Human Rights Research Bibliography

1. Introduction
2. Where to Start
1. Bibliographies and Research Guides
2. Online Catalogue
3. Periodical Indices
3. Background and General Information
1. Country and Regional Reports
2. News Sources
3. African and Human Rights Periodicals
4. Meta Sites
5. International and Regional Organizations
6. Document Databases and Publications
7. Treaties
1. UN Treaties
2. Regional and Other Compilations of Treaties
8. Decisions, Opinions and Reports from Human Rights Bodies
9. National Legal Materials
10. Miscellaneous

I. Introduction

Researching international human rights issues requires using a variety of primary and secondary sources which are not necessarily well organized. Another important aspect of researching this topic its interdisciplinary nature and the complexity of the subject matter and the materials. Thus, one must use materials from several disciplines and from a variety of organizations ranging from well known international governmental organizations with established publishing programs to organizations issuing ephemeral materials. Although much of the more recent primary materials and reports are available electronically, a vast body of important material still exists only in print. Thus, a researcher must be creative and resourceful and must become familiar with the large universe of print and electronic materials.

II.  Where to Start

A. Bibliographies and Research Guides

Research guides and bibliographies exist both for human rights in general and for specific topics, countries and regions. These sources can be useful both for orienting one’s research and for locating relevant materials. The Human Rights Library maintains a comprehensive collection of links to internet guides and bibliographies.The following is a list of a few of the major sources available either on the web or in the UIUC Library.

• Bibliography: Human Rights in the African Context.
• Center for African Studies-human rights page.
• Germain, Clair. Transnational Law Research: A Guide for Attorneys.
  Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Publishers, 1991-
  K85.G47 1991 (law reference)
• Guide to International Legal Research (4th ed.).
  Charlottesville, Lexis Law Publishing, 2002. [Contains sections on human rights]
  KZ 1234.G85 2002 (law reference)
• Lawson, Edward. Encyclopedia of Human Rights (2d ed.).
  Washington D.C.: Taylor & Francis, 1996.
  JC571.E621996 (law reference)
• LLRX.com International Law Guides.
  These include "Human Rights, Country and Legal Information Resources on the Internet" and "Guide to Country Research for Refugee Status Determination" as well as several guides to international criminal law and treaty research.
• Tobin, Jack & Jennifer Green. Guide to Human Rights Research.
  Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law School Human Rights Program, 1994.
  K3236.T63 1994 (law reference).
  Also available here
.
• United Nations Documentation, Research Guide: Special Topics: Human Rights.
• Weissbrodt, David & Marcie Hoffman, "Bibliography for Research on International Human Rights Law"
  6 Minn. J. Global Trade 200 (1997).
  K13.I53
  Also available through the Human Rights Library.

B.  Online Catalogue

Human rights research is interdisciplinary and several non-legal journals and books may provide relevant information. Many of these materials are located in other libraries on campus. These can be searched via the library’s online catalogue linked on the left tool bar and available here.

C.  Periodical Indices

Both legal and non-legal periodicals include articles on various human rights topics. The library subscribes to several indices and full text journal databases which are available on the Library's "Online Research Resources" page.
Some journals are full text, most of the others are available somewhere on campus. To determine if a journal is available and where it is located do a search for the journal title on the online catalogue. The library online research resources page has an alphabetical list of periodicals with online content.

• African Studies Centre (Leiden) database
• CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online)--good source for institute and "think tank" publications.
• Ebsco - a general full text database which includes several human rights periodicals.
• Hein OnLine - full text of selected law reviews with range of coverage varying by title. It provides full text of older materials not included in Lexis or Westlaw.
• LegalTrac
• Public Affairs Information Service--indexes political science and international relations periodicals.
• Quarterly Index of African Periodical Literature
• Quarterly Index Islamicus
• Sociological Abstracts
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

In addition, Legal Journals Index, which indexes primarily European publications, is available via Westlaw (database is LJI). The Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals is in print and is located in the reference area.

2. Article Indices available on the Internet:

• Africana Periodical Literature Database
• ECLAS (European Commission Libraries online catalogue from where one can do a search for periodical citations).
• Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (click on OPAC to do a search for articles)
• Peace Palace Library catalogue
• RAVE (index of articles and decisions in public international law and European law)

III. Background and General Information

A. Country and Regional Reports 

• Amnesty International Library, reports and other publications
• Freedom House Reports, “Freedom in the World”
• Human Rights Watch, country and other reports (some are available for download; others are available in print. To locate reports available in the library do an author search in the online catalogue for human rights watch.)
• US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
• World Factbook

B. News Sources 

• allAfrica.com
• IRIN News, from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, provides information for African countries.
• ISI Emerging Markets includes a news service for Sub-Saharan Africa. (On the ORR page type the title in the search box.)

Other good sources for current information are the news databases on Lexis and Westlaw, the newspaper databases linked from the library’s electronic resources page and on the internet. The Paperboy site provides links to most newspapers with an internet presence.

The World News Connection provides translations and English language news items from non-US media sources. This is available by password in the Government Documents Library.

C. Periodicals With African and Human Rights Focus (short list)

Note that most of these titles are indexed in Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals, PAIS and/or the African Studies Centre database. Few are included in LegalTrac and most of these journals are not available in Lexis/Westlaw.

• Africa Confidential
  Print version from v. 10 (1969)-date: 320.9605 AF (main library stacks)


• Africa Today
  Online since 1998; print version from v.2 (1955)–date: 305 AF (main library stacks)


• African Affairs
  Online since 1944; print version from v.1(1901)-date: 905 AFR (main library stacks)


• African Human Rights Law Journal
  K1.F754


• African Journal of International and Comparative Law
  Comp.L. K1.F68 (law stacks) (has suspended publication)


• African Studies Quarterly: The Online Journal for African Studies


• African Yearbook of International Law
  KZ21.A35 (law stacks)


• Buffalo Human Rights Law Review,
  v. 4 (1998)–date
  K2.U339 (law stacks)
  Available on Hein Online (1995-1999), Westlaw (1994-) and Lexis (1995-)


• Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa,
  Comp.L. K3.O4 (law stacks)


• European Human Rights Law Review
  Westlaw (EHRLR)


• Harvard Human Rights Journal
  v. 3 (1981)-date
  K8.A76 (law stacks)
  Also available on HeinOnline (1988-) , Westlaw (1994-), and Lexis (1993-)


• Human Rights Brief


• Human Rights in Africa
  K8.U45339 (law stacks)
  consolidated version available for 1996-1998


• Human Rights Quarterly
  Online since 1994; print from v. 3 (1981): JC585.H84x (law stacks)


• Human Rights Review
  K8.U4575 (law stacks)


• International Journal of Human Rights
  Online since 2000 (with a 12 month delay); print from v. 5 (2001): JC571.I593 (law stacks)


• Journal of African Law
  K10.O838x (law stacks)


• Journal of Modern African Studies
  Online from volume 1 (linked from the articles database page); in print from volume 1-date: 960.05 JOU (main library stacks and undergraduate library)


• Journal of Refugee Studies
  Online in full text since 1999 (abstracts for 1996-1999); in print from v. 3(1990)–date: 325.2105 JO (main library stacks; current in history library)


• Penant: Revue de droit des pays d’Afrique
  Comp.L. K16.E3x (law stacks)


• Recht in Afrika/Law in Africa
  K18.E265


• South African Journal on Human Rights
  K23.O68 (law stacks)


• South African Yearbook of International Law
  JX21.S69x (law stacks)


• Yale Human Rights & Development Law Journal
  Available on Westlaw (1998-) and Lexis (1998-)


• Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law
  KZ6442.Y43 (law stacks)

IV. Meta Sites

The Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL) is a comprehensive portal to international law materials on the web. It is arranged into broad subject categories and provides links to primary materials, web sites, and other materials relating to international law.

• SOSIG (Social Science Information Gateway) Law Gateway identifies and evaluates primary and secondary law sites relating to both international and domestic law.
• The World Legal Information Institute is a joint initiative of several university Legal Information Institutes which provides global coverage for all types of legal materials.

V. International and Regional Organizations

• ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
• African Commission on Human and People’s Rights
• African Union
• Asian Human Rights Commission
• Council of Europe
• European Union (official site)
• European Union (US site)
• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights
• International Labour Organization
• International Committee of the Red Cross
• Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe
• Organization of American States
• United Nations
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees
• UNICEF
• World Health Organization

VI. Document Databases and Publications

• Access UN (linked from the online research resources page) is the major index to UN publications with links to available full text documents. Note that the index uses British spellings (e.g. labour, not labor).


• Country of Origin and Legal Information are two databases maintained by the UNHCR. The first provides country information relating to asylum seekers and refugees. The other contains national legislation relating to refugees, citizenship, asylum seekers, etc.


• EIU Country Intelligence - provides analysis of current political and economic trends and contains country reports and profiles. To locate the database go to the library's online research resources page and type eiu in "words in resource" box.


• ESCR-Net is a site which includes a case law database on economic, social and cultural rights.


• The Human Rights Library provides links to most human rights related documents on the internet.


• Institute for Security Studies provides the text of papers, conference papers and the "African Security Review".


• Inter-American Commission on Human Rights publications


• ICRC Databases on International Humanitarian Law include one which provides the text of international humanitaian law treaties (including the Geneva Conventions) and another which provides the text of national legislation implementing international humanitarian law.


• International Labour Organization (ILO) Databases include Natlex which has national labor legislation and related human rights materials. Some full text.


• Key documents of the AU/OAU and other African regional organizations (1963-present)


• Millennium Indicators provide social and economic development indicators developed by the UN to track the eradication of poverty.


• The Official Documents System (ODS) provides full text of non-copyrighted UN documents issued since 1993.


• The UN Documentation System is primarily a gateway to full text documents of the UN General Assembly and Security Council.


• UNICEF Publications


• The World Development Index is a data source from the World Bank which includes social, economic and environmental indicators. To locate the database go to the library’s online research resources page and type world development indicators in the "words in title of resource" box.

VII. Treaties

Treaties are among the primary sources of international law. The UN publishes most treaties but there are some exceptions. Various IGO’s such as the European Union, Council of Europe, Organization of American States, the African Union plus national governments are repositories for treaties within their respective jurisdictions. In addition, various hosts have posted treaties on the internet.

The ASIL has a good introduction to treaty research

A. UN Treaties 

The United Nations Treaty Collection is a subscription databases which can be searched both by subject/keyword and status of an international instrument. The print collection is under the call number JX 170.U35.

B. Regional and Other Compilations 

• African Human Rights Instruments
• European Treaties from the European Union
• The European Treaty Series from the Council of Europe - These are also in print under the call number JX626 1954.E8
• Inter-American Treaties from the Organization of American States

The US Treaty Series is not available on the internet but various treaties can sometimes be located with an internet search. Treaties from 1783 are on Lexis, on Hein Online since 1789, and on Westlaw from 1979.
The print collection, US Treaties and Other International Agreements, is under the call number JX 231.A34.

Other compilations of human rights treaties are the "international human rights instruments" from the UNHCR, human rights materials from the University of Minnesota and the human rights section from the multilaterals project at the Fletcher School.

VIII. Decisions, Opinions & Reports from Human Rights Bodies

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights -
The print version,"Decisions of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (1986-1997)", is located under the call number KQC573.A53L39.

Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights
Also available on Lexis (Eurcom;cases) and Westlaw (EHR-RPTS) - The print version of the court’s decisions, Reports of Judgments and Decisions, is located under the call number JX1991.E925.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Inter-American Court of Human Rights

United Nations Human Rights Documents
This service from the UN High Commissioner consists of two databases. One provides documents from the treaty based bodies and the other database contains documents from the treaty based bodies. Selected decisions from these bodies may be published in International Human Rights Reports, v. 1(1994)–date (K3239.I58). International Law Reports (JX68.A65) also prints selected public international law decisions from international bodies and from national tribunals

IX. National Legal Materials

Some references to national legislation are included in sources listed in II above. Most African jurisdictions do not have legal materials readily available either in print or on the internet. More African primary legal information is appearing on the internet but most sites are not comprehensive or are not available in English.

• Lex Algeria, selected codes for Algeria (in French)
• Banque de Donnees Juridique de Burkina includes Le Journal Officiel and other legal information (in French)
• Madagascar - Constitutional Court decisions (in French)
• The Supreme Court of Mauritius web page provides links to legislation (2003-2005) and recent judgments.
• Nigeria-law, a database comprised of both federal statutes and cases.
• Major codes for Senegal (in French)
• South Africa
• The Tanzanian Parliament has the full text of laws from 1974 to date.
• Decisions of the Uganda Human Rights Commission
• Decisions of the Uganda Supreme Court (2000 & 2002)
• Zambia Legal Information Institute (ZamLII) includes legislation, Supreme Court, High Court, Industrial Relations Court, Lands Court, and Revenue Tribunal rulings.
• Scattered pieces of legal information for other African jurisdictions may be located through AustlII and from the Commonwealth Legal Information Institute (CommonLII)
• Brief introductions to the legal systems of individual African jurisdictions and sources of law are contained in Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Legislation of the World (volume 3) located under the call number K38.R49 (law reference)

X. Miscellaneous

• The African Growth and Opportunity Act web site includes legislation, country and product eligibility, trade information and other resources.
• Governments on the WWW
• Guide to Foreign and International Legal Databases (NYU)
• International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
• The Kenya Human Rights Commission web site includes reports and bills relating to labor legislation reform.
• WHO--International Digest of Health Legislation

Compiled by Jane Williams
© Jane Williams, 1998-2006
Content last updated 3 November 2006