Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) "was initiated in March 2003 by an international group of human rights advocates, scholars, and lawyers concerned with promoting accountability and civil society in Iran." The IHRDC "believes that the development of an accountability movement and a culture of human rights in Iran are crucial to the long-term peace and security of the country and the Middle East region. As numerous examples have illustrated, the removal of an authoritarian regime does not necessarily lead to an improved human rights situation if institutions and civil society are weak, or if a culture of human rights and democratic governance has not been cultivated. By providing Iranians with comprehensive human rights reports, data about past and present human rights violations and information about international human rights standards, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the IHRDC programs will strengthen Iranians’ ability to demand accountability, reform public institutions, and promote transparency and respect for human rights. Encouraging a culture of human rights within Iranian society as a whole will allow political and legal reforms to have real and lasting weight."


 * Tom Parker, Executive Director

Funding
Source
 * U.S. State Department Human Rights and Democracy Fund
 * Scholars At Risk / International Institute of Education
 * Foley Hoag LLP, Washington and Boston Offices
 * King & Spalding LLP, New York Offices
 * McGill University
 * Notre Dame Law School, Center for Civil and Human Rights
 * Santa Clara Law School
 * University of Toronto International Human Rights Program
 * Wellesley College
 * International Coalition Against Torture
 * Diamondston Foundation

Directors
Accessed November 2008:


 * Owen M. Fiss - Chair
 * Ramin Ahmadi
 * Payam Akhavan
 * Roya Boroumand
 * Houshang Bouzari
 * Laura Dickinson
 * Lawrence Douglas
 * Tali Farimah Farhadian
 * Jonathan M. Freiman
 * Roya Hakakian
 * John Lang
 * Martha Minow
 * Andrea Christie Pizziconi
 * Bruce Shapiro
 * John Simon

Directors (Accessed March 2007)
Source
 * Owen M. Fiss, B.A, B. Phil, LL.B. (Sterling Professor, Yale University School of Law) - Chairman of the Board of Directors
 * Ramin Ahmadi, MD, MPH (Clinical Professor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine)
 * Payam Akhavan, LL.B., LL.M, S.J.D. (Professor, McGill University Faculty of Law)
 * Roya Boroumand, PhD (Executive Director, Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation)
 * Houshang Bouzari
 * Lawrence Douglas, A.B, M.A, J.D. (Professor of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought, Amherst University)
 * Jonathan M. Freiman, B.A, J.D. (Partner, Wiggin and Dana)
 * Roya Hakakian, MSW
 * Mark Weston Janis, B.A, M.Phil, J.D. (William F. Starr Professor of Law, University of Connecticut School of Law)
 * Ellen Lust-Okar, PhD (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Yale University)
 * Martha Minow, J.D., Ed.M, A.B. (Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor, Harvard Law School)
 * Andrea Christie Pizziconi
 * Bruce Shapiro (Executive Director, Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma)
 * Fredrick J. Streets, MDiv, MSW, PhD (Chaplain of Yale University)

Contact

 * Web: http://www.iranhrdc.org

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights
 * Etelle Higonnet - former consultant