The Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research supports the community of teachers, researchers, and law and social justice advocates working in the multidisciplinary sphere of Human Rights. The Center develops global collections -- primary and secondary resources, as well as archival collections and internal records from human rights organizations -- and enhances the visibility and accessibility of these collections through high-profile programs, collaborative projects and library services.
CHRDR is the official designated repository for the archives of major Human Rights organizations such as Amnesty International USA, the Committee of Concerned Scientists, Human Rights First, and Human Rights Watch.
The Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research was formed as the result of three prominent Human Rights organizations choosing Columbia University to house their vast collections of documents. The archives of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, and the Committee of Concerned Scientists are administered by Columbia’s Rare Book and Manuscripts Library, and several other important organizations, including Human Rights First (formerly Lawyers Committee for Human Rights) and Physicians for Human Rights have indicated a strong interest in depositing their archives at Columbia as well. This remarkable body of material (spanning more than 3,700 linear feet) details each organization’s decades of human rights work, making CHRDR the most extensive compilation of human rights archives available anywhere. The CHRDR archives complement Columbia’s existing human rights programs, many of which will draw on these new resources for teaching and research.
