About Us

Pursuing justice through science and law.

MacArthur Award Presentation

In 2015 the MacArthur Foundation awarded us the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, recognizing the HRC's 20 years of impact.

Thank you for visiting our website! Please note that any communication from the Human Rights Center will be in the following email format: (name@berkeley.edu) or (name@law.berkeley.edu). If you are corresponding with someone from our Investigations Lab, that email format will be the following (name@hrclab.org). Thank you!

Mission 

The Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law conducts research on war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. Using evidence-based methods and innovative technologies, we support efforts to hold perpetrators accountable and to protect vulnerable populations. We also train students and advocates to research, investigate, and document human rights violations and turn this information into effective action. We are guided by the need to listen to and support survivors, test innovative ideas, draw from multiple disciplines, use rigorous methods, and collaborate.

History 

The Human Rights Center has conducted research and investigations in dozens of countries, including the United States, Syria, Iraq, Rwanda, Uganda, Myanmar, and the former Yugoslavia. We have taught, trained, and provided fellowships to thousands of graduate and undergraduate students who have taken leadership positions with universities, nongovernmental organizations, media, and advocacy groups worldwide. Our faculty, staff, and students collaborate with leading human rights organizations, international bodies, legal organizations, and media to strengthen human rights investigations and international accountability.