Resources on human rights

List© compiled for 'Re-engage! America and the World After Bush' by Helena Cobban


In the list of organizations, I have tagged each entry with its strengths. These tags are:
A = Activism
P = Print information
W =Web-based information
Many of the texts listed as “Web-based resources” are also available in print form. Usually, the website gives information about ordering the print version.

Organizations:

Name

Mailing address

Web address/Strengths

Comments

American Civil Liberties Union

125 Broad St., 18th fl., New York, NY 10004

www.aclu.org

A,P,W

ACLU works on U.S. torture and other detention issues. The website also has good materials on rights aspects of the Hurricane Katrina events.

Amnesty International (USA)

5 Penn Plaza, 14th fl., New York, NY 10001

www.amnesty.org

A,P,W

Membership-based global rights network. AI runs campaigns and does good documentation. Check the “Library” tab on their website.

Center for Constitutional Rights

666 Broadway, 7th fl., New York, NY 10012

ccrjustice.org

A,W

Does important work on Guantanamo and other rights issues inside the United States.

Human Rights First

333 Seventh Ave., 13th fl., New York, NY 10001

www.humanrightsfirst.org

A,W

Lawyer-based activist organization with strong projects on torture and Iraqi refugees.

Human Rights Watch

350 Fifth Ave, 34th fl., New York, NY 10118

hrw.org

A,P,W

Runs campaigns and publishes many topical reports.

International Committee of the Red Cross

ICRC Regional Delegation, 1100 Connecticut Ave. #500, Washington, D.C. 20036

icrc.org/eng

P,W

The “guardian” organization for the Geneva and Hague conventions. Their site has great materials on International Humanitarian Law (IHL).


Web-based resources:

Cageprisoners. Informative UK site, based in the United Kingdom, that advocates for the rights of Guantanamo prisoners and their families: www.cageprisoners.com.

Center for Economic and Social Rights (New York), Basic Primer, at cesr.org/basic.

Century Foundation, Afghanistan Watch blog: www.afghanistanwatch.org.

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: www.ohchr.org/english/. Lots of documentation, and news and reports on the actions (and inactions) of the United Nations on rights issues.

University of Minnesota, Human Rights Library. Excellent, easily searchable documentation in eight languages: www1.umn.edu/humanrts.

Books:

Roy Gutman and David Rieff, Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know (New York: W.W. Norton, 1999).

Joseph Margulies, Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007).

Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (New York: Anchor Books, 1999).

H.C. von Sponeck, A Different Kind of War: The UN Sanctions Regime in Iraq (Oxford, UK, and New York: Berghahn Books, 2006).