UC Berkeley | Berkeley Law
Subscribe Donate
Logo for Human Rights Center
Subscribe Donate
Subscribe Donate
UC Berkeley | Berkeley Law
Subscribe Donate

Pursuing justice through science, technology, and law.

 

Based at the world’s top public university, we investigate human rights violations and international crimes; set standards for practitioners; and train the next generation of human rights defenders.

Pillars of Work


Investigators work on a forensic dig.

Truth

To uncover, verify, and preserve the factual record of human-rights violations using scientific and technological methods.
A building next to a fountain at sunset or sunrise.

Justice

To ensure that truth leads to accountability — strengthening national and international justice systems to uphold the rule of law.
Three men and one woman work together at a table. In the background, other people stand and talk.

Community

To connect human rights practice to the people it serves — building capacity and co-developing knowledge.
Aerial view of a rainforest and river.
Gas or dust engulfs a mosque.

Explore our Projects

For thirty years, the Human Rights Center has spearheaded and contributed to complex projects that span the fields of international justice, public health, investigative journalism, and much more.

Click here to browse our archive
Logo of Human Rights Center UC Berkeley School of Law

Local and Global Partnerships

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.
Amnesty International logo
MacArthur Foundation
Human Rights Watch logo
UN OHCHR logo
Save the Children logo
Reuters logo
PBS logo
SITU Research logo
WITNESS logo
The New York Times logo
Explore our Partners

Media Inquiries

Journalists are encouraged reach out to connect with our expert sources, explore potential collaboration through our Investigations program and Lab, access professional reports and publications, and more.

Contact Us

What’s Happening

Show me:
Split-screen illustration depicting eavesdropping. On the left panel with a dark blue background, a person holds a large blue listening horn to their ear. The wide cone extends through the central divider into the right panel with a warm yellow background, directly listening in on two people who are standing face-to-face in conversation. Stylized, textured graphic art.

October 6, 2026

Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos facilitados por medios cibernéticos

Commentary — Nexos: Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos facilitados por medios

A podium with microphones on the left projects speech bubbles containing angry red faces and a warning sign. At the center, a large tech-style eye conducts digital surveillance. On the right, silhouetted figures recoil and flee, with glowing red

October 6, 2026

Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos facilitados por medios cibernéticos

Commentary — Mexicanos Contra La Corrupción y La Impunidad: Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos

A single-file line of men in ankle restraints walks across a sunny tarmac toward the open loading ramp of a large military cargo aircraft. Uniformed personnel stand guard near the ramp as the men board the lit cargo interior of the plane.

October 5, 2026

U.S. builds a ‘systematic’ global deportation network, violating migrant rights, study finds

Immigrants detained by Customs and Border Protection are led onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 on January 24, 2025. Image from the White House Press Secretary / X. HRC in the News —

A man with white hair standing behind a wooden podium bearing the official seal of Mexico (Estados Unidos Mexicanos). He is gesturing with his right hand extended, wearing a black overcoat, white shirt, and patterned red tie, with the Mexican flag blurred in the background.

September 24, 2026

Persecution by Other Means: Mexico and the First Test of the ICC’s Cyber Policy

Commentary — Just Security: Persecution by Other Means: Mexico and the First Test of the ICC’s Cyber Policy, authored by HRC Senior Director of International Accountability Lindsay

A group of demonstrators sits closely together at a rally, holding up black-and-white portrait photos mounted on wooden sticks. The portraits feature faces of various men and women. In the center, a person wearing a straw hat sits with hands clasped behind one of the signs. A red banner is partially visible across the top of the frame.

September 24, 2026

UC Berkeley Human Rights Center publishes investigation on cyber-enabled targeting of journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico

The Human Rights Center today published “Under Attack: Targeting of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders in Mexico,” a public platform presenting the findings of a multi-year investigation into the persecution of journalists and

Split-screen illustration depicting eavesdropping. On the left panel with a dark blue background, a person holds a large blue listening horn to their ear. The wide cone extends through the central divider into the right panel with a warm yellow background, directly listening in on two people who are standing face-to-face in conversation. Stylized, textured graphic art.

October 6, 2026

Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos facilitados por medios cibernéticos

Commentary — Nexos: Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos facilitados por medios

A podium with microphones on the left projects speech bubbles containing angry red faces and a warning sign. At the center, a large tech-style eye conducts digital surveillance. On the right, silhouetted figures recoil and flee, with glowing red

October 6, 2026

Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos facilitados por medios cibernéticos

Commentary — Mexicanos Contra La Corrupción y La Impunidad: Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos

A single-file line of men in ankle restraints walks across a sunny tarmac toward the open loading ramp of a large military cargo aircraft. Uniformed personnel stand guard near the ramp as the men board the lit cargo interior of the plane.

October 5, 2026

U.S. builds a ‘systematic’ global deportation network, violating migrant rights, study finds

Immigrants detained by Customs and Border Protection are led onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 on January 24, 2025. Image from the White House Press Secretary / X. HRC in the News —

A man with white hair standing behind a wooden podium bearing the official seal of Mexico (Estados Unidos Mexicanos). He is gesturing with his right hand extended, wearing a black overcoat, white shirt, and patterned red tie, with the Mexican flag blurred in the background.

September 24, 2026

Persecution by Other Means: Mexico and the First Test of the ICC’s Cyber Policy

Commentary — Just Security: Persecution by Other Means: Mexico and the First Test of the ICC’s Cyber Policy, authored by HRC Senior Director of International Accountability Lindsay

A group of demonstrators sits closely together at a rally, holding up black-and-white portrait photos mounted on wooden sticks. The portraits feature faces of various men and women. In the center, a person wearing a straw hat sits with hands clasped behind one of the signs. A red banner is partially visible across the top of the frame.

September 24, 2026

UC Berkeley Human Rights Center publishes investigation on cyber-enabled targeting of journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico

The Human Rights Center today published “Under Attack: Targeting of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders in Mexico,” a public platform presenting the findings of a multi-year investigation into the persecution of journalists and

Split-screen illustration depicting eavesdropping. On the left panel with a dark blue background, a person holds a large blue listening horn to their ear. The wide cone extends through the central divider into the right panel with a warm yellow background, directly listening in on two people who are standing face-to-face in conversation. Stylized, textured graphic art.

October 6, 2026

Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos facilitados por medios cibernéticos

Commentary — Nexos: Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos facilitados por medios

A podium with microphones on the left projects speech bubbles containing angry red faces and a warning sign. At the center, a large tech-style eye conducts digital surveillance. On the right, silhouetted figures recoil and flee, with glowing red

October 6, 2026

Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos facilitados por medios cibernéticos

Commentary — Mexicanos Contra La Corrupción y La Impunidad: Persecución por otros medios: México y la primera prueba de la nueva política de la Corte Penal Internacional sobre delitos

A single-file line of men in ankle restraints walks across a sunny tarmac toward the open loading ramp of a large military cargo aircraft. Uniformed personnel stand guard near the ramp as the men board the lit cargo interior of the plane.

October 5, 2026

U.S. builds a ‘systematic’ global deportation network, violating migrant rights, study finds

Immigrants detained by Customs and Border Protection are led onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 on January 24, 2025. Image from the White House Press Secretary / X. HRC in the News —

A man with white hair standing behind a wooden podium bearing the official seal of Mexico (Estados Unidos Mexicanos). He is gesturing with his right hand extended, wearing a black overcoat, white shirt, and patterned red tie, with the Mexican flag blurred in the background.

September 24, 2026

Persecution by Other Means: Mexico and the First Test of the ICC’s Cyber Policy

Commentary — Just Security: Persecution by Other Means: Mexico and the First Test of the ICC’s Cyber Policy, authored by HRC Senior Director of International Accountability Lindsay

A group of demonstrators sits closely together at a rally, holding up black-and-white portrait photos mounted on wooden sticks. The portraits feature faces of various men and women. In the center, a person wearing a straw hat sits with hands clasped behind one of the signs. A red banner is partially visible across the top of the frame.

September 24, 2026

UC Berkeley Human Rights Center publishes investigation on cyber-enabled targeting of journalists and human rights defenders in Mexico

The Human Rights Center today published “Under Attack: Targeting of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders in Mexico,” a public platform presenting the findings of a multi-year investigation into the persecution of journalists and

A man bends down to tend crops in the middle of long rows of farmland during sunset.

September 1, 2025

Who controls California farmland? The hard-to-find answer is disturbing

Commentary — San Francisco Chronicle: Who controls California farmland? The hard-to-find answer is disturbing, co-authored by HRC Student Fellow Meredith Song. Left: Fresno County farmer

A person wearing a white T-shirt with bold black text that reads

July 23, 2025

Too Hot to Handle – Garment Workers in the Era of Extreme Heat

Student Fellowship in the News — WARDROBE CRISIS with Claire Press: Too Hot to Handle – Garment Workers in the Era of Extreme Heat, featuring 2024 student fellowship alumna Cara Schulte.

People sit around a table. They appear to be in conversation.

March 21, 2025

On the ground with UC Berkeley Public Health’s Bhavya Joshi in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp

Student Fellowship in the News — UC Public Health: “Reaching the furthest behind, first:” On the ground with UC Berkeley Public Health’s Bhavya Joshi in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp,

A woman carrying a large metal bowl walks through a refugee site with makeshift shelters made of fabric and tarps. The shelters are clustered closely together, and trees are scattered in the background.

November 4, 2024

Reproductive Health in Refugee Camps: A Lifeline Amid Compounded Crises

Student Fellowship in the News — UC Global Health Institute: Reproductive Health in Refugee Camps: A Lifeline Amid Compounded Crises, featuring 2022 student fellow Bhavya Joshi. Left:

A women with long hair standing at a podium

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.

Explore all News