•The University of Minnesota Human Rights Library

• Introduction to International Human Rights

• The United Nations System

•Internationally Recognized Human Rights Organizations

•Minnesota Based Human Rights Organizations

•Information on Small Arms and Light Weapons

•Guide to International Human Rights Internships

• Events Calendar

• Upcoming Classes

• Graduate Minor in Human Rights

• Human Rights Resources on the Web

• Midwest Coalition for Human Rights

Human Rights Resources

The internet contains a plethora of information about human rights issues and organizations. This page includes only a sampling of those websites.

The University of Minnesota Human Rights Library

The University of Minnesota Human Rights Library houses one of the largest collections of more than twenty-five thousand core human rights documents, including several hundred human rights treaties and other primary international human rights instruments. The site also provides access to more than four thousands links and a unique search device for multiple human rights sites. This comprehensive research tool is accessed by more than a 175,000 students, scholars, educators, and human rights advocates monthly from over 135 countries around the world. Documents are available in six languages - Arabic, English, French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.

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Introduction to International Human Rights

Click here to view the slide presentation, "Introduction to International Human Rights," prepared by Professor Barbara Frey.

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The United Nations System

Virtually every United Nations body and specialized agency is involved, to some degree, in the protection of human rights. The preamble of the United Nations Charter reads “We the Peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained...”

• Human Rights Today: A United Nations Priority
  This is part of the series, UN Briefing Papers, which aims to provide a resource to key issues that are priority areas of concern for the United Nations. The published version of this edition outlines the concrete steps that are being taken by the United Nations at the international and national levels to strengthen its human rights programmes and work more effectively with its partners in government and civil society to assure rights for all. In addition to summarizing United Nations work in the field, the publication provides a blueprint of the work of the various intergovernmental human rights bodies. It also features annexes, including a chronology of UN human rights landmarks since 1945, an outline of key human rights conventions and a bibliography of related publications and other resources available to the general public
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
  The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a department of the United Nations Secretariat, is mandated to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization, by all people, of all rights established in the Charter of the United Nations and in international human rights laws and treaties. The mandate includes preventing human rights violations, securing respect for all human rights, promoting international cooperation to protect human rights, coordinating related activities throughout the United Nations, and strengthening and streamlining the United Nations system in the field of human rights. In addition to its mandated responsibilities, the Office leads efforts to integrate a human rights approach within all work carried out by United Nations agencies.
• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees.
• United Nations Children's Fund
  UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behavior towards children.
• United Nations Population Fund
  UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programs to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
  UNESCO functions as a laboratory of ideas and a standard-setter to forge universal agreements on emerging ethical issues. The Organization also serves as a clearinghouse – for the dissemination and sharing of information and knowledge – while helping Member States to build their human and institutional capacities in diverse fields. In short, UNESCO promotes international co-operation among its 191 Member States and six Associate Members in the fields of education, science, culture and communication.

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Internationally Recognized Human Rights Organizations

• Amnesty International
  Amnesty International's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.In pursuit of this vision, AI's mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights. Amnesty Internationals US chapter.
• Human Rights Watch
  Human Rights Watch is the largest human rights organization based in the United States. Human Rights Watch researchers conduct fact-finding investigations into human rights abuses in all regions of the world. Human Rights Watch then publishes those findings in dozens of books and reports every year, generating extensive coverage in local and international media. Human Rights Watch then meets with government officials to urge changes in policy and practice -- at the United Nations, the European Union, in Washington and in capitals around the world.
• International Committee of the Red Cross
  ICRC is a unique, private organization that acts as the custodian of the Geneva Conventions and works to protect and provide assistance to victims of international armed conflicts and internal violence.  A wealth of resources resides on its site, including articles from the International Review of the Red Cross, a humanitarian law database with texts of relevant treaties, and information on ICRC’s country operations. 
• Human Rights First
  Human Rights First believes that building respect for human rights and the rule of law will help ensure the dignity to which every individual is entitled and will stem tyranny, extremism, intolerance, and violence.Human Rights First protects people at risk: refugees who flee persecution, victims of crimes against humanity or other mass human rights violations, victims of discrimination, those whose rights are eroded in the name of national security, and human rights advocates who are targeted for defending the rights of others. These groups are often the first victims of societal instability and breakdown; their treatment is a harbinger of wider-scale repression. Human Rights First works to prevent violations against these groups and to seek justice and accountability for violations against them.

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Minnesota Based Human Rights Organizations

A listing of Minnesota based human rights organizations can be found here.

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Small Arms and Light Weapons

Information on Human Rights Violations committed with small arms and light weapons; including reports written by HRP Program Director Barbara Frey in her capacity as United Nations Special Rapporteur on the prevention of human rights violations committed with small arms and light weapons.

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Guide to International Human Rights Internships

The Guide to International Human Rights Internships was created in order to assist undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Minnesota in their search for possible internship or volunteer positions.  In it you will find information from potential funding to what past interns have done while working abroad to what to pack before you leave. Our hope is that this brochure will help you whether you are at the very beginning of your search or in the more advanced stages. Link to Guide

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