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Limited Area Search Engines, Libraries, Databases, and Directories
Human Rights Library-- Very comprehensive and world-class offering from the Human Rights Center of the University of Minnesota. Note the Meta Search Engine for Searching Multiple Human Rights Sites to search for documents and reports in many key sites.
HuriSearch-- Excellent limited area
search engine that searches the content of over 5000 human
rights websites in scores of languages. Allows "one point
access to all human rights information published by human
rights organisations worldwide, and particularly human
rights NGOs." From HURIDOCS, "a global network of
organisations concerned with more effective ways of using
information for the cause of human rights."
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre--
From the Norwegian Refugee Council, a fine searchable
resource with coverage of many ongoing situations of
conflict-induced internal displacement in the world.
Includes thousands of documents, hundreds of maps, country
profiles, and analyses of internal displacement at
regional and global levels.
International Human Rights Research
Guide-- Explains and links the main IGOs (especially
the UN), documents, treaties, and more, including by
subject matter. Written by Grace M. Mills, Director of the
Law Library at Florida A&M University and posted by GlobaLex at the Hauser Global Law
School Program, NYU School of Law.
United Nations Human Rights Treaties--
Thorough databank (with texts) and analytical source on UN
human rights treaties, accessible by state, theme, or
subject matter, from Professor A.F. Bayefsky, York
University, Canada, with "a range of data concerning the
application of the UN human rights treaty system by its
monitoring treaty bodies since their inauguration in the
1970's."
Other Sources
• Amnesty International-- One of the world's largest and most famous international voluntary organizations dealing with human rights and political repression. Their annual State of the World's Human Rights report is available online, in addition to many other studies, news reports, facts, and statistics.
• Carr
Center for Human Rights Policy-- From the Kennedy
School of Harvard University, with the mission "to lead
public policy debate, to train human rights leaders and to
partner with human rights organizations to help them
respond to current and future challenges." Posts many
items from the production of the Center's faculty and
distinguished guests.
• Child Rights Information Network--
Advocating a "world in which every child enjoys all of the
human rights promised by the United Nations, regional
organisations, and national governments alike," CRIN's
large site posts news, documents, information, and many
publications on the topic, both by country and by themes.
• Death
Penalty Worldwide-- From the Center for
International Human Rights at Northwestern University
School of Law and its partners, analysis of the topic
worldwide and database "intended to provide detailed and
transparent information regarding the application of the
death penalty in law and in practice in every country that
retains it."
• Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Bureau of the U.S. Department of State, with
responsibilities in promoting democracy worldwide,
formulating U.S. human rights policies, and coordinating
policy in human rights-related labor issues.
• European Centre for Minority Issues--
NGO that "advances majority-minority relations in the
wider Europe through action, research and documentation...
supports the stabilization of areas of ethno-political
tension and conflict, contributes to the strengthening of
relevant legislation and best practices in governance, and
enhances the capacity of civil society actors and
governments to engage with one another in a constructive
way." All reports, working papers, and issue briefs are
available online in full-text. Note the Ethnopolitical Map of Europe and the
Enriched Links Database.
• European
Court of Human Rights-- "The only truly judicial
organ established by the European Convention on Human
Rights... [ensuring], in the last instance, that
contracting states observe their obligations under the
Convention... All of the Court's judgments, and a
significant selection of decisions and reports, are
published [online] in the HUDOC
database."
• Forced
Migration
Online-- From the Refugee Studies Centre at the
University of Oxford, "provides instant access to a wide
variety of online resources dealing with the situation of
forced migrants worldwide." Features an online library,
Internet resources directory, journals, papers, and
research guides, among other items.
• Freedom
House-- Many online
studies ranking countries on measures of freedom,
informative backgrounders, and other publications are
offered by this nonprofit, nonpartisan U.S. organization
dedicated to promoting democracy around the world. Note
especially their extensive yearly online report "Freedom
in the World."
• freedominfo.org-- "This site is a
one-stop portal that describes best practices,
consolidates lessons learned, explains campaign strategies
and tactics, and links the efforts of freedom of
information advocates around the world. It contains
crucial information on freedom of information laws and how
they were drafted and implemented, including how various
provisions have worked in practice."
• Global Migration Group-- A U.N.
"inter-agency group bringing together heads of agencies to
promote the wider application of all relevant
international and regional instruments and norms relating
to migration, and to encourage the adoption of more
coherent, comprehensive and better coordinated approaches
to the issue of international migration." Posts data,
documents and reports on the subject.
• Global Rights-- Non-profit human
rights organization active in many countries, working
directly with organizations and human rights advocates
inside each country to help groups and individuals become
more effective within existing infrastructures by helping
local organizations build their internal capacities for
challenging injustice. Posts news, reports, and analysis
about human rights issues.
• Global
Witness-- NGO that "exposes the corrupt exploitation
of natural resources and international trade systems, to
drive campaigns that end impunity, resource-linked
conflict, and human rights and environmental abuses...to
break the links between the exploitation of natural
resources and conflict and corruption." Note especially
the resources in the news and reports section.
• H-Human-Rights-- "Discussion network for scholars, policymakers, authors, historians, and other interested people devoted to the history, analysis, theory, and practice of human rights," a member of H-Net Humanities & Social Sciences OnLine.
• Human Rights.gov-- Maintained by the U.S. Department of State as a "portal for international human rights related information from the United States Government."
• Human Rights in China-- An NGO
founded by Chinese scientists and scholars in March 1989,
that monitors the implementation of international
human rights standards in China and carries out human
rights advocacy and education among Chinese people inside
and outside the country.
• Human Rights Education Associates-- "An international non-governmental organisation that supports human rights learning; the training of activists and professionals; the development of educational materials and programming; and community-building through on-line technologies." Provides the following services, partially through website: "assistance in curriculum and materials development; training of professional groups; research and evaluation; clearinghouse of education and training materials; networking human rights defenders and educators."
• Human Rights Reports-- Texts of
yearly country reports by the U.S. Department of State,
and related documents. Reports from 1993 to 1999 are
available on an archive site.
• Human Rights Watch-- Dedicated to
protecting the human rights of people around the world, by
investigating and exposing human rights violations and
holding abusers accountable. Many reports online, such as
their annual World Report.
• Human Security Report Project-- Independent research centre affiliated with Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Excellent site "tracks global and regional trends in organized violence, their causes and consequences... Research findings and analyses are published in the Human Security Report, Human Security Brief series, and the miniAtlas of Human Security... [and]... electronic newsletters on global security issues." The Security Stats section presents current and historical data on organized violence around the world and the related death tolls. The Human Security Gateway is a "rapidly expanding searchable online database of [thousands of] human security-related resources including reports, journal articles, news items and fact sheets. It is designed to make human security-related research more accessible to the policy and research communities, the media, educators and the interested public."
• Integrated Regional Information Networks--
From the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs, news and analysis about crises and
humanitarian-related situations in developing countries,
with e-mail alert service.
• Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights-- From "one of two bodies in the
inter-American system for the promotion and protection of
human rights," information on the Commission and about
human rights issues in the Western Hemisphere, published
as yearly reports, country reports, and in other formats.
• Inter-American Human Rights Database--
From American University's Washington College of Law,
archives documents of the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights.
• International Center for Transitional
Justice-- NGO that "assists countries pursuing
accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights
abuse [and] works in societies emerging from repressive
rule or armed conflict, as well as in established
democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse
remain unresolved." Website posts information about the
work of the Center, news, and many analytical
publications, including the annual report.
• International Coalition for the
Responsibility to Protect-- Works to advance
Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and to promote concrete
policies to better enable governments, regional
organizations and the U.N. to protect vulnerable
populations from genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes
and crimes against humanity. Site posts much news and
analysis about the R2P concept and specific cases of
severe human rights abuse around the world.
• International Commission of Jurists--
A leading organization of eminent jurists representative
of the different legal systems of the world and "dedicated
to the primacy, coherence and implementation of
international law and principles that advance human
rights."
• International Committee of the Red Cross--
This site incorporates much on human rights issues,
especially the War and International Humanitarian Law and International
Humanitarian Law Database sections,
with treaties, documents, national laws, commentaries, and
reports.
• International Federation of Human Rights
Leagues-- Defending human rights since 1922, FIDH is
an activist NGO with national league members around the
world. News and publications online.
• International Labour Organization--
Much information about international labor standards and
conditions. Note the following databases-- NATLEX:
Database of national laws on labor, social security, and
related human rights; NORMLEX: Database of International
Labour Standards and National Laws; and LABORSTA:
Labour Statistics Database operated by the ILO Bureau of
Statistics. Labordoc has "references to a wide
range of print and electronic publications, including
journal articles, from countries around the world, on all
aspects of work and sustainable livelihoods, and the
work-related aspects of economic and social development
and human rights."
• International Organization for Migration--
This "leading international organization working with
migrants and governments to provide humane responses to
migration challenges" posts information about the IGO's
structure and work and the full text of many of its
analytical and policy publications and conferences on
internal and international migration issues.
• International Religious Freedom Report--
From the United States Department of State, a report on
the condition of religious freedom in countries around the
world, prepared annually for the U.S. Congress.
• Migration
Policy
Institute-- "Independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit
think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to the study of
the movement of people worldwide," with much data and
analysis online. Note their Migration Information Source for
"fresh thought, authoritative data, and global analysis of
international migration and refugee trends... [and] useful
tools, vital data, and essential facts on the movement of
people worldwide."
• Minority
Rights Group International-- "Campaigns worldwide
with around 130 partners in over 60 countries to ensure
that disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples,
often the poorest of the poor, can make their voices
heard." Facts, figures, and useful analysis in the many
types of reports, studies and guides, the databank of
minority rights law, Peoples Under Threat, World
Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples, and
State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples.
• Office of Global Women's Issues-- In
the U.S. Department of State, this office "works for the
political, economic, and social empowerment of women."
Site posts news, videos, photos, speeches, and other items
on women's issues in the world and U.S. policies and
actions.
• Online
Encyclopedia of Mass Violence-- Multi-university
project that "provides chronological indexes, case
studies, analytical contributions on socio-political
violence in a given country, a glossary of the terms most
often used in genocide studies as well as theoretical
papers written by the most representative authors in the
field... a regularly updated electronic database focusing
on massacres and genocides of the 20th century."
• Open Society Justice Initiative--
This "operational program of the Open Society Institute
pursues law reform activities grounded in the protection
of human rights, and contributes to the development of
legal capacity for open societies worldwide." Posts news,
information, and analysis on this topic, especially
regarding developing countries.
• OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights-- Based in Warsaw, Poland and
"active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election
observation, democratic development, human rights,
tolerance and non-discrimination, and rule of law." Posts
many factsheets, newsletters, reports and documents on
such issues.
• ReliefWeb-- From the United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a
clearinghouse for the information needs of the
humanitarian relief community. Much information on current
and past situations. Note the helpful ReliefWeb Map Centre with maps by
country and by relief emergency, including past ones.
• Trafficking in Persons Report-- From
the United States Department of State, reports on "severe
forms of trafficking in persons" worldwide, prepared
annually for the U.S. Congress.
• UN Women-- The United Nations Entity
for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women's site
describes the entity's work, and that of others, to
promote women's empowerment and gender equality. Posts
news and online publications on women's issues around the
world, including the biennial "Progress of the World's
Women" and the "World Survey on
the Role of Women in Development."
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)--
This U.N. agency "protects children and their rights by
providing services and supplies and by helping shape
policy agendas and budgets in the best interests of
children." UNICEF compiles and publishes information on
the situation of children, performance of countries in
caring for children, protection of children's rights, and
its programs for children. Many publications are online
about development as it affects children, such as the
annual The State of the World's Children.
• United Nations Documentation Research
Guide--Special Topics: Human Rights-- Extensive
bibliography and links to U.N. documents.
• United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights-- Publications, documents, treaties,
databases, special programs, conferences, links.
• United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees-- Very comprehensive source on the topic
and the UN's role. The Resources section gives access to
statistics, maps, reports, and documents.
• United Nations Human Rights Page--
Master page for all United Nations sites on human rights,
with full documentation and activities.
• United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Page--
Master page for all United Nations sites on humanitarian
affairs, with full documentation and activities. Note IRIN,
"the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs," with
related news from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
• U. S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom-- "Created by the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of
freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief
abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and related international instruments, and to give
independent policy recommendations to the President, the
Secretary of State, and the Congress." Site posts annual
reports, regional and country assessments, policy briefs,
newsletter, webcasts, and more.
• Women
Watch is a gateway to UN information and data on
women world-wide and an evolving forum on global women's
issues, to provide up to date information on the UN's work
on behalf of the women of the world, track the global
agenda for improving the status of women, and constitute
an electronic space for exchange of information and ideas
on women's issues.