Research Guides: Human Rights & Refugee Law Research Guide: Human Rights

Books in the Law Library and at Zimmerman Library: Human Rights

International Human Rights in a Nutshell by Thomas Buergenthal; Dinah Shelton; David P. Stewart
Provides a comprehensive overview of the international, regional and domestic human rights systems.
Advanced Introduction to International Human Rights Law by Dinah L. Shelton
Shifting Legal Visions by Ezequiel A. González-Ocantos
What explains the success of criminal prosecutions against former Latin American officials accused of human rights violations? Using a theory of judicial action inspired by sociological institutionalism, this book argues that this was the result of deep transformations in the legal preferences of judges and prosecutors.
European Institutions, Democratization, and Human Rights Protection in the European Periphery by Henry F. Carey (Editor)
This book examines the efforts of European regional organizations in promoting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law among states seeking membership.
The Human Rights Encyclopedia by James Lewis; Evelyn Dorothy Oliver; Carl Skutsch; Aung S. Kyi (Foreword by)
A three volume set available at the Zimmerman Library, second floor.

Human Rights Basics

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Human Rights Bodies
Explains the Charter-Based and Treaty-Based human rights organizations.

Human Rights Research Resources

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Human Rights by Country
UN human rights documents organized by country.
United Nations Treaty Database
Provides information on the status of over 500 major multilateral instruments deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (as of 1 January 2009). Note that this one has information not only on ratification status, but also declarations and reservations.
Covers a range of subject matter such as Human Rights, Disarmament, Commodities, Refugees, the Environment and the Law of the Sea.
University of Minnesota, Human Rights Library
Provides links to international human rights documents and materials--many concerning indigenous rights. Particularly good for providing info re: regional entities and documentation. In English, Russian, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese.
United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library: Research Guide on Human Rights Documents
Extremely helpful UN Documentation Research Guide including pieces of documentation which can be among best evidence of human rights conditions in countries. Outlines treaty based bodies and their output/products, linking you to documents issued or considered by committees, including how to identify them by document symbols.
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Many of these pieces of documentation can be among best evidence of human rights conditions in countries.
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties (Charles J. Kappler)
Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler, and presented by the Oklahoma State University Library, this compilation contains laws concerning Indian affairs up to 1971, treaties from 1778-1883, executive orders, and proclamations. Contains indexes and tables of contents. Accessible in text or printed page format. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Kappler/
Digital versions now also available via GPO's govinfo: https://tinyurl.com/ycx55c9x
U.S. Department of State, Human Rights Reports
The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – the Human Rights Reports – cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements. The U.S. Department of State submits reports on all countries receiving assistance and all United Nations member states to the U.S. Congress in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trade Act of 1974.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Refworld
This resource includes UNHCR country reports, and a wide range of documents from other sources, such as country profiles and assessments, research papers, query responses, and human rights reports.
United Nations Women’s Family Law database
The Global Women’s Leadership Project (GWLP), developed under the auspices of Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has created a clearing house of information on laws that govern women’s status in the family, as the first phase of the UN Women’s Family Law database.
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This is the first mapping of its kind that goes beyond the boundaries of traditional family law to examine the entire legal system of a country to identify the law’s subtle and powerful impact on a woman’s status in her family. Provisions that govern and control a woman’s relationship to her family inform her political, economic and social status. These unequal provisions are found in the laws governing property, inheritance, custody, guardianship, marriage, divorce, residence, citizenship, domicile, age of marriage, guardianship, female genital mutilation (FGM), “husband obedience “ and sex-selective laws, among others. In many countries around the world, family law is a locus of gender discrimination and magnifies the unequal status of women in the public sphere and limit their opportunity to participate in public life, whether political, economic or social.
The GWLP is one of the first efforts to map the panoramic sweep of laws that regulate a woman’s role in the family and society. The first phase of the database covers the 54 African countries; the 19 civil law countries in Latin America* and 32 states of Mexico; the 51 independent states of Europe; Israel; India; and Pakistan. The research on the Middle East is ongoing.

*Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Consists of information about the work of the United Nations concering indigenous peoples. Also contains links to UN documents on indigenous peoples.
United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library: Research Guide on Human Rights Documents
Extremely helpful UN Documentation Research Guide including pieces of documentation which can be among best evidence of human rights conditions in countries. Outlines treaty based bodies and their output/products, linking you to documents issued or considered by committees, including how to identify them by document symbols.
more...less...
Many of these pieces of documentation can be among best evidence of human rights conditions in countries.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Refworld
This resource includes UNHCR country reports, and a wide range of documents from other sources, such as country profiles and assessments, research papers, query responses, and human rights reports.
LOC Country Reports: Laws and Practices
This Library of Congress collection features research reports and other publications on a wide range of legal topics prepared by the Law Library of Congress in response to requests or recurring interest from Congress and other federal government entities on issues concerning foreign, comparative, and international law (FCIL).

For more "must-check" resources on country conditions, visit our Human Rights and Refugee Research Guide, and in the top box labeled, "Refugee Law - Other Research Resources," click the tab, Country Conditions.

Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) Index This link opens in a new window
Proxy access for UNM students (NetID and password).
The PAIS Index contains continually updated records for over half a million journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, web content, and more. Newspapers and newsletters are not indexed. PAIS International includes publications from over 120 countries throughout the world. In addition to English, some of the indexed materials are published in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and other languages. It is updated quarterly with over 17,000 current records added in total each year.

Video: Searching PAIS Index
Learn how to find scholarly articles in the PAIS database.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Databases
Links to multiple databases of UN documents related to human rights, including a database for both charter-based and treaty-based human rights organizations.
UN Women’s Family Law database
The Global Women’s Leadership Project (GWLP), developed under the auspices of Under Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has created a clearing house of information on laws that govern women’s status in the family, as the first phase of the UN Women’s Family Law database.
more...less...
This is the first mapping of its kind that goes beyond the boundaries of traditional family law to examine the entire legal system of a country to identify the law’s subtle and powerful impact on a woman’s status in her family. Provisions that govern and control a woman’s relationship to her family inform her political, economic and social status. These unequal provisions are found in the laws governing property, inheritance, custody, guardianship, marriage, divorce, residence, citizenship, domicile, age of marriage, guardianship, female genital mutilation (FGM), “husband obedience “ and sex-selective laws, among others. In many countries around the world, family law is a locus of gender discrimination and magnifies the unequal status of women in the public sphere and limit their opportunity to participate in public life, whether political, economic or social.
The GWLP is one of the first efforts to map the panoramic sweep of laws that regulate a woman’s role in the family and society. The first phase of the database covers the 54 African countries; the 19 civil law countries in Latin America* and 32 states of Mexico; the 51 independent states of Europe; Israel; India; and Pakistan. The research on the Middle East is ongoing.

*Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela

United Nations Treaty Database
Provides information on the status of over 500 major multilateral instruments deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (as of 1 January 2009). Note that this one has information not only on ratification status, but also declarations and reservations.
Covers a range of subject matter such as Human Rights, Disarmament, Commodities, Refugees, the Environment and the Law of the Sea.
University of Minnesota, Human Rights Library
Provides links to international human rights documents and materials--many concerning indigenous rights. Particularly good for providing info re: regional entities and documentation. In English, Russian, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese.

Amnesty International: News Section
Amnesty International's compilation of the latest international human rights news and information. Users can sort by issue or country.
Human Rights Watch
Users can sort news stories by region or topic.
American Society of International Law (ASIL): Human Rights and International Criminal Law
This topical section of the ASIL website lists its own articles and reports on human rights and international criminal law.
Human Rights Brief
The Human Rights Brief and its website, www.HRBrief.org, are a student-run publication and online resource of the American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Center).