Human Rights and Social Justice

In Our Own Best Interests: How Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All 
William Schulz 

This 256-page book emphasizes not only the high moral cost, but also the political, economic, environmental and public health consequences of indifference to human rights. 

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Voices of Youth
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

UNICEF's Voices of Youth site provides information on issues related to the rights and welfare of children, a discussion forum, and ways to take action. UNICEF's main site provides country-specific information and statistics and publications such as its annual report, The State of the World's Children.

Population Action International 

PAI presents a collection of documentaries relating family planning to improved environmental quality, women's rights, and decreasing poverty. The website also features fact sheets and interactive databases showing country profiles and statistics on a variety of indicators.

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Amnesty International 

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. Amnesty's website includes extensive reports on human rights issues around the world and ways to take action, for example by sending appeals.

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The Association for Women's Rights in Development

AWID connects, informs, and mobilizes people and organizations committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development, and women's human rights.

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CARE

Recognizing that women and children suffer disproportionately from poverty, CARE places special emphasis on working with women to create permanent social change and tackle the underlying causes of poverty. Its website includes feature stories and virtual field trips.

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Human Rights Watch
 
Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. Its website includes latest news, indepth reports, and multimedia presentations.

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Refugees International 

Refugees International generates lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection for displaced people around the world and works to end the conditions that create displacement. The site includes policy recommendations and multimedia reports.

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Under the Persimmon Tree
Suzanne Fisher Staples and Farrar Straus Giroux

This 288-page young adult novel is set in Afghanistan in the months following the September 11, 2001 attacks. The story follows two survivors: young Najmah, a villager living in the Kunduz Hills, and Nusrat, the American wife of an Afghan doctor. 

Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy's Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard
Mawi Asgedom 

This 192-page memoir tells the story of a young boy's journey from a refugee camp in Sudan to Chicago, where his family survived on welfare. Mawi followed his father's advice to "treat people . . . as though they were angels sent from heaven," and realized his dream of a full-tuition scholarship to Harvard University.

Planning to Change the World: A Plan Book for Social Justice Teachers
Education for Liberation Network

This 160-page social justice lesson plan book from the Education for Liberation Network includes quotes, essential questions, events related to social justice movements, and reproducible social justice awards for students.

Iron Jawed Angels
Katja von Garnier 

Katja von Garnier's 124-minute video tells the story of a group of passionate and dynamic young women, led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, who put their lives on the line to fight for American women's right to vote.

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Refugee
Spencer Nakasako 

This 60-minute video focuses on a boy from a tough neighborhood in San Francisco returning to Cambodia to meet his dad, who did not escape during Pol Pot's regime.

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International Women's Day
United Nations

March 8 is celebrated around the world as International Women's Day. The UN has created a program of information and activities classrooms to celebrate International Women's Day with a focus on women, peace and politics.

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Human Rights in Action!
United Nations

Human Rights in Action gives links, resources, questions, answers, and classroom guides for the topic of human rights.

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United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

UNIFEM provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programs and strategies fostering women's empowerment and gender equality. Its website includes information about gender issues and stories from the field.

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
United Nations 

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which appears in full text on this website.

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Global Exchange 
 
Global Exchange is a membership-based international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world. Its website includes press releases, featured stories, and its own version of "Global Econ 101."

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The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

The UNHCR coordinates international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its website includes statistical databases, maps, and publications. 

Stand Up for Your Rights
Paul Atgwa

This 96-page book is written, edited, and illustrated by children from around the world who express their hopes and fears about how we treat each other. It is also a guidebook, including details of organizations to join and tips for human rights action.

We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures
Amnesty International

This 64-page book celebrates each declaration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with an illustration by an internationally renowned artist or illustrator.

Stand Up For Your Rights
PBS Kids

On this site, the movements for women's suffrage, religious freedom, and civil rights are explored through the stories of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the trial of Anne Hutchinson in Puritan New England, and school desegregation in Little Rock, Arkansas.