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Inventory of the Global Rights Records, 1980-2006 and undated, bulk 1991-2002

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Descriptive Summary

Repository
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University
Creator
Global Rights
Title
Global Rights Records, 1980-2006 and undated, bulk 1991-2002
Language of Material
Material in English
Extent
17.4 Linear Feet

8745 Items
Abstract
Global Rights is an international human rights advocacy organization headquartered in Washington D.C.
The Global Rights Records span the dates 1980-2006 and consist of correspondence, administrative, research and project files, and printed material related to the work of Global Rights (known before 2003 as the International Human Rights Law Group - IHRLG), a human rights advocacy organization based in Washington D.C. Material in this collection documents human rights abuses in various contexts while also providing insight into the complex administrative issues facing nongovernmental organizations working to curb those violations. The collection is divided into series for Administrative Files, Country Files, Printed Material, and Project Files. The Administrative Files Series contains records of meetings of the board of directors of Global Rights, executive correspondence, and training material for human rights advocates. Material in the Country Files Series documents Global Right's activities in specific countries, generally concentrated in Africa, East Asia, and Latin America. Files on human rights and social conditions in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Hercegovina, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Zaire are among the most extensive in the series but other countries are also represented. The Printed Material Series chiefly consists of articles and speeches by IHRLG/Global Rights staff, and reports by the IHRLG on human rights in many countries. Various issue-based advocacy efforts chronicled in the Project Files Series complete the collection. Activities documented in this series include increasing legal infrastructure in Cambodia through the Cambodian Defenders Project; advocating for women's rights (economic and sexual) and targeting sexual slavery and human trafficking; and targeting racial discrimination in the U.S. and abroad. An extensive set of project files relates to advocacy for the ratification of human rights treaties, and documents several international meetings such as UN's Meeting of the States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Meeting of the States Parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1980).
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Administrative Information

Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
However, collection may contain materials to which the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights form applies. Patrons must sign this form before using this collection.
Also, all or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. Consequently, there may be a 24-hour delay in obtaining these materials.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library to use this collection.
Copyright Notice
The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Global Rights Records, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.
Provenance
The Global Rights Records were received by the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library as a gift in March 2007.
Processing Information
Processed by Christian Ferney, March 2008
Encoded by Christian Ferney and Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, March 2008
Accession 2007-0188 is described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS, EAD, NCEAD guidelines, and local Style Guide.
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note

Chronology List

1978International Human Rights Law Group (IHRLG) formed
1994Gay McDougall named IHRLG Executive Director
2003IHRLG name changed to Global Rights: Partners for Justice
2006Salih Booker named Global Rights Executive Director

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Collection Overview

The Global Rights Records span the dates 1980-2006 and consist of correspondence, administrative, research and project files, and printed material related to the work of Global Rights (known before 2003 as the International Human Rights Law Group (IHRLG)), a human rights advocacy organization based in Washington D.C. Material in this collection documents human rights abuses in various contexts while also providing insight into the complex administrative issues facing nongovernmental organizations working to curb those violations. The collection is divided into series for Administrative Files, Country Files, Printed Material, and Project Files. The Aministrative Files Series contains records of meetings of the board of directors of Global Rights, executive correspondence, and training material for human rights advocates. Material in the Country Files Series documents the group's activities in specific countries, generally concentrated in Africa, East Asia, and Latin America. Files on Afghanistan, Bosnia and Hercegovina, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Zaire are among the most extensive in the collection. The Printed Material Series chiefly consists of articles and speeches by IHRLG/Global Rights staff and reports by the IHRLG on human rights in many countries. Various issue-based advocacy efforts chronicled in the Project Files Series complete the collection. Activities documented in this series include increasing legal infrastructure in Cambodia through the Cambodian Defenders Project; advocating for women's rights (economic and sexual) and targeting sexual slavery and human trafficking; and targeting racial discrimination in the U.S. and abroad. An extensive set of project files relates to advocacy for the ratification of human rights treaties, and documents several international meetings such as UN's Meeting of the States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Meeting of the States Parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1980).
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Subject Headings

These are searchable subject entries for this collection. Performing a search on these subjects in the Duke University Libraries online catalog will bring up other related research materials.
List of Series in Collection
Administrative Files Series, 1981-2005 and undated
Country Files Series, 1991-2006 and undated
Printed Material Series, 1980-2004 and undated
Project Files Series, 1981-2006 and undated
Oversize Material, 1996-2002
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Detailed Description of Collection

Administrative Files Series, 1981-2005 and undated

(4 boxes)
Divided into subseries for Board Records, Correspondence, and Personnel Training. The Board Records Subseries consists primarily of minutes and materials from Executive Board meetings of the International Human Rights Law Group (IHRLG) and Global Rights, with the bulk of these dated between 1995 and 1998. Also included in this subseries are documents from strategic planning meetings, a file of financial audit information and minutes from general staff meetings dated 1996 and from 2000-2001. One newspaper clipping has been removed from this subseries to Oversize Material. The Correspondence Subseries houses internal board communications dated between 1995 and 1998, chronological files of correspondence for Executive Director Gay McDougall and her assistant from 1996-1997, and internal staff memos from 1996. An additional folder of correspondence related to international human rights law is also included. Finally, a subseries of files on Personnel Training consists of staff orientiation and training manuals meant for new IHRLG/Global Rights staff, particularly those in Cambodia, as well as manuals written by IHRLG-affiliated lawyers for the larger human rights community. In addition, this subseries includes reports and materials from staff retreats. While the material in the Administrative Files Series generally chronicles the coordination of the IHRLG/Global Rights' activities around the world, files also document the internal dynamics of the organization. In particular, responses to a sense among some within the organization that the IHRLG had lost sight of its founding purpose, and the subsequent reevaluation of the group's mission are included. Subseries are organized alphabetically then chronologically.
Box 1-2
Board Records, 1994-2005, undated
[Item removed to Oversize Material]
Box 2-3
Correspondence, 1995-1998, 2005, undated
Box 4
Personnel Training Files, 1981-2005, undated

Country Files Series, 1991-2006 and undated

(8 boxes)
Contains files related to IHRLG/Global Rights' activities in a variety of countries and regions, mostly in East Asia and Central Africa. Generally, files within each country grouping are organized with the following structure: Admin/Travel, Background Info, Emails/Memos, Media/Reports, and Notes. Files dealing with more specific issues of each country are often included in addition to these. The grouping for Sierra Leone is the largest in the series, covering the Lome Peace Accords, files on the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and "conflict diamonds" in addition to files consistent with the general series structure. Extensive files on Bosnia and Hercegovina may be found here as well. Researchers interested in Cambodia should also consult the Cambodian Defenders Project grouping in the Project Files Series. Files and groupings are generally organized as received; thus groupings on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zaire report on the same geographic area at different political moments. A number of larger newspaper clippings have been removed to Oversize Material.
[Some items removed to Oversize Material]
Box 5
Afghanistan, 1999-2002, undated  (8 folders)
Box 5-6
Bosnia and Hercegovina, 1996-2004, undated  (19 folders)
Box 6
Burundi, 1997-2002  (6 folders)
Box 6-7
Cambodia, 1999-2003, undated  (10 folders)
Box 7
Democratic Republic of Congo, 1999-2002, undated  (9 folders)
East Timor, 2000, undated  (6 folders)
Box 8
Latin America, 2000-2001, undated  (3 folders)
Liberia, undated
Mongolia, 2006, undated
Morocco, 1991-2002, undated  (6 folders)
Nicaragua, 1999-2001  (3 folders)
Box 8-9
Nigeria, 1996-2003, undated  (18 folders)
Box 9-12
Sierra Leone, 1998-2002, undated  (41 folders)
Box 12
Yemen, 2000-2001  (3 folders)
Box 12-13
Zaire, 1994-1997, undated  (10 folders)

Printed Material Series, 1980-2004 and undated

(7 boxes)
Comprised of the following subseries: Articles and Speeches, Human Rights Reports, and Other Relevant Material. The Articles and Speeches Subseries consists of articles and statements by IHRLG/Global Rights staff, speeches (generally by Gay McDougall), and press releases by IHRLG/Global Rights. Topics covered in this subseries include international human rights law and the ratification of international human rights treaties, combatting racial discrimination (particularly in South Africa), and women's rights. The Human Rights Reports Subseries, grouped into reports by the IHRLG and Other Organizations, consists of reports on the general situation of human rights in diverse countries and regions. In addition, some reports address the more specific human rights challenges endemic to particular countries as well as efforts to combat them. Subseries is organized alphabetically by country within each grouping; international reports appear at the end of each grouping. The Other Relevant Material Subseries houses additional print material, including documents related to human rights conferences, other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and briefs on U.S. district and Supreme Court cases. Organized alphabetically.
Box 13
Articles and Speeches, 1980-2002 and undated
Box 14
Human Rights Reports, 1980-2004 and undated
International Human Rights Law Group
Argentina, 1983
Bosnia and Hercegovina, 1999, undated  (2 folders)
Bulgaria, 1990-1991  (2 folders)
Cambodia, 1996-1998, undated  (6 folders)
China, 1989, 1999  (2 folders)
Box 14-15
Chile, 1987-1990  (5 folders)
Box 15
Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000
El Salvador, 1987
Grenada, 1984
Guatemala, 1987-1995  (4 folders)
Iraq, 1992
Japan, 1986  (2 folders)
Kenya, 1992
Box 15-16
Korea (South), 1985-1988  (3 folders)
Box 16
Liberia, 1986
Malaysia, 1982
Mongolia, 1990
Myanmar (Burma), 1990-1993  (3 folders)
Nepal, 1990  (2 folders)
Nicaragua, 1983-1990  (4 folders)
Panama, 1989
Paraguay, 1989, 1996  (2 folders)
Box 17
Romania, 1990, 1993  (4 folders)
South Africa, 1987, 1996
Sri Lanka, 1995
Tibet, 1994
Turkey, 1994
USA, 1980-1994  (5 folders)
Uruguay, 1995
Yugoslavia (includes former Yugoslavia), 1981-1993  (3 folders)
Zimbabwe, 1986
Box 17-18
International, 1993-2001  (7 folders)
Box 18
Other Organizations
Afghanistan, 2003-2004, undated  (2 folders)
Box 18-19
Cambodia, 1994-1996, undated  (8 folders)
Box 19
Nepal, 1991
Russia, 1999
Turkey, 1999  (2 folders)
Zimbabwe, undated
International, 1997-1998  (2 folders)
Box 19-20
Other Relevant Material, 1981-1997

Project Files Series, 1981-2006 and undated

(10 boxes)
Contains files chronicling initiatives and projects of IHRLG/Global Rights, many of which are interrelated. Major projects include the Cambodian Defenders Project (and its closely related sibling project the Cambodian Court Training Project, housed together), various treaty ratification projects, and an initiative on "comfort women" and other forms of war-related sexual slavery. The Cambodian Defenders Project is a program to improve the the function of Cambodian courts through education and improved infrastructure. Among files in this series, it is unusual because it focuses exclusively on one country; while many projects are targeted in a single country, they often focus on an issue of concern in several national contexts. Treaties documented in the Treaty Ratification Projects grouping include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and other treaties through the Clinton Administration. The largest grouping of files in this series relates to an initiative on "comfort women." It consists chiefly of drafts of a report issued to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, which focused on the legal obligations of Japan as well as parties in conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and Africa to victims of sex crimes during wartime. Projects related to racial and gender-based discrimination in the United States and abroad and the legal status of people detained by Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) after September 11, 2001 complete the series. A folder of various project proposals can be found at the end of the series; otherwise, series is organized alphabetically by project.
[Contents of CD migrated to server; please contact a Reference Archivist for assistance in accessing this material.]
Box 20
Advocacy Bridge, 1997-2004, undated  (5 folders)
Box 20-22
Cambodian Defenders Project, 1993-2002, undated  (28 folders)
Box 22-25
Comfort women, 1996-1998, undated  (36 folders)
Box 25
INS detainees, 2002  (2 folders)
Labor law, 1998-2000  (2 folders)
LGBTI (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex) human rights, 2003-2006, undated
Box 26
Minority rights, 2005  (2 folders)
Pro bono project, 1981
Sanctions project, 1994-1998  (2 folders)
Trafficking, 2000-2002, undated  (6 folders)
Treaty ratification projects, 1981-1999, undated  (35 folders)
Box 28
Universal jurisdiction, 1999-2001
USAID rule of law, 1999-2000
Box 28-29
U.S. racial discrimination, 1998-2000, undated  (16 folders)
Box 29
Women's inheritance rights, 1998-2002, undated  (6 folders)
Women's rights, 2004-2005
Women's Rights Advocacy Project (WRAP), 1999-2004, undated  (6 folders)
Project proposals, 1999, undated

Oversize Material, 1996-2002

(2 folders)
Consists of oversize newspaper clippings from other series. An article on the U.S. "School of the Americas" dated 1997 comes from the records of the board meeting of Dec. 5, 1997; additional clippings in Oversize Material come from various country files. These include clippings related to Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Morocco, Sierra Leone, and Zaire.
Oversize Cabinet OCVI:3
   Folder 1
Administrative files, Afghanistan clippings, 1997, 2001-2002
Oversize Cabinet OCVI:3
   Folder 2
Congo, East Timor, Morocco, Sierra Leone, and Zaire clippings, 1996-2001