The UN Human Rights Council is the successor to the UN Commission on Human Rights. It is responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world. The Council's website gives details of its membership, rules of procedure, advisory committees and working groups, meetings and other events. There is information about the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), whereby the HRC reviews the human rights record of each UN Member States every four years.
This site is maintained by the United Nations to provide information and resources regarding its work on maintaining the rule of law. It offers UN press releases and a repository of UN documents including General Assembly resolutions, reports, norms and standards, guidance and training materials. Topics covered include the rule of law at national and international levels, constitution building, transitional justice, informal justice, peace building and international security.
The Migration Law Database is made freely available online by the International Organization for Migration, an inter-governmental body providing services and advice to governments and migrants. The database provides access to full text international, regional and national laws relating to migration and can be browsed or searched by keyword. The basic search option covers the title, document number, date of adoption and a selection of subject categories including asylum, children, deportation, diasporas, extradition, indigenous peoples, migrant workers, nationality and repatriation.
This part of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs website provides information on the Department's work involving people with disabilities. There is a link to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to information on the work of other UN agencies concerning disabilities. There is guidance on how the Sustainable Development Goals work for disabled people and details of recent events and issues are given.
This part of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) website provides free access to the ICRC's International Humanitarian Law (IHL) databases. There is a treaty database which includes IHL treaties and related documents and lists the states that have signed and/or ratified or acceded to the treaties. It also contains the ICRC commentaries to the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols.
Trial International is an organisation, based in Switzerland, whose aim is to "fight against impunity for the perpetrators accomplices and instigators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of torture." Trial International are involved with cases concerning these types of crimes and there is background information and news stories relating to these cases. The organisation's reports can be downloaded in full and there are profiles of the countries Trial International works with. The site is available in English and French.
The Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts (RULAC) Project is an initiative of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. The aim of the project is to "report on every State and disputed territory in the world, addressing both the legal norms that apply as well as the extent to which they are respected by the relevant actors." The website provides background information to international humanitarian law, international human rights law, international criminal law and international refugee law.
This site provides free access to the official charter of the United Nations.The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter.It sets out the purpose, main organs and role of the United Nations. The website also offers a history of the charter and details about amendments and signatories.
