Genocide - Protecting Rights

  • AfricaFiles

    AfricaFiles is a network of people committed to Africa through its promotion of human rights, economic justice, African perspectives and alternative analyses.

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  • African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies

    The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) is an independent non-governmental pan-African organisation, established in The Gambia since 1989. The organisation plays a central role in promoting and protecting human rights and democracy in Africa, through the media of capacity building, networking, action-oriented research, publication and documentation

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  • Child Rights Information Network

    CRIN envisions a world in which every child enjoys all of the human rights promised by the United Nations, regional organisations, and national governments alike. CRIN is building a global network for children's rights, pressing for rights, not charity, and advocate for a genuine systemic shift in how governments and societies view children.

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  • Human Rights

    "The protection of fundamental human rights was a foundation stone in the establishment of the United States over 200 years ago. Since then, a central goal of U.S. foreign policy has been the promotion of respect for human rights, as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United States understands that the existence of human rights helps secure the peace, deter aggression, promote the rule of law, combat crime and corruption, strengthen democracies, and prevent humanitarian crises." -- from Website

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  • Human Rights in Africa

    This powerful volume challenges the conventional view that the concept of human rights is peculiar to the West and, therefore, inherently alien to the non-Western traditions of third world countries. From a cultural perspective, the contributing authors discuss prospects for a cross-cultural approach to human rights.

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  • Human Rights Library

    "The University of Minnesota Human Rights Library houses one of the largest collections of more than sixty thousand core human rights documents, including several hundred human rights treaties and other primary international human rights instruments. The site also provides access to more than four thousands links and a unique search device for multiple human rights sites. This comprehensive research tool is accessed by more than a 250,000 students, scholars, educators, and human rights advocates monthly from over 150 countries around the world. Documents are available in nine languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish." -- from Website

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  • Human Rights Promotion & Protection

    This subsection addresses human rights promotion and protection as a central component of peacebuilding processes. The objective is to protect people from further abuses and address the structural, systemic conditions that give rise to human rights violations. A general improvement in the human rights situation is considered essential for the rehabilitation of war-torn societies. More important, the promotion and protection of human rights must aim to deepen a culture of human rights within a society, as an ongoing part of the nation-building and socio-political recovery process. As such, human rights promotion and protection contributes to the transformation of societal conditions that could potentially generate violence.

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  • Human Rights Protection

    There is growing consensus that the protection of human rights is important for the resolution of conflict. This essay discusses various ways the international community is attempting to bring an end to human rights abuses.

    Beyond Intractability Essay

  • Human Rights Violations

    Abuse of human rights often leads to conflict, and conflict typically results in human rights violations. Thus, human rights abuses are often at the center of wars and protection of human rights is central to conflict resolution.

    Beyond Intractability Essay

  • Image, Identity and Conflict Resolution

    Article Summary

  • In Larger Freedom: Towards Security, Development, and Human Rights for All

    The United Nations Secretary General provides this report on the importance to develop human rights for all in accordance with the goals of the UN Charter. The report calls for collaboration of member states to ensure security for all.

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  • Institute for the Study of Genocide

    "The Institute for the Study of Genocide is an independent nonprofit organization chartered by the University of the State of New York, located at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. The ISG exists to promote and disseminate scholarship and policy analyses on the causes, consequences, and prevention of genocide. It was founded in 1982 to fill a gap in both the scholarly and the human rights communities which did not recognize the continued prevalence of genocide. To advance these ends, it publishes a semi-annual newsletter and working papers, and initiated study of life-integrity violations cross-nationally. It holds periodic conferences, maintains liason with academic, human rights, and refugee organizations, provides consultation to representatives of media, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and advocates passage of legislation and administrative measures related to genocide and gross violations of human rights." -- from Website

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  • International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect

    "Recognizing the failure to adequately respond to the most heinous crimes known to humankind, world leaders made a historic commitment to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity at the United Nations (UN) 2005 World Summit. This commitment, entitled the Responsibility to Protect, stipulates that: 1. The State carries the primary responsibility for the protection of populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing; 2. The international community has a responsibility to assist States in fulfilling this responsibility; and 3. The international community should use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means to protect populations from these crimes. If a State fails to protect its populations or is in fact the perpetrator of crimes, the international community must be prepared to take stronger measures, including the collective use of force through the UN Security Council." -- from Website

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  • Linguistic Genocide in Education, or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights?

    In this powerful, multidisciplinary book, Tove Skutnabb-Kangas shows how most indigenous and minority education contributes to linguistic genocide according to United Nations definitions. Theory is combined with a wealth of factual encyclopedic information and with many examples and vignettes. The examples come from all parts of the world and try to avoid Eurocentrism. Oriented toward theory and practice, facts and evaluations, and reflection and action, the book prompts readers to find information about the world and their local contexts, to reflect and to act.

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  • Montreal Institute For Genocide and Human Rights Studies

    "MIGS' approach is comparative and historical and involves scholars in Canada, France, Great Britain, Israel, and the United States. Through its Occasional Paper Series and its web site, it collects and disseminates knowledge created by researchers about the historical origins of the mass killings that have become such a prominent part of our time. MIGS also accomplishes its mission through teaching, workshops, conferences, and publications. Additional information and web links are made available on this Web site." -- from Website

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  • Physicians for Human Rights

    "Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is an independent organization that uses the integrity of medicine and science to stop mass atrocities and severe human rights violations against individuals." -- from Website

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  • Rape, Genocide, and Women's Human Rights

    Human rights have not been women's rights - not in theory or in reality, not legally or socially, not domestically or internationally. This article examines the implications of rape in genocides and the future for women's rights.

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  • Rethinking Religious Tolerance: A Human Rights Approach

    In reviewing five edited collections and one monograph from the 1990s, the article summarizes the present status of the "human rights revolution" that was signaled by the adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It goes on to elaborate and evaluate some of the attempts contained in these books to deal with theoretical and practical controversies surrounding the subject of human rights, particularly the discussion of what to make of "cultural relativism" as far as human rights are concerned. Finally, the article summarizes some recent thinking and research on a neglected area, namely compliance with human rights standards protecting "freedom of religion or belief."

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  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

    On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."

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  • Truth Commissions

    Truths commissions are official groups endowed with the authority to extensively investigate the human rights abuses and war crimes committed in a specific country or region during a specified time period.

    Beyond Intractability Essay

  • UN Debate on Genocide Asks: Protect or Intervene?

    "Out of genocides past and Africa's tumult a controversial but seldom-used diplomatic tool is emerging: The concept that the world has a "responsibility to protect" civilians against their own brutal governments. At the U.N. General Assembly, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pushed Tuesday for more intervention for the sake of protection." -- from Website

    External Resource

  • Women and Intractable Conflict

    Women tend to be victimized more and gain less from intractable conflict than do men. Thus, women may be in a particularly strong position to work for peace.

    Beyond Intractability Essay