IGOs and NGOs Concerned With Human Rights

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There are many international organizations which focus on human rights. Some of these organizations promulgate instruments and adjudicate human rights issues. Non-governmental organizations play an important role in the development of norms, institutions, and procedures for protecting human rights. A great deal of information is produced by both IGOs and NGOs. Author searches by the name of the organization will often produce a list of the reports and documents produced by the organization or try keyword searches. Many of these organizations are now supplying documents and reports via the web.

To locate a relevant IGO or NGO on the web, see the following web sites:

• Human Rights Internet, Human Rights Databank: Internet Directory.
• International Organizations (Northwestern University Library).
• International Agencies and Information on the Web (University of Michigan Library).

Selected Inter-Governmental Organizations

• United Nations (UN)
  • Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
    • Human Rights Bodies
    • Human Rights Council
  • Human Rights Page
  • International Law Page
  • Humanitarian Affairs
• International Labour Organization (ILO)
  • ILO Conventions (ILOLEX)
  • NATLEX (national legislation)
• Council of Europe (COE)
  • European Court of Human Rights
  • European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
  • Council of Europe Treaties
  • Fight Against Terrorism
• European Union (EU)
  • EU's Human rights & Democratisation Policy
  • EU & Counterterrorism
• Organization of American States (OAS)
  • Inter-American Commission
    • Special Reports
  • Inter-American Court
  • Inter-American Commission of Women
  • Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism
• Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
  • Human Rights
  • Action against Terrorism Unit
  • Legislationline
    • Terrorism
• African Union (AU)
  • African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR)
  • African Court of Justice
  • African Human Rights Resource Center (University of Minnesota Human Rights Library)
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• UNESCO
  • UNESCO Legal Instruments

Selected Non-Governmental Organizations

There are many NGOs working in the area of human rights and related topics.

• Amnesty International
  • See Research page
• Human Rights Internet
• Human Rights Watch
  • See global issues pages, such international justice
• Human Rights First (formerly Lawyers Committee for Human Rights)
• International Committee of the Red Cross
  • International Humanitarian Law

For more information on human rights NGOs, see EISIL (Electronic Information System for International Law).

This guide was prepared by Marci Hoffman, International and Foreign Law Librarian, UC Berkeley Law Library, revised January 2008.