www.un.org/rights

Home to the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights, this website includes numerous international resources, including the full text of the ground-breaking “Universal Declaration on Human Rights,” which was adopted by the General Assembly 60 years ago in 1948. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights works to strengthen and coordinate United Nations work for the protection and promotion of all human rights of all persons around the world. The Secretary-General has made human rights the central theme that unifies the Organization’s work in the key areas of peace and security, development, humanitarian assistance and economic and social affairs.

 

http://www.amnesty.org

Amnesty International is one of the most important global non-governmental organizations dedicated to advancing the cause of human rights. Founded more than 40 years ago, Amnesty currently has almost 2 million members from nearly 150 nations around the world. Amnesty’s vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In pursuit of this vision, Amnesty undertakes research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all human rights.

 

http://www.hrw.org

Human Rights Watch stands with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. In particular, they investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable while challenging governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. To this end, HRW enlists the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. Their website contains numerous articles, reports and other resources documenting human rights abuses around the world and ways for ordinary citizens to become more involved in the global struggle to achieve human rights for all people.

 

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org

Human Rights First believes that building respect for human rights and the rule of law will help ensure the dignity to which every individual is entitled and will stem tyranny, extremism, intolerance, and violence. Human Rights First protects people at risk: refugees who flee persecution, victims of crimes against humanity or other mass human rights violations, victims of discrimination, those whose rights are eroded in the name of national security, and human rights advocates who are targeted for defending the rights of others. These groups are often the first victims of societal instability and breakdown; their treatment is a harbinger of wider-scale repression. Human Rights First works to prevent violations against these groups and seeks justice and accountability for violations against them.

 

http://www.witnesstorture.org

At its inception, Witness Against Torture began as a group of friends who—as Americans and Catholics—walked to Guantánamo to visit the prisoners, to perform a work of mercy, to respond to the victims of the war on terrorism. Upon returning from that journey, they began to organize more broadly to shut down Guantánamo, working with interfaith, human rights and activists organizations—including the North Carolina Council of Churches. They have planned a series of nonviolent direct actions to expose and decry injustice, build awareness about torture and indefinite detention amongst Americans and forge human ties with the prisoners at Guantánamo and their families.

 

http://www.pfadp.org

Nearly 80 percent of executions in the United States take place in the South, the former slave states.

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, interfaith organization whose mission is to educate and mobilize faith communities to act to abolish the death penalty in the United States. Founded in 1994 as part of the NC Council of Churches, PFADP is now an independent organization focusing its programs on organizing among faith communities in the South. PFADP seeks to be totally inclusive - reaching out to all citizens regardless of faith, race or ethnic group, income, political affiliation, age, ability, and so on. Their members include Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and people from other faith traditions.

 

http://www.ncstoptorturenow.net

North Carolina Stop Torture Now (NCSTN) is a grassroots organization dedicated to ridding North Carolina of its complicity with practices of torture and detainee abuse. The NCSTN was formed following the discovery that N.C. represents a critical link in the CIA’s system of illegal detentions, disappearances, and torture-by-proxy. The immediate goals of NCSTN is for the Global TransPark Authority, chaired by Governor Easley, to comply with N.C. law and for the State Bureau of Investigation to participate in a thorough investigation of Aero Contractors and take appropriate action. Despite numerous requests, the Governor and Global TransPark Authority Board have failed to call for the SBI to investigate Aero Contractors.