Aleph Number:
Collection is restricted: patrons must have permission to access certain parts of the collection.
In addition, original audiovisual materials are closed to patron use. Technical Services staff need to produce use copies before contents can be accessed.
In addition, patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
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Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
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[Identification of item], Women's Refugee Commission records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Women's Refugee Commission records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as a gift in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.
Processed by Meghan Lyon, November 2009
Encoded by Meghan Lyon, November 2009
Encoded by Clare Callahan, August 2012
This collection is minimally processed: materials may not have been ordered and described beyond their original condition.
Accessions described in the finding aid: 2009-0235, 2010-0122, 2011-0068, 2011-0131, 2012-0150
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
The Women's Refugee Commission, originally known as the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children, was founded in 1989 by Catherine O'Neill, Liv Ullmann, Susan Forbes Martin, and Susan Stark, with the support of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Mary Anne Schwalbe served as the founding director, from 1989 to 1994. She was followed by executive directors Mary Diaz, 1994-2004, Carolyn Makinson, 2004-2010, and Sarah Costa, 2010 to the present. The organization aims
Today there are several programs within the Women's Refugee Commission, including Reproductive Health, Fuel & Firewood Initiative, Livelihoods, Youth, Disabilities, Detention & Asylum, and Gender. To address the needs of displaced women, children, and youth, the WRC staff works with local humanitarian groups to document best practices, propose solutions, and lobby for improvements in refugee policies and protections within the United States and at the United Nations.
For more information on the activities and history of the Women's Refugee Commission, visit their website:
The collection is organized into several series, each representing different operations within the Women's Refugee Commission.
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Acronyms frequently used in the collection:
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.
The Audiovisual Materials series includes tapes in a variety of formats documenting speaking engagements, luncheons, and interviews with WRC staff; footage of trips to refugee camps and field visits with refugees around the world; and recordings of testimony and other projects highlighting the experiences of refugee women and children. Formats include: VHS, Hi8 Video, MiniDV, VHS C, Betacam, BetacamSP, DVCam, DVD, and CD. This series also includes a small section of slides.
Box 49 of this series is from Accession 2012-0150
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Box 49 of this series is from Accession 2010-0150.
Folders may include multiple versions of a report, each in a different language. Also, folder titles frequently reflect the subject, location, and date, instead of the full title of each report.
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The majority of the Reproductive Health series is restricted, according to the wishes of the Women's Refugee Commission. The exceptions are each subseries' Summary Outputs folder consolidated in box 13B, which contains published material. Consult Research Services for information on obtaining permission to access the rest of the series.
Contains published material from the following subseries: Reproductive Health Response in Conflict (RHRC) Consortium, U.S. Government-funded projects (HIV/AIDS/Gender-based Violence),Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) Projects, Subgrants 1: Pillsbury Fund, Subgrants 2: Thailand, Subgrants 3, and Thai-Burma border research 2.
Pillsbury Fund grants for adolescent reproductive health projects.
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The Livelihoods series includes materials from various projects and iniatives, including the AGDM program, strategic planning, trafficking, and youth programs, as well as projects with Fordham, SIPA at Columbia University, Nike, and Reebok. Also contains board delegation visits to Liberia, Thailand, Nepal, and Colombia, as well as conference and classroom participation materials.
Includes program materials and files for Executive Director Carolyn Makinson, who served as director from 2004-2010.
The material in this accession was received from the Women's Refugee Commission's Washington, D.C. office, the location of their Detention and Asylum Program (DAP). DAP works to ensure that vulnerable migrants in the United States are not detained unless absolutely necessary and that their basic rights are protected and respected. DAP advocates for legislation and policy that would ensure the safety and well-being of migrant women, families and unaccompanied children. DAP works with the executive branch, the U.S. Congress and the Department of Homeland Security, including its various agencies, to institutionalize these important safeguards.
This series has been loosely sorted into six sub-series: Children, Detention and Asylum, Gender, INS, Haiti, and Other. The Children sub-series contains a wide range of material, including drafts and debates surrounding the Unaccompanied Alien Children Protection Act; files on child soldiers; and reports on refugee children. The Detention and Asylum sub-series contains the largest amount of materials, and includes files on specific detention facilities; asylum laws, policies, and reports; and advocacy and media initiatives. Gender files encompass numerous aspects of issues relating to women, including health, domestic violence, trafficking, and sexual assault. INS materials largely relate to the WRC's interactions with various INS officers and agencies, as well as conditions at various INS-run facilities.
Due to its size, the Haiti sub-series has been sorted independently from the other sub-series. It includes reports, presentations, and internal files regarding Haiti refugees in particular, including children, detention facilities, human rights conditions, legal cases, and many other subjects which could easily fall into other sub-series.