Introduction

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1948 lists the fundamental human rights that are common to all people. These rights include the right to life, the prohibition against slavery, torture and arbitrary arrest, equality before the law, and the freedom of movement, peaceful assembly, and participation in government. Subsequent international human rights treaties and state practice have elaborated upon and expanded these rights, thus making international human rights a large and complicated field.

Researchers in the field of international human rights must navigate a sometimes confusing array of treaties, reports, case law and other documents. This guide is intended to lead researchers through the primary materials and introduce important secondary sources. While general human rights sources are covered in the guide, special attention is paid to resources that specifically address international women's human rights. Materials marked with are recommended and have been very useful to the librarians.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Wolff Library reference desk at 202-662-4195 or by email: intlref@law.georgetown.edu. You may also submit your question via this online form.

Background Sources

The law library has many materials on human rights and the titles below are meant only as a starting point. To locate more resources, search Gulliver the online catalog (try our NEW catalog interface) using keywords to narrow your search results. For example, < human rights women africa > or < human rights health. > There are also numerous journals and yearbooks that focus on human rights.

• Encyclopedia of Human Rights INTL REF JC571571.E673 2009
  This is a new five volume reference set. The entries offer brief introductions on human rights related topics.
• A Handbook of International Human Rights Terminology (2nd edition) INTL REF K3239.3.C66 2004
  A dictionary of useful terms. Also has an appendix of citations for human rights and related instruments.
• International Human Rights: A Comprehensive Introduction INTL K3240 .H33 2008
  Good introduction to the topic with chapters on the major human rights subjects. Useful inserts of historical events, tables and discussion topics.
• International Human Rights in a Nutshell INTL K3240.4.B84 2002
  This book provides a concise introduction to the historical background of international human rights and discusses the major systems (United Nations, European, Inter-American, and African). There are also chapters on the United States and non-governmental organizations.
• International Human Rights Law: An Introduction INTL K3240 .W45 2007
  There are three parts to this book; overview and history of human rights, summaries of specific rights with treaty and article citations, and a useful introduction to international procedures for the implementation of human rights on the international, regional, and national levels.
• Lexicon of Human Rights / Les Définitions des Droits de L'Homme INTL K3239.6 .V53 2008
  Contains terms and phrases often mentioned in international human rights laws. Provides definitions and sometimes citations to treaties where the term is defined.
• Women and International Human Rights Law INTL REF K644.W64 1999
  A three volume set offering background information on human rights topics specific to women. Excellent footnotes for additional follow up.

International Human Rights Systems: Treaties and Treaty Bodies

This section will give you an overview of the international human rights systems, both the United Nations and the regional systems, but the focus is on major human rights treaties. There are many other additional human rights treaties in force. For more detailed information on how to locate the text and check the status of individual treaties, see our research guide on Treaty Research.

United Nations Human Rights Treaties and Their Corresponding Treaty Bodies

There are eight main U.N. human rights treaties. Each treaty has a corresponding "treaty body" which administers the treaty, keeps track of state parties and their reservations and declarations, receives and responds to reports compiled by state parties, and often hears complaints lodged pursuant to the treaty. See the Human Rights Case Law section below for information on how to find decisions of the U.N. treaty bodies, courts and commissions.

Text of Treaty	Corresponding Treaty Body
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment	Committee against Torture (CAT)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women	Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Convention on the Rights of the Child	Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights	Human Rights Committee (HCR)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights	Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families	Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW)

Finding Treaties, Reports, Concluding Observations, Comments and Other Documents Relating to Treaty Bodies

Theoretically, there is a dialogue between the treaty body and the individual state parties to the U.N. treaties. Pursuant to the terms of the treaties, state parties are required to report on their progress towards attaining the goals of the treaties. In response, the treaty bodies provide the state parties with observation and comments on their reports. These documents are an important part of human rights research and are available in many places. Below are some sources for locating these types of documents.

• Bayefsky.com
  This well organized site provides links to reports, concluding observations, ratifications, reservations and declarations, jurisprudence and other types of documents on the major U.N. human rights treaties. It is searchable by type of document, country or subject matter.
• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
  This is an official web site that provides access to treaties, state reports, comments, and most other documentation. Try selecting Human Rights Bodies from the top menu and then a specific treaty. The OHCHR offers the U.N. Treaty Body Database which is searchable by country, U.N. document symbol, treaty, and type of document. This can be handy when you want to locate reports or documents from many different treaties, but all related to one country.
• United Nations Document System (ODS)
  ODS is a source for pdf copies of U.N. documents of all sorts, including treaty body materials. It is best used when you have a U.N. document number (e.g. CERD/C/225/Add.1) and want the full-text of the document.
• United Nations Documents and Publications Microform INTL Media
  Older UN documents can be difficult to locate in electronic format. The Wolff library has a complete (1946 - current) U.N. microform collection. Microform documents are arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by document symbol. There is an electronic index available called AccessUN to help you locate document symbols. Come by the Wolff reference desk or the Wolff circulation desk for assistance.
• United Nations Treaty Collection
  Collection includes 5 categories of treaty-related data. Status of multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary General, UN Treaty series, recently deposited multilateral treaties, photographs of Treaty Signature ceremonies and Titles of multilateral treaties in the official UN languages.

Regional Human Rights Systems

There are regional human rights systems in Europe, the Americas and Africa. These have their own treaties, reporting structures, and complaint systems. Below are listed the major human rights treaties for each region. Sources of decisions are covered below in the Human Rights Case Law Section.

• Africa: African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Banjul Charter), and Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
• Americas: American Convention on Human Rights and American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man.
• Europe: Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (click on the full text bullet point).

Additional Sources for Human Rights Treaties

Texts of international human rights instruments are usually easy to find on the internet. Here are some frequently-used online sources, as well as a selection of print resources.

• Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL)
  The International Human Rights section is a great starting point for research to access primary and secondary source material. Links to full text are provided along with complete citations.
• Human Rights : A Compilation of International Instruments INTL KZ5010.A2 ST/HR/1
  This handy print resource combines many treaties into one place.
• U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Human Rights Instruments
  Great list of human rights treaties and includes more than just the major agreements.
• United Nations Treaty Collection
  United Nations Treaty Series and the Status of Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General are available here in electronic format. Images from the treaty series, ratification information reservations and declarations are available. Searching is complicated and we recommend the advanced search interface. Please see a librarian if you need assistance. The Wolff library also has the UNTS in print. Sometimes, the print may be easier to use if you already have a citation.
• University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
  A comprehensive online collection of human rights documents and includes bluebook citations. There is also a section devoted to Women's Human Rights.

Status of Instruments

What does it mean to check the status of an international instrument or treaty? Checking the status includes:

• determining if the treaty is in force, and when it entered into force
• finding out if a country has ratified a treaty and has become a state party
• locating any reservations or declarations

There are many sources for status information. Consult sources from the body that issued the international instrument (the U.N. committee, the Council of Europe, etc.). For more detailed information about status information on the internet, see ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law: Human Rights and Treaties.

• African Union Treaties
  Provides a list of treaties with links to ratification tables.
• Bayefsky.com
  This free web site includes an extensive documents library organized by country and subject matter. You can find information on ratification, reservations and declarations, state reports, and other key documents on this site.
• Council of Europe, Treaty Office
  Provides status information, signatures and ratifications, and declarations / reservations.
• Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General (MTDSG)
  This database is part of the United Nations Treaty Collection. Select Databases from the top menu bar and then under MTDSG, select Status of Treaties. This source contains the current status of over 500 multilateral treaties including declarations and reservations. An electronic copy of the print publication is also available. However, the database is updated more frequently.
• U.S. Dept. of State, Treaties in Force.
  Good source to determine if a treaty is in force for the United States. This resource will also provide a US citation for a treaty, if available. Update this publication with Current Treaty Actions.

Human Rights Case Law: International Courts, National Courts, Commissions & Treaty Bodies

International human rights courts, such as the European Court of Human Rights, frequently post their decisions online. Case law from these courts can also be found in the print reporters, published in the language of the court.

In terms of national court decisions, usually only important cases from the highest courts and/or the constitutional courts are selected for publication in commercial reporters. The International Law in Domestic Court database (Georgetown Only) has national court decisions from 60 countries and you can search using keyword with specific human rights topics. Occasionally, human rights decisions from national courts can be located free on the web. Try www.worldlii.org for links to courts and other court decisions databases. Another option for finding national caw law is to consult an official reporter from that jurisdiction. The Foreign Law Guide (Georgetown Only) will help in identifying the reporters for a given jurisdiction. The official reporter will always be published in the language of the country.

Commercial print reporters, such as Butterworths Human Rights Cases INTL K3239.23 .B88, often publish a combination of cases from international courts and national courts. See our War Crimes research guide for information on locating the case law from the international criminal tribunals.

Finally, many treaty bodies (e.g. the U.N. Human Rights Committee) also hear complaints and publish decisions. Although not the same as a decision from a national or international court, these treaty body decisions are easily grouped together with other case law materials for the purposes of human rights research.

Multi-Institutional Sources

• African Human Rights Law Reports
  Contains decisions from UN bodies, the African commission on Human and People's Rights, and African domestic courts. It is available on the web (no search function) or in the Wolff Library at INTL KQC572.A53 A37.
• Butterworths Human Rights Cases INTL K3239.23.B88
• Commonwealth Human Rights Law Digest INTL K3239.23.C66
• European Human Rights Reports
  This is available in print in the Wolff Library at INTL KJC40.E87 and on Westlaw (EHR-RPTS). European Court of Human Rights decisions are also on the web on the HUDOC database.
• International Human Rights Reports INTL 3239.23.I57
• Law Reports of the Commonwealth INTL K3165.A495.L38
  This is a fantastic resource. It covers many subjects, but usually has the most important national cases concerning human rights.
• Lexis: Human Rights Cases Database Legal > Area of Law, by Topic > International Law > Human Rights Cases

Sources for Specific Courts, Commissions and Other Bodies

• African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. Complaints may be brought by individuals or by states and non binding decisions are available from the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. The Commission requires periodic state reporting about the advancement of human rights within each state party. Some of these reports may be found on the ACHPR web site.
• African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights. The establishment of this court and the progression to hearing cases has been a very long process that is still ongoing. No judgments have been issued. Further delays are expected as the African Union decided to merge the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights with the African Court of Justice. For a useful discussion of the court, see African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights: Ten years On and Still No Justice from Minority Rights Group International.
• European Commission of Human Rights. Prior to 1998, the European Commission of Human Rights assisted the Court with decisions on the admissibility of an application and and examination of the merits. This commission was discontinued in 1998. Some of the decisions have been published in sources listed below.
• European Court of Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights is part of the Council of Europe and functions as the judicial organ for the European Convention on Human Rights. Complaints to the court can be filed from individuals, groups of individuals, company, NGOs, or even between states. These complaints are brought against states that are parties to the convention. Decisions of the Court may be found in the sources listed below.
  
  • Collection of Decisions / European Commission of Human Rights (1960-1974) INTL KJC5135.A5 E97
  • Decisions and Reports / European Commission of Human Rights (1975-1998) INTL KJC5135.A5 D43
  • HUDOC
    This is a searchable database provided by the Court. Some of the decisions may only be available in French.
  • Reports of Judgments and Decisions INTL KJC5132.A52 E88 (Court & Commission)
  • Report of the Commission -- European Commission of Human Rights KJC5135.A5 E9
  • Westlaw EHR-RPTS
    This database has ECHR decisions and selected European Commission of Human Rights since 1979. Selected judgments from the court are available from 1960.

• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The Commission examines complaints and refers cases to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. These functions apply only to those states that have ratified the American Convention on Human Rights. Decisions of the Commission may be found in the sources listed below. Note that most of the materials will be in Spanish.
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This autonomous court considers cases from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights or by a state that is party to the Convention. In addition, these states must recognize the courts jurisdiction either overall or for a specific case or time period. Decisions are available in the publications listed below. Note that most of the materials will be in Spanish.
  • Decisions, Judgments, Advisory Opinions and other documents (court)
    These are available on the Court's web site from 1987 to present in English and Spanish. You can browse the documents or search the database. Court publications are also available in print at the Wolff library. Current documents include:
    • Series A: Judgments and Opinions (advisory) INTL KDZ574.A52 I582. These are cataloged separately which means that you should search Gulliver using a name from the case to locate a specific judgment.
    • Series C: Decisions and Judgments INTL KDZ574.A52 I59 These are also cataloged separately which means that you should search Gulliver using a name from the case to locate a specific judgment.
  • Decisions and Special Reports of the IACHR (commission)
    These decisions are available on the web. Print decisions and reports are also included in their Annual Reports. These are available in print from the Wolff Library at INTL KDZ578.I5 A85. You may be able to find some Commission documents on Westlaw in the IACHR-OAS database.

• U.N. Committee Against Torture (CAT). There are two usual methods for complaints; individual communications or inquiries initiated by the committee. This jurisprudence is located at the sources listed below. There is also a periodical reporting requirement where parties describe their progress in implementing rights. These reports are available on the CAT web site and Bayefsky.com.
  • Bayefsky.com: CAT Jurisprudence
  • Treaty Body Database (choose CAT, then jurisprudence)
  • U. of Minnesota Human Rights Library: Decisions and Views of the CAT under Article 22 of the Convention
• U.N. Human Rights Committee (HRC). This body was created by the CCPR treaty and is granted the authority in the Optional Protocol to consider complaints from individuals. These are called "communications" and may result in an outcome of admissible, inadmissible, violation, or no violation. Sources for these documents are below. This treaty also requires state parties to submit periodic reports providing details on how the rights are being implemented within the state. These state reports are also available from the HRC or from Bayefsky.com.
  • Bayefsky.com: CCPR Jurisprudence
    This site is very easy to use and provides HRC decisions via a useful list which links to pdf images of the official documents.
  • Human Rights Committee
    The views are printed in the committee's annual reports which are available on the web. However, you will need to browse through the reports to located the jurisprudence. it may be more useful to use the Treaty Body Database. Choose CCPR, then jurisprudence and select a country.
  • U. of Minnesota Human Rights Library: Decisions and Views of the HRC
    
  • Selected Decisions under the Optional Protocol INTL 3239.52.U55

• U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The committee may consider petitions from individual or groups as detailed in the optional protocol. Parties to the treaty are to submit periodic reports detailing their progress in fulfilling their treaty obligations of eliminating discrimination. These reports are on the CEDAW web site or at Bayefsky.com.
  • Bayefsky.com : CEDAW Jurisprudence
  • U. of Minnesota Human Rights Library: CEDAW Jurisprudence under the Optional Protocol
• U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). This widely ratified treaty provides for periodic state reports on the implementation of the treaty provisions. The committee has jurisdiction to consider inter-state complaints, but the individual complaint mechanism is optional. These documents are available at the links below. CERD has a reporting provision where each state submits reports on their progress in eliminating discrimination. These reports are on the CERD web site or on Bayefsky.com.
  • Bayefsky.com: CERD Jurisprudence
  • Treaty Body Database (choose CERD, then jurisprudence)
  • U. of Minnesota Human Rights Library: Opinions of the CERD

Country Reports

Many international organizations and some governments produce reports on the human rights conditions in various countries. Human rights activists and lawyers rely on these reports for asylum proceedings and when appearing before various treaty bodies and tribunals. These reports may contain detailed information on issues such as human trafficking, FGM, rape, extra judicial killings, and political prisoners, to name a few topics. For more assistance in researching country conditions, see the CALS Asylum Case Research Guide.

• Amnesty International Annual Report
  In addition to the annual report, AI produces other country or topic specific reports. The AI USA office web site is better organized and also offers easy access to older annual reports. The easiest way is to select a country and then look for links to previous years reports. Also available in print (1975 - present) in the Wolff Library at INTL HV8593.A45.
  Human Rights Watch World Report 2009
  This IGO annual report (previous years available under publications tab) summarizes conditions from around the world. There are many other useful reports available on a variety of topics, such as child domestic workers, labor conditions, forced evictions, etc. You can access a list of reports or try searching a country name. Also available in print (1991 - present) INTL JC571.H785.
• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Publications (selected documents, 1962 - present)
  Web site includes annual reports, country reports and other publications. Many of these are available in print.
• International Committee of the Red Cross, Annual Report (1994 - present)
  Also available in print (1985 - 2000) INTL HV560.R376
• UNICEF, The State of the World's Children (1997 - present)
  Also available in print (1994 forward) INTL HQ92.2.S73.
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The State of the World's Refugees (five editions, published in 2006, 2000, 1997, 1995 & 1993). Also available in print (all editions) at INTL K3230.R45 S675.
• U.S. State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
  Information from this annual report should always be supplemented by additional research, but it is the starting point for most immigration judges and INS asylum officers. Electronic Archived versions (1993-1999) are available and the Wolff Library has the print version from 1979 - present at INTL JC571.U48. See also the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom (1999 - present) and the Trafficking in Persons Report (2001 - present).
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The State of the World's Refugees (five editions, published in 2006, 2000, 1997, 1995 & 1993). Also available in print (all editions) INTL K3230.R45 S675

Foreign Law

The Wolff Library collects for the following jurisdictions: Australia, France, Great Britain, Mexico, Scotland, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa. However, we also have selected publications and translated laws from many other countries. For more information on researching foreign law, see our two guides on the topic, Foreign and Comparative Law and Comparative Constitutional Law. See below for a list of top resources to help you get started.

Constitutions

• Constitutions of the Countries of the World (Georgetown only)
  Contains English translations of constitutions from over 190 countries and introductory notes that review recent amendments and provide historical and political information. This is the electronic equivalent of the print version, which is available in the Wolff Library at INTL K3157.A2 B54. Constitutions of the Countries of the world.
• Constitutions of Dependencies and Territories Online (Georgetown only)
  This database features English translations of the constitutions of territories and dependencies and relevant federal constitutional provisions that define the relationship between the state and dependencies and territories. Also included is commentary that describes the interaction of the federal constitution with that of the dependency or territory.

Multi-Jurisdictional Resources

• Foreign Law Guide (Georgetown only)
  The number one resource for foreign law research, this database provides the researcher with relevant information on sources of foreign law, including complete bibliographic citations to legislation, the existence of English translations whenever possible, and selected references to secondary sources in English. It is arranged by country and includes an introduction to the legal system of that country as well as the availability of codes, session laws, and court reports. Each chapter contains a section arranged by subject that outlines the major laws for a given subject and provides references to English translations, when available.
• International Law in Domestic Courts (Georgetown only)
  This is a case reporting service including important public international law issues being decided in national courts. Legal experts in over 60 countries identify the most significant cases and analyze the decisions in those cases. Full text judgments are included, as are authoritative English translations of key passages.
• Legislationline (OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights)
  Legislationline is another source for national legislation on human rights related topics, including gender, human trafficking, freedom of assembly, migration and citizenship. Coverage is limited to OSCE member states. Many--but not all--of the laws are translated into English.
• vLex Global - NEW (Georgetown Law only)
  This database searches almost 100 jurisdictions for case law, legislation and other legal resources. Note: only one user at a time.
• World Legal Information Institute (WorldLii)
  This collaborative legal research facility offers links to government web sites, case law databases, and other useful sites. We suggest accessing the information by country using "All Countries" from the main page, then select the specific country of interest. Legislation and case coverage varies by jurisdiction.

Women's Human Rights Resources Online

The following links are representative of the many online resources devoted to women's human rights. U.N. organizations, NGOs, policy institutions, advocacy groups and news organizations are all places to turn to explore the human rights issues facing women throughout the world. Additional resources on women's human rights are found throughout this guide. These types of institutions are useful in identifying issues, gathering factual data, keeping current with the latest developments and finding reports and analysis.

• WomenWatch (U.N.)
• Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women (U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights)
• International Women's Rights Action Watch
  This organization submits shadow country reports to the CEDAW and CESCR committees.
• Women in International Law: Research Resources
• Center for Reproductive Rights
  This site has many resources on reproductive rights, health education, domestic violence, and useful shadow reports on many countries.
• Women and Human Rights Links (U. Minnesota)
• Commission on the Status of Women

General Human Rights Research

The library subscribes to many research databases. This section of the guide highlights those databases that are particularly useful for researching human rights. For a complete listing of the library's subscription databases, see our Online Collection page, where you can browse the databases alphabetically or by legal or non-legal subject.

• Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) (Georgetown Only)
  Scholarly documents from leading international relations research centers. Complete texts of working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, and proceedings from conferences. Also, journal issues and books. Coverage begins in 1991.
• Ethnic News Watch (Georgetown Only)
  Full-text collection of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Includes articles editorials, columns, and reviews which provide a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints.
• Gender Watch (Georgetown Only)
  GenderWatch is a full text database of publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas. GenderWatch supports programs in business, education, literature and the arts, health sciences, history, political science, public policy, sociology and contemporary culture, gender and women's studies and more. Publications include academic and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets and pamphlets,conference proceedings, and government, NGO and special reports.
• Legal Scholarship Network (Georgetown Only)
  LSN is part of the Social Science Research Network and includes working papers as well as articles accepted for publication in various areas of law, including human rights. Working papers are available for downloading. Journal articles will need to be accessed from HeinOnline, Westlaw or Lexis.
• Refworld
  Refworld is vast collection of country information, reports, policy documents, national legislation, position papers, case law, and much more. The simplest method to access information is to use the country name and then use "filter" to refine the results.

Periodical Literature

Periodical literature is a good way to obtain background information, locate the text of a foreign law, a citation, or locate information about a subject. Westlaw and Lexis provide excellent coverage of U.S. law reviews, but you should consider expanding your journal research to foreign journals and indexes for more comprehensive and global coverage. For information on other journal databases, see our Using Articles for Legal and Non-Legal Research for a complete list.

The databases listed below provide full text articles from legal and social science journals. Human Rights is an interdisciplinary topic and you may need to consult international relations, sociology, and other non-law topics during your research. We recommend that you use the advanced search feature.

• Cambridge University Press (Georgetown only)
  Full text access to journals published by Cambridge University Press. Search by title, abstract, or by full text. You can also limit by journal title or subject. Some relevant subjects besides law include African studies, history, Latin American studies and history.
• Oxford University Press (Georgetown only)
  Online access to journals covering legal, regional affairs, social sciences, and other subjects. Search by title, abstract, or by full text. You can also limit by journal title or subject.
• Kluwer Law International Journals (Georgetown only)
  Also known as KLI Journals Online. Georgetown has electronic access to those Kluwer Law International Journals (KLI Journals Online) that we subscribe to in print and that are available on the web. NOTE: The Library does not subscribe to all titles that are listed on the Kluwer web site.

To obtain the best comprehensive results, use periodical indexes to locate relevant citations. As an index, there will be no full text. To locate the full text, search for the title of the journal in our online catalog. Below are listed a few of the most commonly used journal indexes.

• Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (Georgetown only)
  This is an index of foreign law reviews many of which may not be in English. Searching, citations, and index terms are in English. This is one of the few ways to electronically search foreign law journals.
• Legal Periodicals and Books (Georgetown only)
  This resource is a comprehensive index of mainly U.S. law reviews, bar journals, and more from 1981 to the present. For historical research, search the Legal Periodicals Retrospective (be sure to "check" the retro box) which covers the years 1918-1981.
• Legal Journals Index (Georgetown only)
  This is part of Current Legal Information and provides citations from 320 British and European periodicals in the legal and financial areas.

Current Awareness Tools

In addition to keeping you up-to-date with what is going on in international human rights law, current awareness tools are helpful for identifying paper topics.

• Amnesty International USA Blog
  The US branch on Amnesty International runs an active blog that discusses human rights issues around the world.
• Human Rights: The World Affairs Blog Network
  This is part of the Foreign Affairs Blogs with many contributors from academia, journalism, business and other sectors.
• Jurist
  This legal news and real-time legal research web site maintained at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, provides excellent current awareness pages on various topics in human rights such as Human Rights, European Court of Human Rights, Torture, etc.

IGOs and NGOs Concerned with Human Rights

There are many international organizations which focus on human rights. Some organizations promulgate instruments and adjudicate human rights issues. Non-governmental organizations play an important role in the development of norms, institutions, and procedures for protecting human rights. A great deal of information is produced by both IGOs and NGOs. Author searches in our online catalog using the name of the organization will often result in a list of the reports and documents produced by the organization. Keyword searching is another option. Many of these organizations post their reports and other documents on the internet.

For more information on mega-lists of IGOs and NGOs and directories, see our -.

Selected Inter-Governmental Organizations

Selected Non-Governmental Organizations

Bibliographies and Other Research Guides

Bibliographies and research guides do some of the research for you! They're usually a list of articles and books on a specific topic. They can save you a lot of time in your research. Human rights law is an area that offers a wide range of bibliographies, both general and topic-specific (trafficking, crimes of honour, human rights in Asia, etc.)

• Annette Demers, Women and War: A Bibliography of Recent Works, 34 Int'l J. Legal Info. 98 (2006), available on HeinOnline (Georgetown only) or in print at INTL K9.N787.
• ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law: Human Rights.
• Human Rights Research: Frequently Asked Questions (Columbia)
• Mohamed Y. Mattar, Trafficking in Persons: An Annotated Legal Bibliography in 96 L. Libr. J. 669 (2004), available on HeinOnline (Georgetown only) or in print in Williams K12 .A93.
• United Nations Documentation: Research Guide on Human Rights
• University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
  The Bibliographies and Guides and the Human Rights Topic Guides sections offer links to many research guides from different websites. The topics include honour crimes, asylum resources, crimes of war, and much more.
• Weissbrodt and Hoffman, Bibliography for Research on International Human Rights Law in 6 Minn. J. Global Trade 200 (1997), available on HeinOnline or in print at Williams INTL K13 .I69. An updated version of this guide is available as Selected Human Rights Instruments and Bibliography for Research on International Human Rights Law, 3rd ed. (Supplement to International Human Rights : Law, Policy, and Process (3rd ed.) INTL K3240.4 .N39 2001).