International Human Rights Research Guide

 

By Grace M. Mills

 

Grace M. Mills is the Director of the Law Library at Florida A&M University.  She has previously been affiliated with the law schools of City University of New York, North Carolina Central University and University of California at Berkeley

 

Published March 2007
See the Update!

 

Table of Contents

Introduction

United Nations documentation

Charter bodies

Major Treaty bodies

Abbreviations

Basic Documents in International Human Rights

Guide to United Nations Symbols

United Nations Web Sites

United Nations Depository Library

Human Rights Documents listed by Subject Matter

International Organizations

International News Organizations

Educational Institutions Web Information

International Law Journals

 

Introduction

International human rights documents and decisions are primarily governed by the bodies of the United Nations.  The United Nations was established on October 24, 1945, by the governments of 51 countries, including the victors of WWII -- the United States, England, France, Russia.  The United Nations is a body committed to securing the world's peace through international cooperation.  Human rights issues affect all countries, whether they are active participants in the United Nations or not. 

 

United Nations Documentation

This guide begins with the United Nations abbreviations employed for discussing and classifying United Nations documents. United Nations abbreviations are used for documentation of materials found in either bodies chartered by the UN (the Human Rights Council or Commission on Human Rights) or those bodies created by United Nations treaties. Human rights documents and organizations frequently are discussed using abbreviations found below.   

Charter Bodies

The charter bodies created under the United Nation charter are:

 

Treaty Bodies

There are seven UN treaty bodies governing international human rights: 

 

 

There are several bodies within the United Nations whose primary goal is not to promote or protect human rights; however, these entities frequently endorse activities that protect human rights.  The scope of this Guide is not to examine these entities at length but they must be mentioned as these entities often effectuate and promote the aims of international human rights:  the UN General Assembly (GA), the Third Committee of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (HABITAT) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

 

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights is composed or 53 States that meet in Geneva, Switzerland in a regular session lasting six weeks in March/April of each year.  At an annual regular session the Commission adopts resolutions and make decisions that affect the entire globe when monitoring human rights situations whether in specific countries or in territories.  A member state can call the UN to protect the human rights of its people within its own state or a member state can call the UN to adopt a resolution, make a determination of a violation of human rights against another state and/or request that the UN provide protection of human rights for people of a certain state, region or territory. 

 

The Commission can also meet in special sessions upon the agreement of member States.  A special session deals with any urgent human rights matters brought before the Commission by a member State.   

 

The Human Rights Committee (HRC), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the Committee Against Torture (CAT) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) can receive petitions from individuals who claim that their human rights have been violated. 

 

Abbreviations

CAT - Committee Against Torture

CEDAW - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

CERD - Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

CESCR - Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

CHR - Commission on Human Rights

CMW - Committee on Migrant Workers

CRC - Committee on the Rights of the Child

CSW - Commission on the Status of Women

DAW - Division for the Advancement of Women

DESA - Department on Economic and Social Affairs

ESC - Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

HABITAT - United Nations Human Settlements Programme

HRC - Human Rights Committee

IASC - Inter-Agency Standing Committee

ICJ - International Court of Justice

OCHA - Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

OHCHR - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

OSAGI - Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women

UNAIDS - Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

UNDP - United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNGA - General Assembly of the United Nations

UNHCR - United Nationals High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fun

UNIFEM - United Nations Development Fund for Women

UNIFPA - United Nations Population Fund

UNMA - United Nations Mine Action

UNTS - United Nations Treaty Series

WHO - World Health Organization

 

Basic Documents in International Human Rights

Guide to United Nations Symbols

The United Nations uses a classification system unique to this international body.  Once the reader understands the system it is very easy to find a category of documents, related and any subsequent documents related to human rights.

 

There are two useful United Nations web sites concerning UN document symbols.  A guide is published by the United Nations for deciphering the symbols of official United Nations documents, and is available from the United Nations web site.  There is also a guide from the Office of the Commission on Human Rights.

 

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights lists the following United Nations documents as core to the development and understanding of international law:

 

·         Charter of the United Nations

·         The International Bill of Human Rights

·         Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

·         International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966

·         International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966

·         Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

·         Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty

 

All of these documents can be found in paper or via electronic databases using the United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) as published by the United Nations.  The United Nations Treaty Series (IP access) contains all treaties deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations. There are currently over 40,000 treaties in this collection, each reproduced both in the authentic language or languages of the treaty, as well as in English and French.

United Nations Web Sites

Databases

The United Nations also has several databases that provide electronic means for accessing human rights documents and materials.  These databases are available in three languages:  English, French and Spanish. 

 

United Nations Depository Library

The United Nations has a Depository Library System whereby libraries throughout the world can participate in providing information on human rights and have the right to deposit UN documents.  The UN has a Depository Library locator

 

Publications

Publications (including background information, fact sheets, issue papers, promotional and reference materials) concerning international human rights are available from the OHCHR.

 

In addition to the United Nations documents listed above the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has designated several treaty documents as 'core international human rights instruments' that are critical in determining the implementations of human rights on its State members. The documents, with their abbreviations and dates of enactment and bodies that monitor the progress of these documents, are listed below as provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [as last viewed on February 1, 2007].

 

Human Rights Documents listed by Subject Matter

The OHCHR provides an updated grouping of the relevant human rights documents on its web site [last viewed on February 3, 2007].

 

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

 

HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE: PROTECTION OF PERSONS SUBJECTED TO DETENTION OR IMPRISONMENT

 

HUMANITARIAN LAW

 

MARRIAGE

 

NATIONALITY, STATELESSNESS, ASYLUM AND REFUGEES

 

PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION

 

PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

 

RIGHT TO HEALTH

 

THE RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION

 

RIGHT TO WORK AND TO FAIR CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

·         Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122)

 

RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

 

RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND MINORITIES

 

RIGHTS OF MIGRANTS

 

RIGHTS OF OLDER PERSONS

 

RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

 

RIGHTS OF WOMEN

 

SLAVERY, SLAVERY-LIKE PRACTICES AND FORCED LABOUR

 

SOCIAL WELFARE, PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT

 

WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, INCLUDING GENOCIDE

 

WORLD CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND MILLENNIUM ASSEMBLY

 

International Organizations

There are many organizations that promote international human rights but are not affiliated with, or organized by, the United Nations.  These organizations, often called NGOs (non governmental organizations), are important to note as they often go into areas of conflict without the imprint of political organizations or country affiliation.  Below are four such organizations: 

 

 

International News Organizations

The following all started as news reporting services with bureaus and reporters located in major cities throughout the world.  These agencies have expanded their coverage to provide electronic media.  This has sped the delivery of human disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes that strike remote areas, human rights disasters, such as the refugee camps of Darfur and Thailand, and human rights violations throughout the world.  

 

 

Informative, Yet Not a News Site

 

 

Educational Institutions Web Information

Several universities maintain web sites that contain important information on finding United Nations organizations and international human rights materials. 

 

 

International Law Journals

Many university law schools publish student edited journals having an emphasis upon human rights.  The list below, as of December 2006, is representative but by no means comprehensive.

 

Across Borders International Law Journal

American University International Law Review

Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law

Berkeley Journal of International Law

Boston College International and Comparative Law Review

Boston University International Law Journal

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

California Western International Law Journal

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

Chicago Journal of International Law

Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy

Columbia Human Rights Law Review

Columbia Journal of Asian Law

Columbia Journal of European Law

Columbia Journal of Transnational Law

Connecticut Journal of International Law

Cornell International Law Journal

Denver Journal of International Law & Policy

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

Emory International Law Review

Eyes on the ICC [International Criminal Court]

Florida Journal of International Law

Fordham International Law Journal

George Washington International Law Review

Georgetown Journal of International Law

Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law

Harvard International Law Journal

Hastings International and Comparative Law Review

Houston Journal of International Law

ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law

Indiana International & Comparative Law Review

International and Comparative Law Review

International Law & Management Review

Journal of Transnational Law and Policy

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

Loyola University Chicago International Law Review

Michigan Journal of International Law

Michigan State Journal of International Law

Minnesota Journal of Global Trade

New England Journal of International and Comparative Law

New York Law School Journal of International and Comparative Law

New York University Journal of International Law and Politics

North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Oregon Review of International Law

Pace International Law Review

Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal

Penn State International Law Review

Regent Journal of International Law

San Diego International Law Journal

Santa Clara Journal of International Law

South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business

Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas

Stanford Journal of International Law

Suffolk Transnational Law Review

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

Temple International and Comparative Law Journal

Texas International Law Journal

Touro International Law Review

Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems

The Transnational Lawyer

Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law

Tulsa Journal of Comparative & International Law

UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs

UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law

UCLA Pacific Basin Law Journal

United States-Mexico Law Journal

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Virginia Journal of International Law

Washington University Global Studies Law Review

Willamette Journal of International Law and Dispute Resolution

Wisconsin International Law Journal

Yale Journal of International Law