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Human Rights Resources: Human Rights Topics

Human Rights Topics

This section lists selected resources and organizations that work on selected topics on human rights: women, migrants, civil rights, children, the disabled, and the prevention of torture and genocide.

The Rights of Women

Amnesty International: Women's Rights.  Portal for Women's Rights Issues from AI.

Contemporary Women's Issues.  Access to global information on women in over 190 countries from journals, newsletters, reports, pamphlets,  and guides covering gender-related issues.

GenderWatch.  International journals, magazines, newsletters, regional publications, special reports, and conference proceedings devoted to women's and gender issues.

Global Database on Violence Against Women.  Includes laws, policies, programs, institutional mechanisms, research, data, and country pages

Human Rights Watch - Rights of Women. Portal for Women's Rights Issues from HRW.

United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.  UN body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

UN Women.  United Nations Agency devoted specifically to Women's Issues, including Human Rights.

Women's Human Rights Resources Database. Lists articles, documents and links  related to international women's rights law and Canadian women's rights law. 

Women's Studies International. Acces to women's studies, women's issues, and gender-focused books, book chapters, journal and magazine articles, dissertations, and reports from throughout the world.

Genocide and Torture

Bush Administration Torture Archives Documents highlighting abuse and torture of detainees in facilities such as Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib Prison.

Encyclopedia of genocide and crimes against humanity. Presents information on  acts that fall within the definitions developed for crimes under international law: war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

Genocide Watch. Coordinating organization for the International Campaign to End Genocide (ICEG), an international coalition of organizations dedicated to educating the public and policy makers about the causes, processes, and warning signs of genocide.

Prevent Genocide International. An education and action network dedicated to stopping genocide.

United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.  Acts as a catalyst to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide, to alert relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide, and to advocate and mobilize for appropriate action.

Rights of the Disabled

ACLU Disability Rights. Section on ACLU web site dedicated to the rights of the disabled.

Disability Rights International.  Promotes the human rights and full participation of children & adults with disabilities worldwide.

Encyclopedia of Disability. Collects over one thousand entries that provide insight into international views, experiences, and expertise on the topic of disability

Human Rights Watch: Disability. HRW section on disability.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: Disability

Civil Rights

Black Studies Center (BSC). Cross-searchable gateway to Black Studies including scholarly essays, recent periodicals, historical newspaper articles, reference books, and more.

Civil Rights in the United States. Excellent guide from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Ethnic News Watch. Index of over 200 ethnic, minority, and native press publications, including news, culture, and history topics. Searchable in English and Spanish.

Civil Rights Digital Library.   Includes a digital video archive of historical news films of the Civil Rights Movement, a civil rights portal providing a  virtual library by connecting related digital collections, as well as stories, articles, and lesson plans.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education InstitutePapers of Martin Luther King, from Stanford University.

Southern Poverty Law Center. Advances justice for vulnerable members of society through advocacy, litigation, and education. Provides information on hate crimes throughout the United States

Television News of the Civil Rights Era.  "An archive containing film footage from the nightly news from two local television stations in Virginia. Included are clips of Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, the governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

United Nations and Minority Rights.  UNHCR section devoted to Minority rights.

The Rights of the Child

Child Rights Information Network (CRIN)  Dedicated to changing how societies and governments view children and to making the enforcement of current human rights more inclusive of children.

European Commission: Rights of the Child.  European Union site with resources on the EU's work on the rights of the child.

State of the World's Children. UNICEF’s flagship publication that closely examines key issues affecting children. 

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Section on the Rights of the Child on the UNICEF web site.

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. Body of 18 Independent experts that monitors implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child by its State parties.  

Refugees and Migrants

Amnesty International - Migrants and Refugees. News and stories about AI's work with refugees.

Human Rights Watch - Migration. HRW topical section for Migration.

Migrant Rights International. NGO and federation of migrants’ and migrants’ rights organizations, trade unions and faith-based groups promoting and defending the human rights of migrants.

Migrant Rights.Org. Advocates to bring about a change in attitudes towards migrant workers with a focus on the Middle East.

United Nations Committee on Migrant Workers. Body of independent experts monitoring the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families by State parties.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The United Nations Refugee agency - immense web site with facts, information, reports, and resources about global refugee issues including their search engine, refworld.