The Charter 77 declaration and petition appeared in western Europe in January 1977; it was a human rights document authored by a group of Czechoslovakians that spawned a movement later known as Charter 77. The document cits Czechoslovakian government’s violations of human rights based on the country’s Constitution and international treaties to which it had signed. Some founding members of Charter 77 were involved in the transition from Communist to democratic rule in 1989.
The Independent International Commission on Kosovo prepared a report on Kosovo in 2000; the link below displays the executive summary. The commission’s mission statement said,
“The Independent International Commission on Kosovo will examine key developments prior to, during and after the Kosovo war, including systematic violations of human rights in the region. The Commission will present a detailed, objective analysis of the options that were available to the international community to cope with the crisis. It will focus on the origins of the Kosovo crisis, the diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, the role of the United Nations and Nato's decision to intervene militarily. It will examine the resulting refugee crisis including the responses of the international community to resolve the crisis. The effect of the conflict on regional and other states will also be examined. Furthermore, the Commission will assess the role of humanitarian workers, NGOs and the media during the Kosovo war. Finally, the Commission will identify the norms of international law and diplomacy brought to the fore by the Kosovo war and the adequacy of present norms and institutions in preventing or responding to comparable crises in the future.”
Russian scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Andrei Sakharov wrote this essay entitled “Progress, Co-Existence and Intellectual Freedom” in June 1968.
The State Department released the 13th annual International Religious Freedom Report on September 13, 2011. It states, "The Secretary of State designates as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) countries that have "engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom...Secretary Clinton designated eight countries as CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan. The Secretary applied CPC sanctions to six of these: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan."
The Atlantic Charter was a statement drafted by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Atlantic Conference in August 1941. It was issued on August 14, 1941. The statement set out goals for the Allies in World War II and was agreed to by the Allies in January 1942.
The UN Human Rights Council Resolution 17/4, regarding the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health in the context of development and access to medicines, was adopted on July 14, 2011.
Stephen Sestanovich testifies before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee that, though the U.S. and Russia restored broadly cooperative ties after 2008, the relationship is marked by lingering frustration and even friction.
The UN Human Rights Council passed resolution 17/4 regarding "human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises" on June 16, 2011. The resolution discusses the "promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development".
Following U.S. envoy Robert King's visit to North Korea to assess the food situation in the country, CFR's Adjunct Senior Fellow for Korea Studies Scott A. Snyder says that any U.S. decision to provide food aid to the country should be accompanied by steps to minimize moral hazard.
Isobel Coleman says "virginity tests" performed on women protesters in Egypt are a new twist in the longstanding mistreatment of Egyptian women by military and civilian men.
Joshua Kurlantzick writes that the Obama administration has learned that Washington can criticize the Beijing regime on human rights while continuing to work with it on other important global issues.
Human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi discusses the impact of the Arab Spring on the democratic movement in Iran with Isobel Coleman, Director of the Council on Foreign Relations' Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
