FURTHER INFORMATION
The following is a non-exhaustive list of some useful organisations to find out more about, and, in some cases, obtain assistance in connection with, specific human rights issues, concerns and/or cases.
Please note that inclusion on this list is not an endorsement of or by the PHRG.
ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS:
NGOS AND THINKTANKS
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is a global movement of human rights campaigners, which investigates and exposes abuses, and raises awareness of human rights issues. As a membership organisation, it encourages members of the public to engage in targeted human rights campaigns. If you are based in the UK, see Amnesty International UK’s website.
Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) is an independent and non-political body of barristers called to the Bar of England and Wales, as well as pupil barristers, legal academics and law students, dedicated to promoting principles of justice and respect for fundamental human rights through the rule of law.
Chatham House
Chatham House is an independent policy institute based in London, whose mission is to help build a sustainably secure, prosperous and just world. It carries out independent and rigorous analysis of critical global, regional and country-specific challenges and opportunities. See the human rights section of their website.
Forest Peoples Programme
Forest Peoples Programme is a human rights organisation working with forest peoples across the globe to secure their rights to their lands and their livelihoods. It collaborates with more than 60 partner organisations representing Indigenous peoples and forest communities to advocate an alternative vision of how forests should be managed and controlled, based on respect for the rights of the people who know them best.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide, through fact-finding, impartial reporting, use of media, and targeted advocacy, often in partnership with local human rights groups. Their annual ‘World Reports’ provide summaries of the human rights situations in a range of countries worldwide.
Minority Rights Group
Minority Rights Group is an international NGO which works with ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and Indigenous peoples to secure their rights and promote understanding between communities, guided by a worldwide network of over 300 partner organisations in more than 60 countries. Its website has a Resources Section with a library of reports, toolkits, films, etc., which includes information on the human rights situations of specific minority groups.
GOVERNMENTAL AND INTER-GOVERNMENTAL
Council of Europe
Based in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe was set up in 1949 and is Europe's leading human rights organisation. It has created a common legal space, centred on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), across its 46 Member States. The citizens of the Member States have the ultimate right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to uphold their fundamental rights and freedoms.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
UK Government Country Policy and Information Notes
US State Department
The annual US State Department Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, also known as the Human Rights Reports, cover internationally recognised individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements, in countries outside the US.
United Nations
​The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHRHC) is the leading UN entity on human rights, and its website provides information and a wide range of publications on a variety of human rights topics and countries.
ON COUNTRY SPECIFIC HUMAN RIGHTS
NGOS
INDONESIA (AND WEST PAUPAU)
PHILLIPINES
SAUDIA ARABIA
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Amnesty International
Amnesty International also provides resources for HRDs, such as online courses.
Committee to Protect Journalists
Committee to Protect Journalists’ Assistance Program can provide direct support to journalists at risk and their families, and has other safety resoucrces on its website.
Front Line Defenders
Front Line Defenders, based in Ireland, reports on and protects HRDs at risk, including with grants, training and advocacy. See the ‘Tools for Defenders’ section of their website for more information and resources. Their 24 hour emergency hotline number is +353 (0) 1 210 0489.
Peace Brigades International
​Peace Brigades International (PBI) provides protection and supports individuals, communities, movements, and organisations that defend human rights through protective physical accompaniment, international observation, advocacy efforts, awareness raising, and capacity sharing.
Prisoners of Conscience
Prisoners of Conscience is a UK-based charity providing both financial and practical assistance to prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders, in the belief that no-one should be persecuted, silenced, tortured or forced to flee their country for protecting or advancing human rights.
FOR VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS OF SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, AND THOSE SUPPORTING THEM:
Freedom from Torture
REDRESS
REDRESS seeks to deliver justice and reparation for survivors of torture, challenge impunity for perpetrators, and advocate for legal and policy reforms to combat torture.
Reprieve is a registered charity comprised of lawyers, campaigners and human rights defenders which uses strategic interventions to end the use of the death penalty globally, and to end extreme human rights abuses carried out in the name of “counterterrorism” or “national security”, with a focus on arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial executions.
United Nations
The following UN processes/mechanisms may be of use to individuals and civil society groups wanting to raise specific cases or concerns:
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The complaint procedure is the only universal complaint procedure addressing all human rights and all fundamental freedoms in all UN Member States, with any individual, group of individuals, or non-governmental organisation able to submit a complaint. The procedure is impartial, objective, efficient, victim-oriented and conducted in a timely manner. See the website for information about the admissibility criteria and how to submit a complaint.
Individual complaints or communications can also be submitted though some international human rights treaty bodies, which are committees of independent experts elected by States parties to the relevant treaty which monitor the treaty. Currently, eight of the human rights treaty bodies (CCPR, CERD, CAT, CEDAW, CRPD, CED, CESCR and CRC) may, under certain conditions, receive and consider individual complaints or communications from individuals. See the website for more information. ​
Any individual, group, civil-society organization, inter-governmental entity or national human rights bodies can submit information to the Special Procedures. Each expert will decide whether she/he will take action on a given submission, on the basis of the information received and the scope of her/his mandate. Communications are letters sent by the Special Procedures expert to Governments and others, such as intergovernmental organisations, businesses, military or security companies, reporting on allegations of human rights violations they have received. This is not a quasi-judicial procedure, and the Special Procedures do not have power or authority to enforce their views or recommendations.
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Mandate holders fall under two categories, country-based mandates and thematic mandates (N.B. See mandate holder on Human Rights Defenders).
OTHER INTER-GOVERNMENTAL
Europe
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The European Court on Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, has jurisdiction over state signatories of the European Convention on Human Rights, and its judgments are binding on the countries concerned. Applications can be made to the court by individuals, including any person, group of individuals, company or NGO having a complaint about a violation of their rights, or contracting states.
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The European Union works to promote and defend human rights within the EU and in its engagement with non-EU countries. Whilst there is no direct complaint mechanism, the EU works actively with NGOs and civil society, providing them with grants and other support. The EU also produces annual reports which provide a general overview of human rights and democracy, within EU borders and worldwide.
Americas
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Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an organ of the Organisation of American States (OAS) whose mission is to protect and promote human rights in these countries. The body has an individual petition mechanism which may enable individuals or groups to receive assistance when their rights are being violated.
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Inter-American Court of Human Rights, based in San José, Costa Rica, is the regional court for the Americas designed to enforce and interpret the American Convention on Human Rights. Cases can be referred to the court by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights or by state parties. Individuals cannot make direct applications to the court.
Africa
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African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, an organ of the African Union (AU), is mandated with the protection and promotion of human and peoples’ rights in Africa, and responsible for the interpretation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“the African Charter”). It acts as a quasi-judicial body, reviewing complaints lodged by states, individuals or non-governmental organisations regarding violations of the African Charter.
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African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, based in Arusha, Tanzania, is the judicial arm of the AU, and complements the African Commission. Its decisions are legally binding. The African Commission can refer cases to the Court when: it considers that a State has not complied with, or is unwilling to comply with recommendations in its communications; it considers a State has not complied with provisional measures requested; where a situation comes to its attention that constitutes one of serious or massive violations of human rights; or, if intervention deems necessary. As with the Inter-American system, individuals cannot make direct applications to the court.
PARLIAMENTARY
Inter-Parliamentary Union
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The Inter-Parliamentary Union is the international organisation of Parliaments, acting as the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue and promotion of peace. One of its core activities is the defence and promotion of human rights. Its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians  can examine cases of alleged human rights abuses against Parliamentarians brought to its attention.