The
Rights International Research Guide
for
International Human Rights Lawyers

Sources: Part III
Other Resources on International Law and Human Rights

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Table of Contents

Research on General and Specific Topic Areas:

Research on International Law

The various treatises on international law provide a useful starting point. They include:

• Ian Brownlie, Principles of Public International law (Oxford University Press, 1998).
• Pierre-Marie Dupuy, Droit International Public (Paris: Dalloz, 3d ed.1995).
• L. Oppenheim, Oppenheim’s International Law (Robert Jennings and Arthur Watts, eds.) (New York: Longman, 9th ed. 1996)

A number of national and international bodies, as well as private entities (commercial and otherwise) maintain useful pages:

• Pages Maintained by Law Libraries, Universities, Institutes, and Publishers:
  • The American Society of International Law maintains a page on Information Resources on International Law. The page is comprehensive, well laid out, and should be a starting point for any research on-line.
  • Foreign and International Law Resources: An Annotated Guide to Web Sites Around the World, maintained by the International Legal Studies collection at the Harvard Law School Library.
  • Cornell Law Library maintains a useful site with an “Overview on International Law.”
  • The World Wide Web Virtual Library: Law: Foreign and International Law, maintained by the Indiana University School of Law
  • The University of Colorado Law Library’s WWW Resources for Foreign & International Legal Research.
  • The University of Chicago’s D’Angelo Law Library has a Foreign and International Law page.
  • The N.Y.U. Law Library Guide to Foreign and International Legal Databases
  • The International and Foreign Legal Materials maintained by the U.S.C. Law Library
  • RAVE, offered by the School of Law of the University of Duesseldorf, Germany
  • The American Society of International Law publishes International Legal Materials, a very useful periodic compilation of documents relevant to international law. I.L.M. can be found online in Westlaw in the “ILM” database. (Once again, a password is needed.) It can also be found in Lexis, in the INTLAW library, ILM or ASIL files. (A password is needed.)
  • The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law has useful links and materials.
  • The Foreign and International Law Web page of the Washburn University School of Law Library has useful documents, though its format makes it somewhat difficult to access them.
  • The Magagni Research Guide to International Law on the Internet has many links, but is not updated frequently.
  • The International Law Center page maintained by Kluwer Law International
  • The Academic Council on the United Nations System, which is based at Yale University’s Center for International and Area Studies, maintains a links page for international law generally, with a page for international human rights and humanitarian law.

• Pages Maintained by Governmental Bodies:
  • International Governmental Bodies
    • One of the best way to find international governmental bodies’ home pages is to check International Organizations, a comprehensive listing maintained by GODORT and the Northwestern University Library.
    • The United Nations homepage
    • The U.N. system’s home page (with links to subsidiary and affiliated UN organizations).
    • The International Law Commission
  • National Governmental bodies
    • Government Resources on the Web
    • European Governments on the WWW
    • The U.S. House of Representative’s Internet Law Library
    • The U.S. Department of State Home Page is worth checking.

Research on international human rights law

Edited Collections of Cases:
There are not many edited collections of human rights cases. The main ones are:

• Rights International, International Human Rights Law & Practice: Cases, Treaties and Materials (Kluwer 1997), with Documentary Supplement
• Susan Nash & Mark Furse, eds., Essential Human Rights Cases (Bristol: Jordan Publishing Ltd. 1999)
• Mark W. Janis, et al., eds., European Human Rights Law: Text and Materials (Oxford 1996)
• Elspeth Guild & Guillaume Lesieur, eds., The European Court of Justice on the European Convention on Human Rights (Kluwer Law International 1998) (excerpts of ECJ cases on the European Convention)

General Information Resources (on-line and texts):

• Information Resources on International Law, maintained by the American Society of International Law.
• The DIANA databases:
  • The Diana International Human Rights Database at the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
  • Project Diana at Yale Law School
  • The University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
  • Women’s Human Rights Resources, maintained by the Bora Laskin Law Library at the University of Toronto
• Human Rights Internet
• The Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
• The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has a useful Human Rights Manual on-line.
• The Australian Human Rights Information Centre
• Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School, Guide to Human Rights Research
• The Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor page maintained by the U.S. Department of State.
• Consult the various pages of U.N. and regional human rights-related bodies (see the Index).
• The N.Y.U. Law Library Guide to Foreign and International Legal Databases
• The AAAS Directory of Human Rights Resources on the Internet, maintained by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• The Human Rights Page at the Institute for Global Communications
• The Global Democracy Network
• The Human Rights Research and Education Centre maintained by the University of Ottowa.
• The University of Nottingham Student Human Rights Centre, which is affiliated with the Human Rights Law Centre of the University of Nottingham
• Derechos Human Rights, an Internet-based human rights group, publishes on on-line journal of human rights, Ko´ãga Roñe´etã, with articles on civil and political rights as well as economic and social rights.
• Henry J. Steiner & Philip Alston, International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals: Text and Materials (Oxford 1996)

• Children’s Rights
  • Philip Alston, The Best Interests of the Child: Reconciling Culture and Human Rights (Oxford 1994)
  • Philip Alston, “Interpreting a Child’s Right to Privacy in the UN Context: The Influence of Regional Standards,” in Broadening the Frontiers of Human Rights: Essays in Honour of Asbjorn Eide (Oxford 1993)
  • Philip Alston, et al., Children, Rights, and the Law (Oxford 1992)
  • Diane S. Goodman, Children’s Freedom from Sexual Exploitation: International Protection and Implementation (Oslo, Norway: Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, 1992)
  • Roger J. R. Levesque, Sexual Abuse of Children: A Human Rights Perspective (Indiana University Press, 1999)
  • Geraldine Van Bueren, The International Law on the Rights of the Child (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1995)
  • Philip E. Veerman, The Rights of the Child and the Changing Image of Childhood (Kluwer Academic Publishers 1992)
• Gender and Human Rights
  • Kelly Dawn Askin & Dorean M. Koenig, Women and International Human Rights Law (Ardsley, N.Y.: Transnational 1998)
  • Rebecca Cook, ed., Human Rights of Women: National and International Perspectives (Penn. 1994) (also available in as Derechos Humanos de la Mujer: Perspectivas Nacionales e Internacionales (Bogota, Colombia: Profamilia 1997))
  • Maja Kirilova Eriksson, Reproductive Freedom: In the Context of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (Martinus Nijhoff, 2000)
  • Julie Stone Peters & Adrea Wolper, Women’s Rights, Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives (New York: Routledge, 1995)
  • Margaret Schuler, From Basic Needs to Basic Rights: Women’s Claim to Human Rights (Washington, D.C.: Women, Law & Development International, 1995)
  • Katarina Tomasevski, Women and Human Rights (London, Zed Books 1993)
  • Women’s Rights Project (Human Rights Watch), The Human Rights Watch Global Report on Women's Human Rights (1995)
• Humanitarian Law, including the Law of Armed Conflict
  • See the section on Research on international humanitarian law
• Indigenous Rights, Minority Rights, and Self-Determination
  • S. James Anaya, Indigenous Peoples in International Law (Oxford 1996)
  • Deirdre Fottrell and Bill Bowring (eds.), Minority and Group Rights in the New Millennium (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff 1999)
  • Wolfgang S. Heinz, Indigenous Populations, Ethnic Minorities and Human Rights (Berlin: Quorum, 1988)
  • Thomas D. Musgrave, Self-Determination and National Minorities (Oxford 1997)
  • Sarah Pritchard, Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations, and Human Rights (London, Zed 1998)
  • Markku Suksi, Autonomy : Applications and Implications (Kluwer Law International, 1998)
• Prisoners’ Rights
  • Making Standards Work: An International Handbook on Good Prison Practice (The Hague: Penal Reform International, 1995).
  • Nigel S. Rodley, The Treatment of Prisoners under International Law (Oxford 2d ed. 1998)
  • Dirk Van Zyl Smit & Frieder Dunkel, Imprisonment Today and Tomorrow: International Perspectives on Prisoners’ Rights and Prison Conditions (Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers, 1991).
• Privacy; Application of Human Rights to Private Life
  • Andrew Clapham, Human Rights in the Private Sphere (Oxford 1994)
  • Basil S. Markesinis, ed., Protecting Privacy (Oxford 1999)
  • James Michael, Privacy and Human Rights: An International and Comparative Study, with Special Reference to Developments in InformationTechnology (Brookfield, VT: Dartmouth Pub. Co., 1994).
  • Privacy and Human Rights: Reports and Communications Presented at the Third International Colloquy about the European Convention on Human Rights (1970) (Manchester, University Press, 1973)
  • A. H. Robertson, ed., Privacy and Human Rights; Reports and Communications Presented at the Third International Colloquy about the European Convention on Human Rights, Organised by the Belgian Universities and the Council of Europe, With the Support of the Belgian Government, Brussels, 30 September - 3 October (Manchester, University Press, 1973).
  • Carlos Ruiz Miguel, El Derecho a la Protección de la Vida Privada en la Jurisprudencia del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos (Madrid: Civitas, 1 ed. 1994.
  • Jaime Fernandez de Zubiria, Derecho de Privacidad, Derecho Internacional y Derechos Humanos (Santa Fe de Bogota, D.C.: Facultad de Ciencias Juridicas y Socioeconomicas, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, 1991).
• Racial Discrimination
  • Paul Gordon Lauren, Power and Prejudice: The Politics and Diplomacy of Racial Discrimination (Westview 1988)
  • U.N. Centre for Human Rights, Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination: Global Compilation of National Legislation against Racial Discrimination (New York, U.N. 1991)
• Refugees, Asylum
  • Amnesty International, The UN and Refugees’ Human Rights: A Manual on How UN Human Rights Mechanisms Can Protect the Rights of Refugees (1997)
  • Jeannette Irigoin Barrenne, ed., Derecho Internacional de los Refugiados (Santiago de Chile: Instituto de Estudios Internacionales, Universidad de Chile, 1993).
  • Jean-Yves Carlier, Droits des Refugies (Bruxelles: E. Story-Scientia, 1989).
  • Guy S. Goodwin-Gill, The Refugee in International Law (Oxford 2d ed. 1996)
  • James C. Hathaway, The Law of Refugee Status (Butterworth Legal Publishers, 1991).
  • James C. Hathaway, ed., Reconceiving international refugee law (Kluwer Law International, 1997).
  • Ivor C. Jackson, The Refugee Concept in Group Situations (Kluwer Law International, 1999).
  • Frances Nicholson and Patrick Twomey, eds., Refugee Rights and Realities: Evolving International Concepts and Regimes (Cambridge University Press, 1999).
  • Gunnel Stenberg, Non-expulsion and Non-refoulement: The Prohibition against Removal of Refugees with Special Reference to Articles 32 and 33 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Uppsala: Iustus Forlag, 1989).
  • Nevzat Soguk, States and Strangers: Refugees and Displacements of Statecraft (University of Minnesota Press, 1999).
  • Alex Takkenberg & Christopher C. Tahbaz, eds., The Collected Travaux Preparatoires of the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Amsterdam: Dutch Refugee Council, 1990).
  • Peter J. van Krieken, ed., Refugee Law in Context: The Exclusion Clause (Kluwer Law International, 1999).
  • Paul Weis, The Refugee Convention, 1951: The Travaux Preparatoires Analysed, with a Commentary (Cambridge University Press, 1995).
  • Marjoleine Zieck, UNHCR and Voluntary Repatriation of Refugees: A Legal Analysis (The Hague : Martinus Nijhoff, 1997).
• Transitions to Democracy; Impunity
  • Naomi Roht-Arriaza, ed., Impunity and Human Rights Law in International Law and Practice (Oxford 1995)
  • Irwin P. Stotzky, ed., Transition to Democracy in Latin America: The Role of the Judiciary (Westview 1993)
  • Ruti Teitel, Transitional Justice (Oxford 1999)
• Other
  • Labor
    • Ryszard Cholewinski, Migrant Workers in International Human Rights Law: Their Protection in Countries of Employment (Oxford 1997)
    • The International Labor Organization
  • Education
    • Robert F. Drinan, ed., The Right to Be Educated: Studies to Commemorate the Twentieth Anniversary of the Adoption by the United Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, December 10, 1948 (Washington, D.C.: Corpus Books, 1968).
    • Alfred Fernandez & Siegfried Jenkner, eds., International Declarations and Conventions on the Right to Education and the Freedom of Education (Frankfurt am Main: Info3-Verlag, 1995).
    • Douglas Hodgson, The Human Right to Education (Aldershot, England: Ashgate 1998)

Research on comparative & foreign law

It may be useful to research the domestic law of various countries in considering an international human rights issue. If a particular right is widely recognized in domestic constitutions or statutes, for example, that may be relevant to determining whether the right is part of customary international law.

• Constitutional Law
  • You may want to consult A. P. Blaustein and G. H. Flanz, eds., Constitutions of the Countries of the World: A Series of Updated Texts, Constitutional Chronologies and Annotated Bibliographies (Oceana Publications). This multivolume series has the constitutions of virtually all the countries in the world, in their original language as well as in English translation, preceded by a short history of the country’s constitutional development.
  • Another very useful source is The Bulletin on Constitutional Case-law, published three times a year since 1993 by the European Commission for Democracy through Law. The Bulletin summarizes decisions of domestic courts on constitutional issues, many of which either are relevant to human rights issues or rely on and cite human rights law. The Bulletin is well-indexed, making it even more accessible.
  • Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Researching Constitutional Law on the Internet
  • Würzburg University in Germany maintains a page with many constitutions of countries of the world (in English).
  • The Political Database of the Americas, maintained by Georgetown University, has a number of Western Hemisphere constitutions and a selection of other laws (mainly relating to elections and governmental structure).
  • The Wits Law School in Johannesburg maintains a page with Links to International Legal Sites, which has many links to sites with information on particular countries’ laws and court decisions, as well as a constitutional law archive for South Africa.
  • Sabine Michalowski & Lorna Woods, German Constitutional Law (Brookfield, VT: Ashgate 1999)
  • Rudolf Machacek, ed., Austrian Contributions to the Rule of Law (Kehl & Arlington, VA: N.P. Engel 1994)
• Domestic Application of International Human Rights Law
  • Global
    • Philip Alston, ed., Promoting Human Rights through Bills of Rights: Comparative Perspectives (Oxford 1999)
    • Comisión Andina de Juristas, Normas Internacionales sobre Derechos Humanos y Derecho Interno (Lima, 1984)
    • Benedetto Conforti and Francesco Francioni, eds., Enforcing International Human Rights in Domestic Courts (Martinus Nijhoff, 1997) (survey of enforcement of international human rights law enforcement in courts in UK, Italy, Germany, France, Chile, argentina, Austria, U.S., Israel, Japan, Canada, and China, with discussion of asylum, immunities and other defenses, and jurisdictional issues).
    • Developing Human Rights Jurisprudence: The Domestic Application of International Human Rights Norms (London : Human Rights Unit Commonwealth Secretariat, 1988)
    • Thomas Risse, Stephen C. Ropp and Kathryn Sikkink, eds., The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change (Cambridge University Press 1999)
  • Africa & the Middle East
    • M. Cherif Bassiouni & Ziyad Motala, eds., The Protection of Human Rights in African Criminal Proceedings (Martinus Nijhoff 1995)
    • Kevin Boyle & Adel Omar Sherif, eds., Human Rights and Democracy: The Role of the Supreme Court of Egypt (Kluwer Law International 1996)
    • Eugene Cotran & Adel Omar Sherif, The Role of the Judiciary in the Protection of Human Rights (Kluwer Law International 1997)
  • The Americas
    • Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade, ed., A Incorporação das Normas Internacionais de Proteção dos Direitos Humanos no Direito Brasileiro (San José, Costa Rica: Instituto Interamericano de Direitos Humanos, 1996)
    • Hurst Hannum and Dana D. Fisher, eds., U.S. Ratifications of the Human Rights Covenants (Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Publications, 1993).
    • Beth Stephens & Michael Ratner, International Human Rights Litigation in U.S. Courts (Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Publishers)
    • Joseph Wronka, Human Rights and Social Policy in the 21st Century: A History of the Idea of Human Rights and Comparison of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights with United States Federal and State Constitutions (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1998)
  • Asia-Pacific
    • Australia
      • David Kinley, ed., Human Rights in Australian Law (Annandale: The Federation Press Pty Ltd. 1998)
      • George Williams, Human Rights Under the Australian Constitution (Oxford 1999)
    • India
      • Chiranjivi J. Nirmal, Human Rights in India: Historical, Social and Political Perspectives (Oxford 1999)
    • Japan
      • Yuji Iwasawa, International Law, Human Rights, and Japanese Law: The Impact of International Law on Japanese Law (Oxford 1999)
  • Europe
    • Evert A. Alkema et al., eds., The Domestic Implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights in Eastern and Western Europe (All-European Human Rights Yearbook, vol. 2) (Kehl & Arlington, VA: N.P. Engel 1992)
    • Philip Alston, The EU and Human Rights (Oxford 1999)
    • T. Barkhuysen et al., eds., The Execution of Strasbourg and Geneva Human Rights Decisions in the National Legal Order (Martinus Nijhoff 1999)
    • Richard Clayton, Hugh Tomlinson, and Carol George, The Law of Human Rights (Oxford 1999)
    • La Convention Européenne des Droits de l’Homme et le Juge Francais: Vademecum de Pratique Professionnelle (under the direction of Martine Cliquennois) (Paris: L’Harmattan, 1997)
    • Brice Dickson, Human Rights and the European Convention: The Effects of the Convention on the United Kingdom and Ireland (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1997)
    • The Domestic Implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights in Eastern and Western Europe (Kehl: Engel, 1993)
    • Francesco Durante & Maria Felicita Gennarelli, eds., I Diritti dell’Uomo in Italia: L’applicazione della Dichiarazione Universale nell’Ordinamento Italiano (Milano: A. Giuffre, 1998)
    • Andrew Z. Drzemczewski, European Human Rights Convention in Domestic Law: A Comparative Study (Oxford, 1983)
    • M. Bedri Eryilmaz, Arrest and Detention Powers in English and Turkish Law and Practice in the Light of the European Convention on Human Rights (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff 1999)
    • David Feldman, Civil Liberties and Human Rights in England and Wales (Oxford 2d ed 1999)
    • Carlos Fernandez de Casadevante Romani, La Aplicación del Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos en España: Análisis de la Jurisprudencia Constitucional (1980-1988) (Madrid: Tecnos, 1988)
    • Henri Fourteau, L’application de l’article 3 de la Convention Européenne des Droits de l’Homme dans le Droit Interne des Etats Membres: l’Impact des Garanties Européennes contre la Torture et les Traitements Inhumains ou Degradants (Paris: L.G.D.J., 1996)
    • J.P. Gardner, ed., Aspects of incorporation of the European Convention of Human Rights into Domestic Law (London: The British Institute of International and Comparative Law and the British Institute of Human Rights, 1993)
    • Richard Gordon and Richard Wilmot-Smith, eds., Human Rights in the United Kingdom (Oxford University Press, 1996)
    • Valerio Grementieri, ed., L’Italia e la Convenzione Europea dei Diritti dell’uomo (Milano: Giuffre, 1989)
    • David Harris & Sarah Joseph, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and United Kingdom Law (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1995)
    • Soren Stenderup Jensen, The European Convention on Human Rights in Scandinavian Law: A Case Law Study (Copenhagen: Jurist-og Okonomforbundets Forlag, 1992)
    • Sarah Joseph, Jenny Schultz, and Melissa Castan, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Cases, Materials, and Commentary (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2000)
    • David Kinley, The European Convention on Human Rights: Compliance Without Incorporation (Aldershot, Hants, England; Brookfield, Vt.: Dartmouth Pub. Co., 1993)
    • Pierre Lambert, La Convention Européenne des Droits de l’homme dans la Jurisprudence Belge (Bruxelles: Nemesis, 1987)
    • Chantal Meral, Les Tribunaux Francais face a la Justice Européenne: les Cles d'un Contre-pouvoir (Levallois-Perret: Filipacchi, 1997)
    • Mirko Ros, Die Unmittelbare Anwendbarkeit der Europaischen Menschenrechtskonvention: Ein Beitrag zur Lehre der Self- executing Treaties (Zurich: Schulthess, 1984)
    • Allan Rosas, ed., International Human Rights Norms in Domestic Law: Finnish and Polish Perspectives (Helsinki: Finnish Lawyers Pub. Co., 1990).
    • M. Scalabrino et al., eds., La Convenzione Europea dei Diritti dell’uomo nell’applicazione Giurisprudenziale in Italia: Saggi (Milano: A. Giuffre, 1981)
    • Martin Scheinin, ed., International Human Rights Norms in the Nordic and Baltic Countries (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff 1996)
    • Alphonse Spielmann & Albert Weitzel, eds., La Convention Européenne des Droits de l’'homme et le Droit (Bruxelles: Nemesis, 1991)
    • Frederic Sudre, et al., eds., Le Droit Francais et la Convention Européenne des Droits de l’Homme, 1974-1992 (Kehl & Arlington, VA.: N.P. Engle 1994)
    • Mark Eugen Villiger, Handbuch der Europaischen Menschenrechtskonvention (EMRK): Unter besonderer Berucksichtigung der schweizerischen Rechtslage (Zurich: Schulthess, 1993)
    • The Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights has summaries of decisions of domestic courts referring to the Convention.
• Foreign Law Generally
  • One very useful starting point is the “Virtual Institute” maintained by the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law.
  • Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Foreign Law: Legal Research Resources on the Internet
  • The International Legal Studies division of the Harvard Law School Library has a page with links to sites on the law of foreign countries, alphabetized by country.
  • The University of Michigan Documents Center maintains a useful page on Foreign Government Resources on the Web.
  • The World Law Guide, maintained by Lexadin, has links to selected statutes of a number of countries. Another section of the World Law Guide has links to Courts and Cases around the world.
  • Law-on-Line/Asia-Pacific on-Line
  • Many of the pages on international law mentioned above also have material on foreign law.

Research on international humanitarian law, including the law of armed conflict

• One of the most useful pages is the International Humanitarian Law page maintained by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
• The Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
• The United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs maintains a page called ReliefWeb.
• The University of Minnesota Human Rights Library has information on Humanitarian Law
• The Peace Resource Center
• The Karen Parker Home Page for Humanitarian Law
• Dieter Fleck, ed., The Handbook of Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts (Oxford 1996)
• Jenny Kuper, International Law Concerning Child Civilians in Armed Conflict (Oxford 1997)
• Adam Roberts & Richard Guelff, edds., Documents on the Laws of War (Oxford 3d ed. 1999)
• Steven R. Ratner & Jason S. Abrams, Accountability for Human Rights Atrocities in International Law (Oxford 1998)

Research on International Tribunals (Other than Human Rights Tribunals):

Research on international criminal tribunals

• The U.N. maintains a web site on the International Criminal Tribunal
• Unofficial pages on the International Criminal Court are maintained by
  • The Coalition for an International Criminal Court
  • The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
  • The Italian section of Amnesty International
  • The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UN-USA).
• The ASIL has a bibliography of articles on the international criminal court.
• International Criminal Court: Resources in Print and Electronic Format, maintained by Lyonette Louis-Jacques, the Foreign and International Law Librarian, D’Angelo Law Library, University of Chicago
• Roy S. Lee, The International Criminal Court: The Making of the Rome Statute — Issues, Negotiations, Results (Kluwer Law International, 1999)

• The U.N. maintains a web page for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. It can also be reached through the Coalition for International Justice’s home page.
• John R.W.D. Jones, the Practice of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (Ardsley, NY: Transnational, 2d ed. 2000)

• Internews, an NGO with a focus on media and democracy, has a useful site on the Tribunal, with daily news reports from the ICTR courtroom, and links to other sites with information
• Intermedia maintains a page on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
• The Coalition for International Justice
• John R.W.D. Jones, the Practice of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (Ardsley, NY: Transnational, 2d ed. 2000)

• The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School

Research on other U.N. bodies relevant to human rights

• For decisions of the World Court:
  • The homepage of the International Court of Justice contains useful information and the text of some of the cases.
  • The full text of all decisions of the International Court of Justice is available in Westlaw. The database is INT-ICJ. You can use the proprietary software to reach Westlaw, or search the Westlaw database over the Internet. In either case, of course, you will need a password.
  • The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law maintains a World Court Digest, which is a page of searchable summaries of decisions by the International Court of Justice.
  • Cornell Law School maintains a database of the full text of recent decisions of the International Court of Justice.
• The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
• UNESCO
• The International Labor Organization

Research on the state of human rights in particular countries and regions

General

• Sites focusing on human rights
  • Penny L. Parker, A Guide to Country-Specific Research, August 10, 1996.
  • The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees maintains a comprehensive database of information on human rights in countries around the world.
  • The AAAS’s Science and Human Rights Program maintains a database of information on human rights; one section has a Geographic Focus
  • The The State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
  • The International Women’s Rights Action Watch (affiliated with the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs) has produced its own Country Reports on many countries, with emphasis on equality and women’s rights.
  • Human Rights Watch’s country reports (summaries only).
  • Derechos Human Rights, an Internet-based human rights group, maintains a site with information on Human Rights around the World
  • States of Emergency Database maintained by the Faculty of Law at the Queen’s University of Belfast.
  • The U.S. Committee for Refugees has a page on Country Conditions worldwide, detailing the state of human rights conditions in many countries throughout the world.
• Other general information
  • The Library of Congress maintains a Country Studies page with studies written pursuant to a handbook program sponsored by the U.S. Army. According to the Library of Congress, each country study “describ[es] and analyz[es] its political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions, and examin[es] the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors.”
  • The CIA maintains a World Factbook with basic information on every country. You should read the notice at the homepage before using the Factbook.
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development has an extensive set of links on Regions & Countries throughout the world, including information on human rights and democracy.
  • InternationalAffairs.com has links to sources of information, particularly journals and periodicals, in countries around the world.

Specific Regions

• Western Hemisphere
  • The Washington Office on Latin America’s Country Resources page
  • The World Policy Journal maintains a page on the Americas, including human rights information.
  • Equipo Nizkor, an NGO, has information (mostly in Spanish) on human rights violations in countries throughout Latin America
  • The General Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States has information on the Lomé Convention and related matters.
  • The U.N. maintains a page on the International Civilian Mission in Haiti.
  • The U.N. maintains a page on the United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights in Guatemala.
• Europe
  • The OSCE has a page on its Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Africa
  • The Columbia University — Area Studies page is very useful
  • African Human Rights Resource Center (Makerere University Human Rights & Peace Center, Uganda; University of Minnesota Human Rights Center & Human Rights Library, Minneapolis)
  • The African Documents page of the Fourth World Documentation Project, a page maintained by the Center for World Indigenous Studies
  • AfricaNews
  • Southern Africa Information Access, Inc. has news and information on U.S. policy towards Africa, links to sites with information on Africa, as well as a directory of agencies and groups interested in Africa.
• Asia-Pacific
  • The Asian Human Rights Commission, an NGO, has information on human rights in countries throughout Asia
  • Human Rights in China
  • Law-on-Line/Asia-Pacific on-Line
  • Ann Kent, China, The United Nations, and Human Rights: The Limits of Compliance (U. Penn. 1999).