1. About the Center
The Center for Human Rights Studies was created in 2001 as a research institute affiliated to the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the University of Tehran. The main objective of the Center for Human Rights Studies is to raise awareness and understanding about human rights through educational and research activities in different areas of human rights. The Center provides advice and expertise on Human Rights to Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations, and cooperates with them in the organization of various educational projects. Since the establishment of a Master’s Degree in Human Rights at the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the University of Tehran, the Center has also served as an academic information center for students enrolled in this program.
The Center started its activities alongside the implementation of the National Project for “Strengthening Capacities for Human Rights Training and Research” in Iran. The United Nations Development program (UNDP) initiated this 4-year project in 1999 and its implementation was assigned to the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the University of Tehran. The Center for Human Right Studies as the main research and educational institution in the field of human rights at the University of Tehran had the main role in its execution. The success of the aforementioned project prompted the United Nations Development Program to initiate another project named “National Capacity Building for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights for Greater Access to Justice”. In this new project that has started in late 2005 for a duration of 5 years, the Center for Human Rights Studies was designated as Lead Agency. This project is collective, and will be implemented with the collaboration of seven national partners including academic institutes, governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations.
2. Activities
A. Research
The Center sponsors various research projects that are presented to the public through a seminar after their completion. Since the foundation of the center the following projects have been undertaken:
· Freedom of Expression
· Justice, Equality , and Equity in Human Rights
· Strengthening International Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights
· Rule of Law and Human Rights
· Non-Governmental Organizations and Human Rights
· Substitutive Penalties to Imprisonment for Women
· Contemporary Forms of Slavery and Exploitation of Women and Children
· Workshops on the Rights of the Child (12-13 January /22-23 November 2000)
· Workshop on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (24-25 June 2000)
· Workshops on the Rights of the Disabled (4-5 November 2000/14-15 November 2001)
· General Training Course on Human Rights (13-31 January 2001)
· Training Course on Environmental Law (5-7 May 2001)
· Workshop on Women’s Rights (15 November 2001)
· Training Course on the Rights of the Refugees (22-25 December 2001)
· Training Course on the Interplay between Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (1-2 October 2003)
· Workshop on the Right to Development (10 December 2003)
· Annual Commemoration of the International Human Rights Day since 2001.
· Address by Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the occasion of her visit to the Center (February 20th , 2001)
· Commemoration of the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Genocide in response to the request of the Secretary General of the United Nations and in cooperation with the University of Tehran’s Center for Graduate International Studies (7 April 2004)
· Colloquium on the Interplay between Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: Global and Regional Perspectives. In Cooperation with Harvard University’s Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research and the University of Tehran’s Center for Graduate International Studies (14-15 April 2004)
The Center regularly organizes lectures by domestic and international scholars and experts on different aspects of Human Rights.
· Kinhideh Mushanokoji: “To overcome the Turn of Century Crisis in Asia; From the Human Rights’ Point of View”
· Jack Donnelly: “Terrorism and Human Rights”
· Saeed Mahmoudi: “Universality of Human Rights and Cultural Values”
· Mohammad Hassan Mozaffari: “Environmental Human Rights According to the Holy Qur’an and International Law”
· Edward Mc Whinney: “State Duty to Respect Human Rights”
· Mahmoud Lavassani: “Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights”
· Ali Azmayesh and Morteza Javanmardi: “Genocide: The principal accusation against Saddam Hussein”
· Hossein Mirmohammad Sadeghi and Gholam Heydar Allameh: “Crime Against Humanity in International Criminal Law: With Special Reference to the Tragedy in Afghanistan”
· Djamchid Momtaz: “Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of July 9th, 2004” (Lecture organized with the cooperation of the University of Tehran’s Center for Graduate International Studies)
· Minou Aghai: “Truth and Human Rights”
· Seyyed Mohammad Hashemi: “Human Rights and Arbitrary Detentions”
· Hossein Sharifi Tarazkoohi: “International Politics in the Light of Universality of Human Rights”
· Alexander Keis: “ The Right to a Healthy Environment”
· Bahram Mostaghimi: “Report on the 36th Annual Study Session of the International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg (France)”
· Hassan Jaafaritabar: “Historical Reduction of the Concept of Right from Justice to Property”
· Seyyed Ali Kazemi: “International Criminal Law: In the quest for Criminal Justice”
· Jack Donnelly: “Relative Universality of Human Rights”
This new activity has been launched in November 2005. The Sessions are held every other week and are conducted by students under the supervision of a faculty member.
3. Publications
· Jacques Mourgeon: Les Droits de l’Homme, Translated by Ahmad Naghibzadeh (2001)
· Hossein Sharifi Tarazkouhi: Human Rights: Theories and Practices (2001)
· Mehdi Zakerian: Human Rights in the New Millenium (2002)
· Amartya Sen: Development as Freedom , translated by Seyyed Ahmad Movassaghi (2002)
· Nasser Katouzian et al.: Freedom of Thought and Speech (2003)
· Centre for Human Rights Studies: A Selection of International Documents on Human Rights (2003)
· Djamchid Momtaz et al. : Strengthening International Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights (2003)
· Arlette Heyman-Doat: Libertés Publiques et Droits de l’Homme, Translated by Yousef Molaei and Rachid Bornak (2003)
· Daniel Warner (Ed.): Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: The Quest for Universality, Translated by Solaleh Habibi Amin (2003)
· Raziyeh Moosavifar: Human Rights Institutions: The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Nations (2003)
· Mohammad Ashouri et al.: Human Rights and Concepts of Equality, Equity and Justice (2004)
· Janusz Symonides: Human Rights: New Dimensions and Challenges (2004)
· Mahmood Lavassani: Human Rights Philosophy and a critique of its foundations (2005)
· Nasrin Mosaffa: The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its application in Iranian Law (2005)
4. The Human Rights Information Center
The Information Center is composed of a library and a computer lab. It is opened to students, researchers and the public at-large and provides material on Human Rights.
The library is one of the most active parts of the Center for Human Rights Studies and contains specialized books and journals in several languages. The library receives the following periodicals:
· American Journal of International Law
· Columbia Human Rights Law Review
· European Human Rights Law Review
· Harvard Human Rights Journal
· Human Rights in Developing Countries
· Human Rights Law Journal
· Human Rights Watch World Report
· International Journal of Human Rights
· International Review of the Red Cross
· Mediterranean Journal of Human Rights
· New York School Journal of Human Rights
The library is opened from Saturday to Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and books can be borrowed for two weeks free of charge. Other materials can be consulted within the facilities of the Center.
The lab provides free of charge computers connected to the Internet as well as CD-ROMs, and is open from Saturday to Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
5. Right to Development Unit
The “Right to Development Unit” of the Center for Human Right Studies, according to the planned activities of the program of the “Cluster Project on National Capacity Building for Promotion of Human Rights and Greater Access to Justice” (Activity 1-4-1), was established in the summer of 2006. The goal of establishing this unit is the examination of the different dimensions of right to development as one of the human rights and activity to create familiarity with this right for the university society, researchers and those involved. In the beginning of the activity of the Right to Development Unit, the necessary equipment and books were bought and then, the following subjects were placed in the agenda and carried out.
· Preparation of a reference guide in the area of right to development
In this guide, an effort has been made to introduce an index of U.N. documents in the area of right to development, of documents of non-governmental organizations in connection with right to development, of articles and books relevant to this topic and finally, of relevant internet sites. This guide, which has been prepared in electronic format, places the possibility at the disposal of the user to have direct access to the text of the document with the selection of the necessary document.
· Preparation of a collection of existing literature in the area of right to development
This collection consists of two volumes. In the first volume, a selection of the most important articles published in the area of right to development have been collected which have been published in professional publications of human rights. The second volume of this collection contains the most important documents and reports of the various institutions of the U.N. in the area of right to development. In this volume, numerous reports of the special reporter of right to development, reports of the right to development working group and documents distributed through U.N. sites have been placed. This collection can be a valuable source for the study of “solidarity rights” as well as research activities of students of the field of human rights.
· Preparation of preliminary steps of publication of a book in the area of “rule of law”
In the literature about right to development, “rule of law” has been presented as an indicator of this right. Therefore, in light of the dearth of research sources, publication of a book in this area became a priority. In this connection, the book “Rule of Law and Civil Society”, which has been prepared by Dr. Nasser Katouzian, professor of the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the University of Tehran, and a collection of authorities, was chosen for publication. The aforementioned book is undergoing the final stages of publication and will be available to the public in February.
How to Contact us:
101 Ordibehesht Street,
Corner of Kamalzadeh Street,
Jomhoori Eslami Avenue
Postal Code: 1314933111
P.O.Box: 13185-1545
Tehran, Iran
Telefax: (9821) 66414423-4
Email: hricent@ut.ac.ir
Website: http://www.hrcut.ir
Opening Hours:
Saturday to Wednesday
8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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