Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law

What Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law does

The Human Rights Center is an academic research and training center within UC Berkeley School of Law, founded in 1994 to investigate human rights violations and international crimes using scientific and technological methods. The center operates around three programmatic pillars — Truth (uncovering, verifying, and preserving the factual record of violations), Justice (strengthening accountability through national and international justice systems), and Community (capacity-building with partners and affected communities) — and delivers these through programs including the Investigations Lab, Student Fellowship, Center Scholars initiative, Human Rights Courses, Professional Trainings, and Standards and Guidelines. Its core technology stack centers on open-source investigation methods, satellite imagery analysis, social media verification, digital forensics, and forensic evidence preservation, with proprietary methodologies developed in-house for documenting and verifying human rights violations.

The center serves a tripartite audience of human rights organizations (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UN OHCHR, Save the Children), graduate and law students at UC Berkeley, and practicing human rights professionals, investigators, and journalists. It collaborates with major media outlets including Reuters, PBS, The New York Times, The Guardian, DW News, KQED, and The Hill to disseminate investigation findings, and with specialist organizations such as SITU Research and WITNESS on technical analysis and eyewitness media verification.

As a university research center governed by the UC Board of Regents, the center does not have a traditional commercial revenue model. It is funded through UC Berkeley institutional allocation, foundation grants (including the MacArthur Foundation), and donations channeled via the Berkeley giving platform. Most programs — academic courses, fellowships, and standards publications — are offered free of charge; professional trainings for practitioners may carry fees. The center has 77 employees and operates a single headquarters in Berkeley, California, with global programmatic reach.

Name

Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law

Legal name

UC Regents (University of California)

Website

https://hrc.berkeley.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law is an academic research center that investigates human rights violations using open-source and forensic methods, trains practitioners and students, and sets professional standards for the global human rights community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Research and Training

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB), Civil Liberties & Constitutional Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAA), Media Freedom, Access to Information & Digital Rights (BPADAGAE)

Keywords

• Human rights research
• Open-source investigations
• Evidence documentation
• Human rights training
• International justice

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: The center operates as part of UC Berkeley School of Law, receiving institutional funding from the university alongside grants and donations from foundations and individual supporters.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Human Rights Center investigates human rights violations and international crimes using scientific and technological methods, including open-source investigations and forensic evidence preservation. It delivers academic programs (Investigations Lab, Student Fellowship, Human Rights Courses, Center Scholars), trains working practitioners through Professional Trainings, and develops Standards and Guidelines for the human rights field. All activities are structured around three pillars: Truth (investigating and documenting violations), Justice (supporting accountability mechanisms), and Community (building capacity with partners).

Product overview

The Human Rights Center operates as an academic research and training institution at UC Berkeley School of Law, offering a portfolio of interconnected programs and initiatives organized around three pillars: Truth (investigating and documenting human rights violations using scientific and technological methods), Justice (strengthening accountability mechanisms), and Community (building capacity with partners). The Center's offerings include the Investigations Lab, Student Fellowship Program, Human Rights Courses, Center Scholars, Professional Trainings, and Standards and Guidelines—all designed to train the next generation of human rights defenders and set standards for practitioners in the field.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Investigations Lab A hands-on program where students conduct open-source investigations to document and verify human rights violations, offered to UC Berkeley students.
• Student Fellowship Program A fellowship program providing students with opportunities to engage in human rights research and fieldwork.
• Human Rights Courses Academic courses offered to UC Berkeley students covering various aspects of human rights law and investigation.
• Center Scholars A program supporting scholars conducting advanced research in human rights.
• Professional Trainings Training programs for human rights practitioners covering investigation methodologies and standards, delivered to working professionals globally.
• Standards and Guidelines Standards and guidelines developed and published for human rights practitioners in the field.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Amnesty InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal human rights organization partnered with HRC for investigation and documentation of human rights violations, leveraging combined expertise in advocacy and evidence collection.
• Human Rights WatchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational NGO collaborating with HRC on human rights investigations and documentation methodologies, sharing resources and expertise.
• UN OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnited Nations body working with HRC on human rights standards, guidelines, and investigation support for international justice mechanisms.
• Save the ChildrenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanitarian organization partnered on investigations involving children's rights and protection issues in conflict zones.
• ReuterscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor news organization collaborating with HRC on investigation dissemination, providing media reach for documented human rights findings.
• PBScoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPublic broadcasting service partnered with HRC for documentary projects and investigation features, including Dead Reckoning film series.
• SITU ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch organization specializing in open-source investigations, collaborating with HRC on technical analysis and evidence verification.
• WITNESSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHuman rights organization focused on video documentation and verification, partnering with HRC on eyewitness media analysis.
• The New York TimescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor newspaper collaborating with HRC on investigative journalism projects, publishing findings from human rights investigations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/human-rights-center-uc-berkeley

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law