The Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute maintains archives that document the people, organizations, and movements working to advance human rights in Connecticut and around the world. These collections preserve primary-source materials of lasting historical and scholarly value, supporting research, teaching, and public engagement. By making these records accessible, the Institute helps ensure that the experiences, struggles, and achievements of human rights advocates inform both present and future generations.
Charlie Clements Digital Archives
Due to open in 2027, the Charles Clements Digital Archives collects the papers, ephemera, photos and artifacts of noted human rights practitioner Dr. Charles Clements, MD. A former U.S. Air Force pilot who refused further Vietnam missions on moral grounds, Dr. Clements became a Quaker committed to non-violence and trained as a physician. He volunteered in guerrilla-controlled El Salvador during its civil war, leading to his book Witness to War, which begat an Oscar-winning documentary. Clements later represented Physicians for Human Rights at the Nobel ceremony for the Landmine Treaty and worked for water rights in the U.S. Southwest.
Contact
David Richards, Associate Professor, Political Science & Human Rights
david.richards@uconn.edu
International Criminal Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) Digital Archive Project
The goal of the ICTY Digital Archive Project is to advance a better understanding of the legal decisions of the ICTY and the history of the armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia. The Project provides access to a range of documents and other records associated with the work of prosecutors, expert witnesses, researchers, and translators at the ICTY. The project curates ICTY documents relating to key decisions of the tribunal on genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed during the 1991-1995 conflict.
Contact
James Waller, Director, Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute; Professor, Literatures, Cultures, and Languages
james.waller@uconn.edu
Human Rights Collections within the UConn Library’s Archives & Special Collections
The Human Rights Collections within the UConn Library’s Archives & Special Collections document human rights violations and struggles for social justice in the United States and internationally.
Selected Collections from the UConn Library’s Archives & Special Collections
African National Congress Oral History Transcripts Collection – 133 transcripts of oral history interviews with leading anti-apartheid activists conducted between 2000 and 2006.
Alternative Press Collection – Thousands of newspapers, serials, books, pamphlets, ephemera, and artifacts documenting activist movements for social, cultural, and political change from the 1800s to the present. Some items have been digitized and can be accessed through the Connecticut Digital Archive.
Center for Oral History Interviews Collection – Includes interviews with Holocaust survivors in the Connecticut region conducted from 1980-1981, as well as “Witnesses To Nuremberg, An Oral History Of American Participants At The War Crimes Trials.” Digitized transcripts of select interviews are available in the Connecticut Digital Archive.
Coalition for International Justice (CIJ) Records – Records of the Coalition for International Justice (CIJ) which investigated human rights violations in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Sudan, East Timor, and Sierra Leone. The collection also contains documentation from a 2004 survey of over 1,200 refugees from Darfur along the border of Chad and Sudan.
Thomas J. Dodd Papers – Documents Dodd’s career in the Senate, as well as his role as executive trial counsel at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg from 1945-46. The Nuremberg trial documents have been digitized in their entirety and are available in the Connecticut Digital Archive.
Mia Farrow Collection – Correspondence, newspaper clippings, notes, digital photographs, video footage, writings, and speeches pertaining to Ms. Farrow’s activism and advocacy in Africa, particularly regarding Darfur, Sudan. Digital photographs from the Mia Farrow Collection are available in the Connecticut Digital Archive.
Fred Ho Papers – Accounts of Asian American culture and experience in the United States.
Impact Visuals Photographic Collection – Photographs and slides which document the anti-apartheid movement and 1994 democratic elections in South Africa.
Laurie S. Wiseberg and Harry Scoble Human Rights Internet Collection – The publications library of Human Rights Internet, a Canadian NGO, which collected human rights publications from around the world, including materials which are not found in any other libraries in North America.
Malka Penn Collection of Children’s Books on Human Rights – Over 250 children’s books and young adult literature dealing with a variety of human rights themes including slavery, the Holocaust, war, and discrimination.
North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) Archive – Primary sources and publications on human rights, politics, and socio-economic conditions in Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and other parts of Central America.
Eric Reeves Papers – Correspondence, newspaper clippings, notes, photographs, writings, and speeches regarding Eric Reeves’ advocacy, research, and analysis of the humanitarian crisis and genocide in Sudan and Darfur from 1999 onward. The collection also contains documents regarding the court case Presbyterian Church of Sudan et al. vs. Talisman Energy Inc, Sudan.
International Rescue Committee, Central America Records – Records of the New Jersey office of the International Rescue Committee and their role assisting Central American refugees and migrants into the United States.
Roberto (Robin) Romano Papers – Extensive multimedia collection documenting the life’s work of prolific human rights documentarian Robin Romano, including photographs, video, research files, publications, and correspondence. Video footage, photographs, and production files from the Romano Papers are available in the Connecticut Digital Archive.
Oliver Tambo Papers – Microfilm copies of the papers of anti-apartheid activist, Oliver Tambo. Original documents are located at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa.
A.B. Xuma Papers – Microfilm copies of the papers of anti-apartheid activist, A.B. Xuma. Original documents are located at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Some material has been digitized and is available through the University of the Witwatersrand’s digital collections.