The Challenge of Politics
Web Resources
The following links will help you explore the themes of Chapter 13 on the Web.
Amnesty International is one of the premier NGOs in the field of human rights. Of particular concern to Amnesty is the plight of prisoners of conscience—people arbitrarily incarcerated and sometimes tortured for the views they hold. Also of concern to Amnesty is the widespread use of the death penalty.
As its name suggests, this nongovernmental organization is dedicated to the advancement of freedom in the world. Its most noted publication, Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties, assigns scores to countries based on the degree of freedom their citizens enjoy.
One of the more effective NGOs, the Human Rights Watch investigates and exposes human rights violations around the world. It also presses for the withdrawal of military and economic support from governments that egregiously violate the rights of their people.
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
The IRC is a nonprofit, nonsectarian voluntary agency providing assistance to refugees around the world. For those who cannot resettle in their own countries, the agency assists their resettlement in alternative countries.
University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
This is one of the great source links for human rights information available on the Internet. The site contains over 10,000 documents, a human rights search engine, and links to over 3,400 additional human rights Web sites. First rate.
United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women
This U.N. organization advocates the improvement of the status of women of the world and the achievement of equality between women and men. It sponsors numerous conferences and produces major reports on the status of women.