Human Rights

Continent/Regions | To Top

• Links to a wide range of resources including international human rights instruments in Africa; governmental and non-governmental human rights organizations; resources on economic, social, and cultural rights; and human rights bibliographies focusing on Africa, among others. A joint project of the Makerere Human Rights and Peace Center and the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center.

Kabissa

• Believes that Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) are a revolutionary force in civil society.

African Peace Information Locator

• From the University of Iowa Libraries. The African Peace Information Locator contain links to information on African peace and conflict resolution at all levels of complexity and in all formats.

Afronet

• AfroNet or the African Human Rights and Development Network, an international non-profit organization that has observer status with the African Commission on Human and People's Rights. Focuses on the enhancement of human rights practices in Africa by promoting networking, co-operation and organization among non-governmental organizations; production and, dissemination of information; implementation of human rights laws, standards and charters to enhance government accountability; and promotes popular participation in governance at the national and international levels.

Derechos Human Rights: Africa Section

• Derechos Human Rights is an Internet-based human rights organization. Promotes respect for human rights internationally, for the right to privacy, and against impunity for human rights violators. Contains diverse information resources on Africa.

Human Rights Watch Africa

• Africa section of Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch endeavors to protect human rights around the world through direct advocacy, public education, and publicity. Focuses on the prevention of discrimination, political freedom, inhumane conduct in conflict zones, the investigation and prosecution of offenders, and upholds the mandate of all governments to respect and enforce human rights laws by holding perpetrators of abuse accountable.

Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa

• The Netherlands institute for Southern Africa declares its solidarity with the 'ordinary' people of southern Africa. NiZA wants to help them to find structural solutions in their fight against poverty, injustice and inequality.

Southern Africa Exchange Program on Environmental Justice

• South African Exchange Program on Environmental Justice (SAEPEJ), a Boston-based non-profit organization focuses on the effects of toxics and the deteriorating environment on the health and daily lives of communities in South Africa, and aims to bridge communities in the US with their counterparts in South Africa around environmental justice. They provide resources to South African community, developmental, and environmental groups in order to address the neglected environments in which black South Africans live, and assist in the building of a strong environmental justice movement which will network closely with the US movement.

Southern African Human Rights NGO Network (SAHRINGON)

• International network of non-governmental human rights organizations in the Southern Africa sub-region. Researches, collects and disseminate information on human rights issues and promotes human resource development in direct support of this goal. Advocates and lobbies for the implementation and further development of legal structures and sanctions in support of human rights norms, and works to create political cultures that accord with respect for human rights; social equity; and freedom of access to and exchange of information.

Country | To Top

• Hosted by Cornell University.

Maghrébines (Tunisia)

• Hosted by Maghrébines and Euro-Maghrébines.

MaliWatch

• Focuses on Mali. Promotes civic education to promote popular understanding of laws and legal processes; to consolidate pluralist democracy; and to promote decentralized socio-economic development efforts.

South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)

• Promotes adherence to human rights in South Africa through public education, policy initiatives, and investigations of specific human rights abuse cases.

U.S. Department of State: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998: Africa

• U.S. Department of State reports and assessment of human rights and legal environments in African countries.

International | To Top

• Promotes international adherence to principles of scientific and intellectual freedom and responsibility, and of freedom of movement through the institutionalization of respect for human rights around the world, including Africa. Also advocates on behalf of victims in specific cases of human rights abuses through the AAAS Human Rights Action Network. Africa-related work includes a project focusing on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings on health care sector violations of human rights in South Africa, and several alert bulletins relating to human rights abuse cases in other African countries.

Amnesty International

• Human rights organization that advocates on behalf of victims of human rights abuses world-wide and promotes universal adherence to norms and laws upholding human rights. Includes links to other human rights sites by subject and contains a section describing Amnesty International publications and news releases on Africa Other Africa-related Amnesty documents availablethrough the Amnesty International Library

Digital Freedom Network

• Diverse confederation of international organizations jointly focusing on the development of intervention and information systems in order to prevent violent conflict. Core concerns: early warning and rapid humanitarian and political response mechanisms and conflict prevention and resolution. Contains multiple information resources on East/Central African Great Lakes conflicts .

Fund for Peace, Arms and Conflict Program

• The mission of The Fund for Peace is to prevent war and alleviate the conditions that cause war. The Fund promotes education and research for practical solutions. It is a consistent advocate of promoting social justice and respect for the principles of constitutional democracy.

Freedom House

• American based coalition of diverse organizations spanning the political spectrum. Upholds and promotes rights to peace, democratic decision making and social and political freedoms. Work includes an array of research, advocacy, and publications to promote human rights, democracy, free market economics, the rule of law, independent media, and U.S. engagement abroad in many regions, including Africa.

Human Rights Internet

• Supports work of human rights organizations by facilitating the exchange of information about human rights through education, publicity, research, and advocacy of the International Bill of Human Rights and its goals. Contains many links to African-related materials from its homepage search engine.

International Labor Organization (ILO)

• "The International Labour Organization is the UN specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights." Search engine retrieves diverse Africa-focused documents relating to the ILO's mandate. Site Map contains links to Sectoral programfocus on many Africa-specific resources and issues.

International Coalition for Religious Freedom

• A non-profit, non-sectarian, educational organization dedicated to defending the religious freedom of all, regardless of creed, gender or ethnic origin. Has comprehensive Africa assessment reports section.

International Criminal Court

• Describes the work of the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC would enforce international laws against acts of genocide and egregious violations of human rights by holding accountable individual perpetrators of such crimes. Currently no international judicial body exists to address mass human rights abuses by individuals. Crimes during armed conflict in Africa have played a large role in the establishment of the Conference.

International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH)

• Advocates on behalf of individual victims of human rights abuse and on behalf of respect for human rights in the daily lives of ordinary people around the globe, focusing on such issues as the right to work, to freedom of expression, assembly, the voting franchise and the right to personal self determination. Appeals section contains many current African cases.

Minority Rights Group

• Researches and documents situation of minorities world-wide; advocates for the rights of minorities at the United Nations and in individual countries; educating children and teachers on minority issues to counter racism and prejudice; and works conjointly with organizations and activists with similar goals. One of five core current programs focuses on the Horn of Africa.

Refugees International

• Refugees International generates lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for displaced people around the world, and works to end the conditions that create displacement.

The Carter Center

• The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory University, is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering.

United Nations Children Fund

• Presents full text and support documents on the report Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, which focuses heavily on African contexts.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

• 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 Human Rights Page

• Contains links to UN human rights-related organizations and diverse topical coverage of human rights, including human rights and cultural diversity; women and violence; children; and judicial independence, among many other areas. Includes links to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and Information on the Verdicts by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on the crime of genocide.

World Vision International

• World Vision helps transform the lives of the world's poorest children and families in nearly 100 countries, including the United States.

Issues | To Top

• Works to prevent deadly ethnic, nationalist, and religious conflicts within and between states by promoting research and thinking centered on determining the circumstances and types of social mechanisms that foster or deter their outbreak.

Coalition Against Slavery in Mauritania and Sudan
Committee to Protect Journalists

• A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that protects the human rights of individual journalists and promotes principles of press freedom around the world through its CPJ Briefings and Reports, Protests, News Alerts.

INCORE (Initiative on Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity)

• INCORE (International Conflict Research) was set up in 1993 by the University of Ulster and the United Nations University to undertake research and policy work that is useful to the resolution of ethnic, political and religious conflicts.

Washington Office on Africa

• WOA was founded in 1972 to support the movement for freedom from white-minority rule in southern Africa. Today, they have an expanded mission which seeks to address issues affecting grassroots African interests throughout the continent. They also focus on economic justices issues in Africa, including questions of aid, trade, and debt.

World Relief

• As the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), World Relief equips evangelical churches to minister to hurting people's physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

WomensNet Human Rights

• Contains links to documents, bibliographies, annotated lists of human rights Web sites and organizations, including the South African Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), and other electronic resources focusing on gender and human rights.

Legal | To Top

American Society of International Law: Human Rights Resources

• Annotated bibliographic description of digital and print sources relating to international law and human rights. Many topics covered apply to Africa generally. Contains a section devoted to human rights in Africa. Searching on the ASIL homepage for African topics also can return news and other information on Africa topics.

Constitution Finder

• Texts of constitutions from around the world, including Africa.

• Constitutional information from around the world, with some constitutional texts.

Electoral Institute of Southern Africa
Guide to Law Online - Nations of the World Index

• "Law Lists is a compilation of electronic discussion groups (Internet listservs and Usenet newsgroups), newsletters, journals, etc., related to law. Maintained by Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Foreign and International Law Librarian and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago." Search term "Human rights" and term "Africa" return multiple lists related to these terms respectively. Text version of lists also available.

Human Rights First

• Works to protect and promote fundamental human rights world-wide by holding all governments accountable to the standards affirmed in the International Bill of Human Rights. Focus on building the legal institutions and structures and strengthening independent human rights advocacy at the local level. Also seeks to influence the U.S. government to promote the rule of law in both its foreign and domestic policy, and presses for greater integration of human rights into the work of the UN and the World Bank.

Multilaterals Project: Human Rights Treaties and Conventions