We pursue justice through science, technology, and law.

We research and investigate war crimes and human rights violations.

 

We develop standards for policymakers and practitioners.

 

We train investigators, students, and advocates.

Who We Are

Using evidence-based methods and multidisciplinary frameworks, we collaborate with impacted communities, build blueprintable solutions to address some of the most significant human rights challenges of our time, and support efforts to hold perpetrators accountable. In doing so, we catalyze our work into effective action to further justice and accountability efforts.

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Human Rights and…

Justice

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Working With Partners Across Disciplines

The Human Rights Center works across domains and disciplines to address the most pressing global challenges of our time. We work closely with top human rights organizations, legal institutions, universities, media platforms, tech companies, and beyond to unearth the truth and seek justice and accountability.
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What’s Happening

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A group of people eat bowls of food at a table. None of them are looking at the camera.

January 31, 2025

Trump’s foreign aid freeze guts grassroots groups helping migrants in Latin America

Migrants eat lunch at teh Peace Oasis of the Holy Spirit Amparito shelter in Villahermosa, Mexico, June 7, 2025. AP Photo / Felix Marquez, File. HRC in the News —

People hold a rainbow flag up to the sunlight, their silhouettes can be seen behind it.

January 28, 2025

PRISM Project at threat of closure from foreign aid stop order

Dear Friends, We have received some devastating news and are making an urgent request for emergency funding to sustain our PRISM Project. This is a first-of-its-kind project designed to improve mental health services and protections for

Ruins of a city re pictured.

December 20, 2024

Documenting Assad’s Crimes: Over 100,000 found in a single mass grave

HRC in the News — Times Radio: Documenting Assad’s Crimes: Over 100,000 found in a single mass grave, interviewing Eric Stover.

A collage of women are shown.

December 19, 2024

Dealing with Secondary Trauma

HRC in the News — Dealing with Secondary Trauma (Part 1), Asymmetrical Haircuts, interviewing Alexa Koenig. Dealing with Secondary Trauma (Part 2), Asymmetrical Haircuts,

A man sits at a lectern with a microphone. He is not looking at the camera.

December 11, 2024

Dear Congress: If You Value National Security, Do Not Sanction the ICC

Commentary — Dear Congress: If You Value National Security, Do Not Sanction the ICC, Lawfare, authored by Lindsay Freeman.

A group of people eat bowls of food at a table. None of them are looking at the camera.

January 31, 2025

Trump’s foreign aid freeze guts grassroots groups helping migrants in Latin America

Migrants eat lunch at teh Peace Oasis of the Holy Spirit Amparito shelter in Villahermosa, Mexico, June 7, 2025. AP Photo / Felix Marquez, File. HRC in the News —

Ruins of a city re pictured.

December 20, 2024

Documenting Assad’s Crimes: Over 100,000 found in a single mass grave

HRC in the News — Times Radio: Documenting Assad’s Crimes: Over 100,000 found in a single mass grave, interviewing Eric Stover.

A collage of women are shown.

December 19, 2024

Dealing with Secondary Trauma

HRC in the News — Dealing with Secondary Trauma (Part 1), Asymmetrical Haircuts, interviewing Alexa Koenig. Dealing with Secondary Trauma (Part 2), Asymmetrical Haircuts,

A man sits at a lectern with a microphone. He is not looking at the camera.

December 11, 2024

Dear Congress: If You Value National Security, Do Not Sanction the ICC

Commentary — Dear Congress: If You Value National Security, Do Not Sanction the ICC, Lawfare, authored by Lindsay Freeman.

A women walking past a shelter at a refugee site

November 4, 2024

Reproductive Health in Refugee Camps: A Lifeline Amid Compounded Crises

Image credit: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters Fellowship Alumna News — UC Global Health Institute: Reproductive Health in Refugee Camps: A Lifeline Amid

An orange wildfire burns with brown and black smoke shrouding the sky above.

December 5, 2023

Climate candor: Ridding climate cases of questionable science

HRC in the News — Open Global Rights: Climate candor: Ridding climate cases of questionable science, authored by Alexa Koenig and Baiboon Sakulkarunaarree.

A view of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation from the bank of the Missouri River in Forest City, South Dakota. Nearby, there are three oil worker man camps. Kristina Barker

January 8, 2021

A crude virus: How man camps can cause a COVID surge

A view of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation from the bank of the Missouri River in Forest City, South Dakota. Nearby, there are three oil worker man camps. Kristina Barker Commentary —

Image by NOAA on Unsplash

October 19, 2005

Human rights researchers find widespread problems after 2004 tsunami

Image by NOAA on Unsplash HRC in the News — Berkeley News: Human rights researchers find widespread problems after 2004 tsunami, writing about the report

A group of people eat bowls of food at a table. None of them are looking at the camera.

January 31, 2025

Trump’s foreign aid freeze guts grassroots groups helping migrants in Latin America

Migrants eat lunch at teh Peace Oasis of the Holy Spirit Amparito shelter in Villahermosa, Mexico, June 7, 2025. AP Photo / Felix Marquez, File. HRC in the News —

People hold a rainbow flag up to the sunlight, their silhouettes can be seen behind it.

June 27, 2024

Pride in Supporting LGBTQI+ Children in Humanitarian Emergencies

Commentary — #Verified by the Human Rights Center: Pride in Supporting LGBTQI+ Children in Humanitarian Emergencies, authored by Julie Freccero and Audrey Taylor.

October 13, 2023

Fighting Impunity: International Criminal Court President Describes Triumphs and Challenges

Berkeley Law: Covering HRC event with ICC president Piotr Hofmański.

FAM Caregiver recruitment ad. Image by Freedom Forward.

April 11, 2023

Five lessons on housing for youth impacted by commercial sexual exploitation

FAM Caregiver recruitment ad. Image by Freedom Forward. Commentary — #Verified from the Human Rights Center: Five lessons on housing for youth

Ugandan women collage

June 17, 2021

Five ways to prevent child marriage in refugee communities: 280 girls speak out

Commentary — Berkeley Blog: Five ways to prevent child marriage in refugee communities: 280 girls speak out, by Julie Freccero and Audrey Taylor.

Ruins of a city re pictured.

December 20, 2024

Documenting Assad’s Crimes: Over 100,000 found in a single mass grave

HRC in the News — Times Radio: Documenting Assad’s Crimes: Over 100,000 found in a single mass grave, interviewing Eric Stover.

The opposition flag of Syria, depicting a green stripe, a white stripe with three red stars, and a black stripe.

December 9, 2024

For Press: UC Berkeley Human Rights Center Providing Expertise on Syria

Media Advisory On Sunday, December 8, Syria’s capital city of Damascus was liberated by multiple opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ending the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. The liberation of Damascus came

Nine people sit on the floor, their faces are shielded and they work on phones and computers. There is a mixture of women and men.

September 27, 2024

A New Digital Approach to Human Rights Documentation and Advocacy in Libya and Yemen 

Participants in the advanced open-source investigations training for Yemeni activists, held in Amman, Jordan, in July 2024, collaborate on a group activity. (Nour El Bejjani/ICTJ) HRC in the News

A woman holds a photo of a young man. Text reads:

September 26, 2024

Ten Years after Ayotzinapa, Government Impunity Stains the Pursuit of Justice

Commentary — El Faro: Ten Years after Ayotzinapa, Government Impunity Stains the Pursuit of Justice, authored by HRC visiting scholar Omar Gómez Trejo. Left: Maria de Jesus Tlatempa, 54,

A computer graphic next to the words

August 16, 2024

Exhibit X: The Courts

HRC in the News — Computer Says Maybe: Exhibit X: The Courts, interviewing Alexa Koenig.

A man sits at a lectern with a microphone. He is not looking at the camera.

December 11, 2024

Dear Congress: If You Value National Security, Do Not Sanction the ICC

Commentary — Dear Congress: If You Value National Security, Do Not Sanction the ICC, Lawfare, authored by Lindsay Freeman.

A photo illustration using the portrait of a stoic man, with people in hazmat gear on behind him.

June 26, 2024

French Court of Appeal Validates Historic Arrest Warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: A Legal Milestone and Important Victory for Survivors

HRC in the News — Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression: French Court of Appeal Validates Historic Arrest Warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: A Legal Milestone and

An illustration of two scales and a circular olive branch are seen on a window of a building.

June 17, 2024

Exclusive: ICC probes cyberattacks in Ukraine as possible war crimes, sources say

HRC in the News — Reuters: Exclusive: ICC probes cyberattacks in Ukraine as possible war crimes, sources say, citing HRC’s ongoing investigation into Russian cyber attacks and Article

Two hands with arrows drawn around them press on a keyboard.

June 10, 2024

The Role of International Justice in Cyber Defense and Deterrence

Brian Stauffer illustration for FP Analytics. HRC Reflections — Digital Front Lines: The Role of International Justice in Cyber Defense and

Ruins of a city re pictured.

March 18, 2024

Le défi des enquêtes sur le web

HRC in the News — La Presse: Le défi des enquêtes sur le web, interviewing Lindsay Freeman. Left: In Eastern Ghouta, Syria, more than 1,000 people were killed in sarin gas attacks in

Palestinians walking amid the rubble of destroyed buildings

April 29, 2024

International prosecution of Israeli or Hamas leaders wouldn’t bring quick justice − and even bringing them to court will be difficult

Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Nuseirat, Gaza, on April 29, 2024. AFP via Getty Images Student Fellowship in the News — The Conversation:

A young man sits and looks off-camera, there are two other people closer to the camera that are not in focus.

December 12, 2023

Fighting Uphill Battles, Human Rights Center Student Fellows Stay Resolute in Their Work

Spotlighting 2022 fellow alumnus and keynote speaker Anthony Ghaly and 2023 fellow Maria Fernanda Quintero Sirtori.

Human Rights Center fellow, Anthony Ghaly.

December 19, 2022

Rare Feat: Berkeley Law Students Present Their Research at Major International Forum

Human Rights Center fellow, Anthony Ghali. HRC in the News — Berkeley Law: Rare Feat: Berkeley Law Students Present Their Research at Major

Net positive? Paul Salomone, a fisheries management biologist, samples herring to help determine whether the fishery should be opened for the day. (Nathaniel Wilder)

August 29, 2022

This Tiny Fish Holds Together Ecosystems and Cultures—It’s Also Under Threat, The Nation, written and reported by 2021 student fellow Brett Simpson

Student Fellowship Alumni — The Nation: This Tiny Fish Holds Together Ecosystems and Cultures—It’s Also Under Threat, The Nation, written and reported by 2021 student fellow Brett

HRC 2022 fellow Bhavya Joshi smiling for a picture.

June 24, 2022

Reproductive Health and Women’s Rights Researcher Includes Women Refugees from Ukraine to Croatia

HRC 2022 fellow Bhavya Joshi smiling for a picture. HRC in the News — ReciHr: Reproductive Health and Women’s Rights Researcher Includes Women