Rare Book & Manuscript Library
 

Human Rights Watch records : Record Group 11: Middle East and North Africa, 1978-1997, bulk 1989-1994

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.: HRW RG 11
Bib ID 7749013 View CLIO record
Creator(s) Human Rights Watch (Organization). Middle East and North Africa Division
Title Human Rights Watch records : Record Group 11: Middle East and North Africa, 1978-1997, bulk 1989-1994
Physical Description 36.25 linear feet (29 record cartons)
Language(s) English , Arabic .
Access You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

The records of Human Rights Watch are restricted unless they have been vetted and cleared for use by HRW. If a specific folder has been vetted, the restriction status is noted in the finding aid (open, vetted; restricted until ___). If a folder does not have a specific restriction status, it is unvetted. If you wish to request folders from this collection that are unvetted, please send an email to rbml@columbia.edu detailing the collection, series, box, and folder numbers in which you are interested, as well as a brief description of your research needs. Once Human Rights Watch has reviewed the request, the researcher will be contacted with specific instructions. Please submit requests at least two months in advance of your research visit.

This collection is located off-site. Please consult the Rare Book and Manuscript Library for further information.

The records of Human Rights Watch are restricted and require the permission of the organization to view, copy, and/or publish. If you wish to request boxes from this collection, please send an email to rbml@columbia.edu detailing the collection, series, and box numbers in which you are interested. Once Human Rights Watch has reviewed the request, the scholar and the Rare Book & Manuscript Library will be contacted with specific instructions.

Arrangement

Arrangement

This Record Group is arranged into 6 series.

Description

Summary

Materials include correspondence and e-mail communications, mission reports, testimonies and interviews, addresses and contact lists, confidential interoffice memos, legal and advocacy material, internal planning and policy material, declassified government and United Nations documents, published and unpublished human rights reports from individuals and fellow NGOs, press clippings and news releases, and maps. Another category of documents consists of HRW reports and briefing papers, as well as press releases and open letters to heads of state, governments and various government agencies.

Materials related to missions contain unpublished information on sources, cases, and the state of affairs in various countries. They include professional and personal mission notes taken by country researchers and monitors during investigative field trips, testimonies by and interviews with victims of various human rights abuses, pre-mission and post-mission memos, material on research methodology, correspondence and e-mail communications, addresses and contact lists.

Thematically, these documents cover the various major military and political upheavals occurring in the Middle East and North Africa during the early to middle 1990s. The papers also comprise such human rights initiatives as attempting to bring a case against Iraq at the International Court of Justice, the campaigns to promote freedom of expression, and the rights of women in the region.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

The records of Human Rights Watch are restricted unless they have been vetted and cleared for use by HRW. If a specific folder has been vetted, the restriction status is noted in the finding aid (open, vetted; restricted until ___). If a folder does not have a specific restriction status, it is unvetted. If you wish to request folders from this collection that are unvetted, please send an email to rbml@columbia.edu detailing the collection, series, box, and folder numbers in which you are interested, as well as a brief description of your research needs. Once Human Rights Watch has reviewed the request, the researcher will be contacted with specific instructions. Please submit requests at least two months in advance of your research visit.

This collection is located off-site. Please consult the Rare Book and Manuscript Library for further information.

The records of Human Rights Watch are restricted and require the permission of the organization to view, copy, and/or publish. If you wish to request boxes from this collection, please send an email to rbml@columbia.edu detailing the collection, series, and box numbers in which you are interested. Once Human Rights Watch has reviewed the request, the scholar and the Rare Book & Manuscript Library will be contacted with specific instructions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Name of Collection; Box and Folder; Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accrual

3 Records76.25 linear ft. 1st accession accumulation, 1989-97

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Ownership and Custodial History

This material was originally deposited at the University of Colorado at Boulder by Human Rights Watch in the 1990s. The material was deposited with the Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 2006.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Human Rights Watch. Method of acquisition--Deposit; Date of acquisition--2006.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers processed Christopher M. Laico and Craig P. Savino (NYU, 2008) 2008.

Finding Aid written Christopher M. Laico 2008.

Revision Description

2012-08-14 File created.

2015-09-30 xml document instance updated by Adrien Hilton to reflect restrictions in vetted boxes.

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

2021-01-11 Restrictions expiring in 2021 have been lifted. Finding aid updated by CCR.

2022-01-06 Expired restrictions removed. kws

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Subject

Heading "CUL Archives:"
"Portal"
"CUL Collections:"
"CLIO"
"Nat'l / Int'l Archives:"
"ArchivedGRID"
Arab-Israeli conflict -- 1993- Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Freedom of expression -- Iran Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Human Rights Watch (Organization) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Human rights -- Bahrain Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Human rights -- Iran Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Human rights -- Iraq -- Kurdistān Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Human rights -- Syria Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Iran -- Foreign relations -- United States Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Iran -- Refugees Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Iraq-Kuwait Crisis, 1990-1991 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Israel -- Boundaries -- Arab countries Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Israel -- Defenses Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Israel -- Foreign relations -- Arab countries Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Kurds -- Civil rights -- Iraq Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Kurds -- Crimes against -- Iraq Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Kurds -- Legal status, laws, etc -- Syria Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Kuwait -- Economic conditions -- 1991- Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Lebanon -- History -- 1990- Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Non-governmental organizations -- Iraq Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Opposition (Political science) -- Iran Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Palestinian Arabs -- Civil rights -- Israel Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Persian Gulf War, 1991 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Prisons -- Israel Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Torture -- Bahrain Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1989- Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
United States -- Foreign relations -- Kuwait Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

This record group contains the records of the United States based Middle East and North Africa Watch, a division of the human rights organization, Human Rights Watch.

Materials include analytical papers, correspondence, memorandums, monitoring reports, news clippings, newsletters, and publications.

These materials document the issues effecting the Arab world during this period. To illustrate, the Gulf War and its after effects in Iraq, Kuwait and the United States are covered in detail. This record group contains the results of fact-finding missions documenting UN humanitarian operations in the Western Sahara and monitoring human rights abuses in the Arab world.