logo

Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law

Berkeley, United States
Joined January 2017

HRC is an independent research and training center that applies innovative technologies and scientific methods to investigate war crimes and other serious violations of human rights.



Presence in: United States
Focus: Criminal Justice, Education, Gender-based violence, Health, Peace-building & Transitional Justice, Women's Rights

The Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley (HRC)–winner of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions–promotes human rights and international justice worldwide and trains the next generation of human rights researchers and advocates. We are an independent research and training center that applies innovative technologies and scientific methods to investigate war crimes and other serious violations of human rights. Based on our findings, we recommend specific policy measures to protect vulnerable populations and hold perpetrators accountable. We train advocates around the world and provide them with the skills and tools necessary to document human rights abuses and turn this information into effective action. Three core goals guide the Human Rights Center’s activities: 1) Pursue accountability for mass atrocities; 2) Ensure that needs of survivors are heard; and 3) Strengthen the research and advocacy capacities of local and international human rights organizations

Established in 1994, HRC has conducted major human rights investigations in more than a dozen countries, including the United States, Iraq, Rwanda, Uganda, Burma, and the former Yugoslavia. HRC has used DNA analysis to reunite families divided by war and conducted population-based studies to ensure that the voices of victims are heard by policymakers. HRC’s research has been provided to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and the International Criminal Court. The Center has provided approximately 300 fellowships to graduate students over the past 21 years, and its alumni have taken leadership positions with universities, nongovernmental organizations, and activist groups worldwide.