Human Rights: Books and Guides

Arbitrary Justice: Trials of Bagram and Guantanamo Detainees in Afghanistan, Human Rights First — A report with photographs that addresses the “Arbitrary Justice documents on how detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Bagram Airbase, Afghanistan are being tried in Afghan courts based on allegations provided by the United States, with little or no evidence.” (Available for download/PDF at: http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/USLS-080409-arbitrary-justice-report.pdf.)

Banning Landmines: Disarmament, Citizen Diplomacy, and Human Security (edited by Jody Williams [Nobel Peace Prize winner], Stephen D. Goose, & Mary Wareham) — This book provides an overview of efforts to ban landmines around the world, including information on the 1997 Ottawa Convention also know as the Mine Ban Treaty; with contributions from diplomatic negotiators, grassroots activists, and more.

Children at War by P.W. Singer — A comprehensive examination of the use of children as soldiers around the world from Colombia and the Sudan to Kashmir and Sierra Leone. In addition to personal child soldier stories, the author discusses the effect of child soldiers on global security.

Contemporary Nuclear Debates: Missile Defense, Arms Control, and Arms Races in the Twenty-First Century (Washington Quarterly Readers) (edited by Alexander T.J. Lennon) — This book examines the growing number of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of states and terrorist networks — which many believe may be the biggest threat to global security.

Darfur — Assault on Survival: A Call for Security, Justice and Restitution (Physicians for Human Rights [PHR]) — A collection of eyewitness testimonies and the lives of Darfurian refugees proving that there are evidence indicators of genocide. (Available for download/PDF [75 pages] at: http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/report-sudan-2006.html.)

Human Rights: Issues for a New Millennium by Linda Jacobs Altman — This easy-to-read book provides an overview on almost every aspect of human rights, including: information on organizations (including nongovernmental organizations [NGOs]), movements, and world events associated with human-rights issues; brief discussions on human-rights abuses from ancient times to the present day such as the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia, Apartheid in South Africa, atrocities in Bosnia–Herzegovina, and deadly clashes in Rwanda, East Timor, Sudan, and other places.

Pioneers of Human Rights (Profiles in History) (edited by Cheryl Fisher Phibbs) — Part of the “Profiles in History Series,” this collection of biographies focuses on human rights activists, with extensive sections on Mohandas Gandhi and Nelson Mandela as well as chapters on Iqbal Masih, Eleanor Roosevelt, Frederick Douglass, and others; an overview of Amnesty International, an appendix with several historic speeches, and a full text of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights are also included.

Preventing Genocide: The Report of the Genocide Prevention Task Force (Co-Chairs: Madeleine Albright & William Cohen) — Released by the Genocide Prevention Task Force, the “report makes the case for why genocide and mass atrocities threaten core American values and national interests, and how the U.S. Government can prevent these crimes in the future.” (Download the PDF or view it online at: http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/taskforce/.)

Tell Them We Remember: The Story of the Holocaust by Susan Bachrach — Easy-to-read, this book describes how the lives of the children of the Holocaust were affected by this tragedy.

United Human Rights (UHR) — A compilation of the following materials (some with CDs): The Story of Human Rights; United Human Rights video; An Educator’s Guide to Human Rights; and What Are Human Rights? (Available in different languages at: http://www.humanrights.com/#/publications/humanrights/.)

War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story by Emmanuel Jal & Megan Lloyd Davies — Emmanuel Jal, who grew up as a child soldier, is forthright about his harrowing experiences as a child soldier in Sudan.

Women’s Rights, Human Rights: International Feminine Perspectives by Julie Stone Peters (edited by Andrea Wolper) — Activists, lawyers, scholars, and journalists from 21 countries contributed to this book, which discusses the impact of human rights violations on women, including: rape in war-torn countries, the sex trade, domestic violence, persecution of lesbians, female genital mutilation, reproductive rights, and more.