial, incarceration, police/security apparatus), political/governmental concerns (free elections, corruption), specific populations (women, children, refugees, ethnic groups/minorities, the disabled)
•  “Violations of human rights and miscarriages of justice can and do occur in democratic countries; no governmental system is without flaws”
•  These reports stand alone; there is no cross-referencing or comparative analysis included
•  There is no report for the United States
•  Excellent; offers an up-to-date analysis of the state of human rights in most (but not all) of the world’s countries


Crimes of War Project (CWP)

•  Established in 1999, the CWP is “… a collaboration of journalists, lawyers and scholars dedicated to raising public awareness of the laws of war and their application to situations of conflict”
•  “Our goal is to promote understanding of international humanitarian law among journalists, policymakers and the general public”
•  Provides analysis/commentary/news of about ongoing conflicts and those in the recent past which are currently in the process of judicial resolution
•  Global in scope
•  The primary content of the site is its “Archive,” which includes numerous articles/essays (often lengthy) dealing with a wide range of topics which fall under the purview of “war crimes” and violations of human rights
•  Contributors are primarily academics, officials/members of advocacy groups or government officials (present and past)
•  “Resources” links to well-annotated websites for a variety of topics (humanitarian law, journalism projects, etc.); also includes a bibliography of articles/books, treaties/conventions timeline over the last 150 years
•  Searchable
•  Includes information on CWP’s educational initiatives, events, programs, publications (including its online magazine, published 6 times a year), staff, support (“philanthropic” organizations)
•  Outstanding; one the best online resources for analysis/commentary and news on human rights-related issues


Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights

•  Maintained and “owned” by Linda M. Woolf, Professor of Psychology, Webster University
•  Guide to resources (websites/articles/documents) on the Holocaust, genocide and human rights; also includes material from Woolf’s courses and “recent publications/presentations”
•  “Women and Global Human Rights” section offers an extensive variety of resources on 32 specific women’s human rights issues, including domestic violence, “honor killings,” and discrimination (housing, occupations, education); all of these contain an excellent “overview” essay, links to appropriate sites, articles/suggested readings
•  Includes extensive links to genocide in the past (Holocaust, Armenia, the Ukraine), contemporary and ongoing genocide/human rights issues in Africa (Rwanda/Burundi, Sudan), Asia (Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor) and Europe (Balkans/Bosnia); also links to “gateway” sites, broad-based advocacy associations/organizations
•  Outstanding; this site does an admirable job of presenting both historical and current resources for general and specific genocide/human rights-related issues; the “Women and Global Human Rights” section is especially useful


Human & Constitutional Rights

•  Maintained by the Arthur W. Diamond Law Library, Columbia University; sponsored by the Reed Foundation; Silke Sahl, site administrator
•  Directory of links to human rights/constitutional documents for the following: “Country Reports” (annual reports of major human rights monitoring associations/organizations), “Regional Links,” “International Links” (intergovernmental organizations, the U.N., non-governmental associations/organizations), “Web Resources” (sites for constitutional law, legal resources, human rights research guides, college/university human rights centers)
•  “Country Reports” for 248 nations/territories provide some or all of the following resources: documents (constitutions, laws), government agencies (including legislative bodies), “Non-Governmental Organizations” (which monitor human rights issues within each country), “Other Resources” (sites which provide additional general information about countries); comprehensiveness of information varies from country to country)
•  Brief annotations accompany links to many sites
•  Excellent; not extensive, but one of the best sites for an overview of basic human rights resources and “quick facts” for many countries


Human Rights

•  Compiled by Marci Hoffman, Associate Director, University of California, Berkeley School of Law Library
•  Part of the American Society of International Law (ASIL)’s “Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law;” “… designed to be used by students, teachers, practitioners and researchers as a self-guide tour of relevant, quality, up-to-date online resources covering important areas of international law”
•  This sub-page offers an extensive (21 pp) examination of resources for human rights-related issues
•  “Where to Start” examines bibliographic databases, catalogs, research guides, bibliographies, periodical indexes
•  Topics discussed include the following: human rights instruments, reservations/declarations, jurisprudence/case law/decisions/reports, “country reports,” journals/periodicals, blogs, “other relevant sites “ (advocacy groups, academic centers/”think tanks,” resource sites dedicated to topic-specific human rights issues)
•  Excellent, in-depth commentary accompanies many links
•  Especially useful for background information on the UN’s numerous initiatives/programs dealing with human rights, structure/function of regional organizations concerned with human rights issues, “country reports”
•  Outstanding; probably the best general guide to online human rights resources currently available, for its comprehensiveness and commentary; it examines an extremely complex subject and provides an excellent sense of coherence to its organization; highly recommended


Human Rights

•  Maintained by the New York University School of Law; Mirela Roznovschi, webmaster/editor
•  Directory of links to a variety of human rights-related websites for the following: general guides/advocacy sites, international courts/tribunals, war crimes/genocide, specific topics (housing, privacy, sexual trafficking), reports on the status of human rights in countries/regions
•  Sponsoring bodies include regional organizations, government agencies, academic sites, UN
•  Includes annotations
•  Excellent; not extensive, but does an admirable job of site selection for many of “the basics” for human rights issues


Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs: Information Resources

•  Maintained by the Lehman Social Sciences Library, Columbia University Libraries
•  Discusses the human rights-related print, database and online resources available in the Lehman Library
•  “This is a selective guide to resources at Columbia University Libraries, for conducting research on international human rights issues”
•  “Annual Reviews” section links to annual reviews/reports from numerous advocacy organizations for both broad-based human rights issues and specific topics; most (but not all) advocacy sites have been recently updated
•  “Human Rights Advocacy Organizations” links to many of the most well-known and respected sites for international/comprehensive human rights issues and more specialized ones (regional, medical, labor, indigenous populations); also links to pertinent United Nations resources
•  Excellent annotations accompany most (but not all) links
•  Databases are restricted to the Columbia University community; many of these may be found in academic libraries or large public libraries
•  Print resources include annual reports, bibliographies, directories, guides, handbooks, indexes/abstracts to publications; many of these may be found in academic libraries or large public libraries
•  Outstanding; one of the best academic webguides currently available; well-organized and useful to all levels of researchers; highly recommended


Human Rights Library

•  Maintained by the Minnesota Human Rights Center and Library (MHRCL)
•  “Houses one of the largest collections of more than twenty-five thousand human rights core documents, including several thousand human rights treaties and other primary international human instruments”
•  Also includes bibliographies, “research guides,” links to professional associations/organizations, academic sites/resources
•  Includes links to almost 30 “Topic Guides” (created by the “Human Rights Education Associates”), excellent resources for a variety of human rights subjects for specific populations, legal issues, “freedoms,” “rights”
•  Also available in Arabic, French, Japanese, Russian, Spanish
•  Searchable
•  Discusses the initiatives, programs and services provided by the MHRCL
•  Outstanding; this is a phenomenal resource; a cornucopia of resources for every conceivable type of document (by jurisdiction, nation/region, topic); this is one of the first places to begin research; highly recommended


Human Rights on the Internet: Sites That Encourage Activism

•  Written by Elisa Mason, “an information specialist currently undertaking independent research projects in the field of refugee and forced migration studies”
•  Directory of sites for the following human rights-related resources: “gateways”/meta-sites, associations/organizations, international/region-specific monitoring/”watchdog” agencies, primary sources/documents/treaties, NGO’s, annual surveys
•  Links are accompanied by excellent annotations
•  Outstanding; this is a very useful introduction to the field; a great place to begin research


Human Rights Research

•  Maintained by the Marion Gould Gallagher Law Library, University of Washington School of Law; updated by Vicenc Feliu
•  Pathfinder/guide to the print, database and Internet resources of the Gallagher Law Library
•  Examines 20 categories dealing directly or indirectly with human rights; does an excellent job of guiding the user through the intricacies of this type of research
•  Discusses guides/bibliographies, directories, treaties, international case law for human rights, the UN and human rights, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)
•  Includes extensive commentary on achieving the best use of these resources
•  Print resources may be found in academic law libraries or large public libraries
•  Database are restricted to the University of Washington Academic community; they may be found in academic law libraries or large public libraries
•  Links to other legal research guides produced by the Gallagher Law Library (currently over 100)
•  Outstanding; the commentary/resources which deal directly with human rights may be found in other places; what really sets this site apart is the advice it provides for extracting human rights-related material out of comprehensive resources which deal with international law in general


Human Rights Watch (HRW)

•  Established in 1988, “Human Rights Watch believes that international standards of human rights apply to all people equally, and that sharp vigilance and timely protest can prevent the tragedies of the twentieth century from recurring”
•  “Global Issues” provides “… in-depth information on certain issues [27 in all] of concerns to Human Rights Watch that cut across national boundaries; … designed to encourage advocacy efforts around these issues, and will be updated to reflect current developments”
•  Each “Global Issues” presents an overview of its topic, “latest news,” links to additional analysis/information on the topic; also may included links (if any) to pertinent HRW publications and “International Legal Standards”
•  “Info by Country” consists of an archive of retrievable articles/news items from over 200 countries
•  HRW produces numerous publications which examine human rights issues in specific countries and annual reports (the 2007 World Report discusses issues in 73 countries, including the U.S.); they are available for sale (although a great many also be downloaded)
•  Many (but not all) of HRW’s reports/publications are available in 18 languages
•  Includes information on HRW’s campaigns, events, contact information initiatives, projects, resources, services, volunteer information; includes an FAQ feature
•  Along with Amnesty International (AI), HRW is one of the pre-eminent human rights advocacy organizations active on a global basis
•  Outstanding; HRW monitors conditions in many countries (including democracies); provides continuously updated news and produces an extensive array of well-researched publications; highly recommended


International Coalition of Historic Site Museums of Conscience (ICHSMC)

•  “The Coalition is a network of site museums in many different parts of the world, at many stages of development, presenting and interpreting a wide variety of historic issues, events and people”
•  Coalition currently consists of 13 member museums in Argentina, Bangladesh, the Czech Republic, England, Russia, Senegal, South Africa and the U.S.A.
•  Each museum’s “Site of Conscience” … “makes a commitment beyond its conventional role as a museum” and presents a “stimulating dialogue on pressing social issues and promoting humanitarian and democratic values as a primary function”
•  Museums highlight a variety of civil rights/ethnic/national liberation struggles from around the world
•  “Issues” links to a directory of annotated sites for additional “Contemporary Human Rights Issues”: children as victims of war, displacement, genocide, human trafficking/slavery, racism, poverty/welfare, state terrorism, sweatshops, totalitarianism
•  Also available in French, German, Spanish and Russian
•  Includes information on membership categories/benefits
•  Excellent; while ICHSMC currently consists of a limited number of museums, it is an auspicious beginning for a worldwide network which hopefully will increase in both membership and influence in the future


International Criminal Law

•  Compiled by Gail A. Partin, Law Librarian, Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University, for the American Society of International Law (ASIL)
•  Part of the American Society of International Law (ASIL)’s Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law, “… designed to be used by students, teachers, practitioners and researchers as a self-guided tour of relevant, quality, up-to-date online resources covering important areas of international law”
•  This sub-page presents an extensive (21 pp) examination of international criminal law
•  Topics discussed include the following: treaties/conventions/agreements, courts/tribunals, crime prevention/prosecution/law enforcement, statistical resources, clearinghouses, “specific crimes” (war crimes, terrorism, organized crime, environmental crime, cybercrime)
•  Outstanding; this one of the best online guides to international criminal law currently available; sections on war crimes, courts/tribunals, treaties/conventions/agreements are especially useful for research on human rights; highly recommended


International Crisis Group (ICG)

•  “An independent, non-profit organization, with nearly 120 staff members on five continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict”
•  “Recent Reports & Briefings” offer assessments and recommendations on impending/current crises globally; frequently updated; archived from 2001
•  “Programs” outlines regional initiatives sponsored by ICG
•  Also highlights special initiatives in specific locations (Afghanistan, Congo, Darfur, Iraq, Middle East, Zimbabwe); these include background information/analysis of the individual crisis situations, ICG’s involvement, and suggestions on “What You Can Do”
•  “Links” provide access to websites for international organizations, peacekeeping, NGOs/humanitarian advocacy associations/organizations, “women and conflict;” these links are useful, but not extensive
•  Includes information on ICG’s additional activities, publications (including annual reports), “Thematic Issues” (energy, HIV/AIDS, democratization, international terrorism), country reports (currently 61), “media and speeches”
•  Also in Arabic, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Russian, Spanish; additional languages for select content
•  Searchable
•  Excellent; this site provides up-to-date information on many (but not all) crisis “hotspots” globally; information for encouraging activism is also quite useful


International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

•  Maintained by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
•  “An independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for the victims of war and armed violence”
•  “The ICRC is at the origin of both the International Red Cross / Red Crescent Movement and of international humanitarian law, notably the Geneva Conventions”
•  “Treaty Database” contains 100 treaties for international humanitarian law from 1856 to the present; provides full texts, individual articles, national treaty implementation; also browsable by country and topic
•  Includes topical resources for specific populations (women, children, refugees, missing persons), “conduct of hostilities” (emblems, weapons), “other issues” (economic sanctions, landmines, multinational forces, private military/security companies)
•  Searchable
•  Includes information on ICRC’s activities, initiatives, programs, publications, resources, services, training courses/events
•  Also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish
•  Outstanding; one of the best resources for human rights issues concerning wars/conflicts; very well-organized and user-friendly


Legacy Project (LP)

•  “The Legacy Project will build a global exchange on the enduring consequences of the many historical tragedies of the 20th century”
•  “Offers a channel of mutual recognition across generations and geography,” and an outlet to “… create new – and shared – frameworks for cultural expressions of loss, drawn from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe”
•  “Visual Arts Library,” “Filmography,” and “Literary Sampler” are browsable archives for cultural resources which impact the LP’s mission; may be searched by creator (artist, director, writer), decade, country, event
•  “Virtual Symposium” provides a forum of “current discussions” for “…ongoing discussions of remembrance issues in cultures around the world;” also includes an archive of past discussion topics
•  “Legacy Events Index” offers a browsable summary of many of the site’s “scholarly and creative works” arranged into 23 of the century’s most prominent wars/conflicts/repressive events; each event links to pertinent film, literary and visual art resources
•  Outstanding; the best site to go to for historical perspectives on cultural, artistic and literary representations of many of the 20th century’s most tragic occurrences


ReliefWeb

•  Maintained by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
•  ReliefWeb claims to be “… the world’s leading online gateway to information (documents and maps) on humanitarian emergencies and disasters”
•  “Disseminates timely, reliable and relevant humanitarian information by updating its web site around the clock”
•  Provides regional/country updates on the status of any disaster relief efforts which are currently in progress; includes historical information on past disasters
•  Includes information on appeals/funding, “Policies & Issues” (retrievable by date, source, subject, document type), maps, “Professional Resources” (for 22 topical areas)
•  Outstanding; this clearinghouse is the best, most current source for humanitarian relief efforts; useful for governments, professional associations/organizations, general public


Virtual Human Rights Library (VHRL)

•  Sponsored by the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC), University of Ottawa (Canada); maintained by Alan Fleichman
•  The VHRL offers extensive links to online resources pertaining to human rights, including e-journals, databases, directories, associations/organizations, NGOs
•  Most useful feature is the “International Human Rights Websites,” which links to several thousand sites on civil/political rights, discrimination/minorities, globalization/law/justice, security, peace-building, education, advocacy associations/organizations/NGOs (this section alone makes the site worthwhile), ethics, “war crimes”/”crimes against humanity”
•  No annotations
•  Includes extensive Canadian human rights resources
•  Includes information on HRREC’s events, initiatives, resources, services
•  Outstanding; this is probably the most comprehensive, non-annotated site currently available; it is comprehensive and covers every conceivable type of human rights topic; retrieval of resources by region/country is well-organized; this site examines an extremely complex subject and provides an excellent sense of coherence to its organization; highly recommended


War Crimes Research Portal

•  Maintained by the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center, Case Western University School of Law
•  “Web Links” provides access to almost 1,900 sites for 77 categories for the following topics: international humanitarian law, international criminal tribunals, specific topics (biological weapons, “ethnic cleansing,” rights of refugees, etc.), historical and contemporary/ongoing genocide/war crimes, population-specific issues, advocacy associations/organizations
•  Includes an excellent research guide/pathfinder which covers primary sources, tribunals, “current awareness,” foreign law, research guides, indexes, full-text resources
•  Includes a “War Crimes Memoranda” archive; searchable by title, keyword, year; also browsable
•  Outstanding; one of the best sites for all aspects of genocide/”war crimes” issues; the links alone make this worthwhile; highly recommended


Web Genocide Documentation Centre

•  Created and maintained by Dr. Stuart D. Stein, Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences, University of the West of England (U.K.)
•  This site concentrates on providing information/documentation which “… focus on some of the most important twentieth-century genocidal and mass man-made killing occurrences”
•  “The non-inclusion of materials or links relating to many incidents that would fit under the above reference points do not signify any assessment as to their importance, on any scale-educational, explanatory, moral, suffering, etc.”; these materials are excluded because the author hasn’t had “… access to any primary materials at present on these conflicts”
•  Content includes links to primary sources: documents, reports of international tribunals, human rights advocacy organization reports, UN investigations/reports; where such documentation is lacking, Dr. Stein has created excellent commentary/articles on specific topics/occurrences
•  “A Note on Objectives and Source Materials” outlines the site’s primary focus, methodology utilized in creating the site, cross-referencing, “error reporting”
•  Contains excellent sections on “General Resources” (treaties/tribunals), “Conventions, Statutes, etc.,” “Crimes, Trials, Laws”
•  Significant content is devoted to war crimes/human rights violations which occurred during World II: the Holocaust, war criminals, related topics
•  Also includes analysis/links to additional war crimes/human rights violations, both ongoing and historical (Cambodia, East Timor, Kosovo, Macedonia, Rwanda/Burundi, Sierra Leone, “Yugoslav War”)
•  Outstanding; this is one of the best resources for primary source material on many of the worst incidences of human rights violations of the 20th century; well-organized, well-written and well-documented; useful for all levels of research; highly recommended


Websites discussed on this page are for informational purposes only. Johnson & Wales University Library is not responsible for the accuracy, content or stability of any websites linked to this page.

Compiled by Rick Keogh, 8/07

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