Explore our projects
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Is the emphasis on a results-based culture and value for money having a disproportionate impact on the work of human rights organisations? How do evaluation and impact assessment practices shape priorities, objectives and processes in human rights work? Are human rights organisations being discouraged from taking risks and pursuing long-term agendas in favour of projects that are easier to measure and ‘prove’ as successful? No Perfect Measure focuses on the political and normative issues underlying these questions and concerns. More… Report – EN |
This report constitutes the European section of a large global project on sexual health and human rights, commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO), which aims to contribute to the recognition, understanding and application of human rights standards related to sexuality and sexual health. The report analyses legal practices around sexual health issues within the context of law, jurisprudence and case law in the European region, and explores the application of human rights standards to these issues, covering topics such as discrimination, violence, gender identity, same-sex relations, health services, regulation of marriage and sex work. More… Report – EN |
Coming at a critical time in the negotiations, this new report addresses issues that are central to technology policy. The report aims to translate between the language and concerns of environmental activists and those of human rights advocates, so that common principles might be found and a common position forged. Climate technology policy has generally been conceived as a means to address a central injustice associated with climate change – that activities that have primarily benefited the inhabitants of the world’s richest states will disproportionately affect those living in the world’s poorest states. As a result, ‘technology transfer’ has long been recognised as an indispensable element of a stable future and a global deal, both practically and politically. More… |
The Discussion Paper examines the human rights implications of the immense diffusion of data-gathering technologies across the world in recent years. It starts from the premise that the relevant issues, while much discussed, are not yet well understood and are evolving rapidly, both of which contribute to widespread anxiety. More… Report – EN |
Across the world, people living in poverty are disproportionately subject to stigmatisation, segregation, surveillance and criminalisation. Partly, this is due to the increasing use of criminal and non-criminal measures that directly target or disproportionately impact people living in poverty, such as legislation on vagrancy or begging; regulations on eating or sleeping in public places; and policing practices such as ‘move-on’ powers. More… Reach the Online Forum |
Securing peace and ending armed conflict and indiscriminate acts of violence against civilians present significant challenges to peace and the protection of human rights in South Asia and around the world. Central to an effective response to this challenge is to understand how public discourse, especially within the media, can be steered towards enabling a more transparent, well-informed policy response with positive human rights outcomes. More…
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This project looks into the human rights implications of contemporary patterns of social control: how laws and policies construct and respond to people, behaviour or status defined as “undesirable”, “dangerous”, criminal or socially problematic. More… Report – EN |
The Council first initiated thinking on a research project on rights and responsibilities of human rights NGOs in 2002. The project was meant to explore issues of legitimacy and accountability, focusing particularly on human rights NGOs and address following questions: what are the essential elements of “legitimacy” and “accountability” for human rights NGOs and what benefits will human rights NGOs obtain by demonstrating clearly that they are accountable and legitimate – and what risks might they face? More… Report – EN |
This project examines the provisions that protect undocumented and smuggled migrants under international human rights law, and suggests how they might be integrated in migration policies, alongside economic and law enforcement considerations. More… Report – EN Summary – EN, ES, FR |
This report highlights human rights impacts and dilemmas associated with plural state and non-state laws, such as family laws based on religion, customary justice practices and Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms. Drawing on examples of such plural legal orders from around the world, it proposes principles and a framework to guide human rights practitioners and policy-makers. The report also identifies challenges related to incorporation of non-state law in state law, recognition of cultural differences in law, and justice sector reform. More… Report – EN Summary – EN, ES, FR |
The widespread impacts of the financial and economic crisis have underlined the importance of going beyond dominant disciplinary wisdom as well as established policy prescriptions and institutional practices in economic policy-making. The 2010 Colloquium was aimed at enabling human rights professionals, policy-makers and economists alike to develop a better understanding of where and how human rights values, standards and methods can be relevant and effective with respect to macroeconomic policy making. More… Report – EN |
The paper sets out many of the questions, conflicts and dilemmas that mark this subject and impede discussions of sexuality and sexual rights. It frames the issue in ways that we feel will be useful and fresh for activists, policy-makers and human rights practitioners. More… |
What are the human rights implications of climate change? From new health risks, such as the increased incidence of malaria, to mass migration, to threatened food and water supplies, to the disappearance of shelter, land, livelihoods and cultures, climate change creates human rights concerns at every turn. More… Report – EN Summary – EN
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Have human rights organisations responded adequately to the threat of international terrorism and official responses to that threat? This report reaffirms that the core mission of human rights advocates is to make sure that governments respect human rights and the rule of law. Human rights organisations should participate in efforts to agree a sound definition of terrorism in international law. More… Report – EN Summary – EN, ES, FR |
A taboo subject until the early 1990s, corruption is now under the spotlight and recognised as one of the biggest obstacles to development. Anti-corruption laws have been enacted, treaties like the United Nations Convention Against Corruption have been negotiated and ratified and new anti-corruption bodies are springing up. More… Report – EN, ES, HY |
In recent years, governments and international organisations have taken many initiatives to reduce corruption. However, the issue has rarely been analysed from the point of view of human rights. The project aims to assist organisations that prosecute or support anti-corruption policies to apply human rights effectively to strengthen their programmes; to make human rights bodies and mechanisms more accessible to those who work to end corruption; and to make anti-corruption methods and practices more accessible to human rights advocates. More… Report – EN, ES, HY, SR, TH |
Are peace agreements negotiated more easily if they include references to human rights? If so, is peace more durable as a result? Negotiating Justice? examines eight recent peace agreements to assess how they addressed such issues as impunity and forcible displacement. It concludes that human rights can make practical and positive contributions to many areas of conflict resolution. More… Report – EN, FR Summary – EN, ES, FR |
Since the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was adopted in 1948, numerous human rights standards have been created at the initiative of states, non-governmental organisations, victims, and other actors. They have transformed international law. Human Rights Standards: Learning from Experience examines the unpredictable history of past standard-setting and the options available to those who advocate new standards in the future. More… Report – EN, ES |
This report reviews major trends in society and human rights since the International Council on Human Rights Policy was first conceived in the early 1990s and looks forward to some of the new challenges that will require human rights attention in coming years. More… Report – EN |
How should national human rights institutions assess themselves? This report reviews the characteristics of effective national institutions and the international standards for their work, set out in the Paris Principles. It proposes benchmarks, based on these Principles, and suggests how quantitative and qualitative indicators can help institutions to improve their performance and measure the impact of their activities. More… |
Health, education, water supply, housing, policing, roads: the services that local governments deliver determine our quality of life. As states decentralise, moreover, the influence of local governments is increasing almost everywhere.It suggests how human rights principles and methods can strengthen public accountability and participation and assist officials to plan, implement and evaluate services for which they are responsible. More… Report – EN, RU Summary – EN, ES, FR, RU |
Why are many individuals, particularly those who are vulnerable because of exclusion, poverty and discrimination, unable to obtain benefits and rights to which they are entitled in law? This report examines the impediments that obstruct large numbers of people from accessing the full range of human rights. It analyses the performance and responsibilities of governments and other institutions, and identifies new forms of action that official and human rights organisations might need to undertake if access is to be improved. More… Report – EN Summary – EN, ES, FR |
When do wealthier societies have a duty to help much poorer ones? What are the limits of a government’s obligations to people in other countries? To what extent do a government’s duties abroad take priority over responsibilities to its own citizens? Are such obligations merely ethical or do they include a legal dimension?
In considering such questions, this report draws on human rights law to strengthen more familiar appeals to ethics and self-interest, and provides additional tools that citizens and officials alike can use to argue for more dynamic and effective international action to end poverty and injustice. More… Report – EN |
What problems arise for civil society when surges in criminality occur, or when crime is perceived to intensify in periods of change? This study examines the problems that arise for human rights workers when there is public demand for severe law and order policies to curb crime, and asks what would make their work more legitimate and effective. More… Report – EN Summary – EN, ES, FR, RU, UK |
The private sector increasingly accepts that it has social and moral responsibilities. In recent years many companies have introduced codes of conduct and other forms of voluntary initiatives. But do private companies have a legal responsibility to respect human rights? This report sets out the legal obligations of states when business activity has an impact on human rights, and explores the degree to which companies might have direct obligations under international human rights law. More… Report – EN Summary – EN, ES, FR |
International military forces have intervened in several recent conflicts to protect civilians caught up in human rights crises. In others, they have failed to do so. Does military force help? When is it appropriate? Who should approve its use? Written before the war in Iraq, this report looks at how human rights NGOs deal with situations in which armed force is proposed to protect civilian lives. More… Report – EN |
Human Rights after September 11 discusses changes in the international political environment after the suicide attacks on the United States in 2001. It examines threats to civil liberties, discrimination and the polarisation of public opinion, United States exceptionalism, and some of the large human rights challenges that lie ahead. More… Report – EN, DE |
How do journalists select and cover human rights stories? How can one avoid bias or distortion of human rights information? Addressing these questions, this report examines the news and reporting process and its relations with human rights organisations. It assesses the difficulties of communicating complex human rights issues accurately and suggests ways in which coverage of human rights could be improved. More… Report – EN, PT Summary – EN, ES, FR |
Development and governance experts have studied decentralisation extensively. What happens when local authorities assume responsibility for education, policing or land use? Are minorities and poor communities better protected? Does devolution genuinely improve political accountability or entrench the power of local elites? Based on seven case studies, the report suggests how adopting a human rights approach might make decentralisation efforts more successful. More… Report – EN |
Prepared in the context of the 2001 United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, this report discusses the particular challenge of entrenched discrimination linked to poverty. It argues that co-ordinated action across a range of policy areas is required to end entrenched economic and racial exclusion, and identifies some of the policies that need to be combined to make long-term change possible. More… Report – EN, ES, FR
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Armed groups are active in numerous civil conflicts. Considered “terrorists” by some and “liberation fighters” by others, such groups have been responsible for serious abuses of human rights. These abuses primarily affect civilians but they raise many concerns for organisations that work for peace, protect human rights, or provide humanitarian relief. What can be done to influence the behaviour of armed groups? What obstacles face those who try to take action? What factors make an armed group more or less likely to respect human rights and humanitarian norms? More… Report – EN Summary – EN, ES, FR |
This report examines the factors that make aid programmes successful or not. Based on interviews with beneficiaries in four countries, it examines aid programmes to the justice sector. The information gathered suggests that such aid has facilitated constitutional development and legislative reforms, helped strengthen justice systems, and introduced human rights concepts to the public and into public institutions in societies where such notions were once seen as subversive. More… |
This report examines the degree to which national human rights institutions are successful in carrying out their mandate to promote human rights and protect the rights of citizens. The study assesses how national human rights institutions acquire legitimacy and a reputation for effectiveness. Based on research in three countries, it includes practical recommendations for strengthening their work, and their creation. More… |
In different forms racism is to be found in every society on earth. It is associated with certain forms of entrenched poverty and certain kinds of extreme violence. It is a denial of human relationship. Yet for many people it remains almost invisible, unnoticed except when violence is involved. Those who do not experience it often fail to understand how profoundly offensive it is. This short report surveyed some of the main issues that preoccupy people who suffer from racism or who study its effects. More… |
