university network for human rights

What university network for human rights does

University Network for Human Rights (UNHR) is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded circa 2021 that trains undergraduate and graduate students in human rights fact-finding, documentation, and advocacy. The organization operates as a multi-university consortium, partnering with Wesleyan University, Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, Oxford, UCLA, Boston University, Cornell, University of Pretoria, Seoul National University, Pomona College, and Trinity College to deliver training and field research. Its programmatic offerings include the ACTS study abroad program in Lisbon, the LLM in Human Rights Advocacy at NOVA Law School, a Summer Fellowship, a Human Rights Simulation exercise, and Seminar Instruction. The organization's stated methodology centers affected-community voices and movement-based advocacy rather than external legal representation.

UNHR runs active fact-finding projects across more than 20 countries, including Mexico (forced disappearances), Brazil (mining dam collapses and the Marielle Franco case), Panama (Indigenous displacement), Argentina, Honduras, Bolivia, Peru, Jamaica, Palestine/Occupied Palestinian Territory (genocide and apartheid), Yemen, Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh (post-2023 ethnic cleansing), Guinea, Morocco, India (Sardar Sarovar dam-affected communities), Korea, Haiti, and the United States. Investigations typically rely on 150 to 200-plus interviews and produce formal reports submitted to the UN, ICC, ICJ, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; the Bolivia report with Harvard IHRC and the joint Fundar Mexico report have been specifically cited by supranational bodies. The organization is led by Executive Director James Cavallaro and operates with a small core staff.

UNHR is funded primarily through individual donations solicited at explicit tiers of $50, $1,000, and $3,000, alongside what is likely foundation grant support typical of small human-rights NGOs; no financial figures are publicly disclosed. The organization is not a technology business — its deliverables are written reports, briefs, and trained cohorts of student-advocates, and there is no evidence of a software, data, or AI-enabled product surface.

Name

university network for human rights

Legal name

University Network for Human Rights

Website

https://humanrightsnetwork.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

University Network for Human Rights is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit that trains undergraduate and graduate students in human rights fact-finding, documentation, and advocacy through partnerships with Wesleyan, Yale, Harvard, Oxford, UCLA, and other universities across more than 20 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Advocacy and Education

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK)

Keywords

• Human rights advocacy
• Human rights education
• Fact-finding documentation
• International legal advocacy
• Experiential student training

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: UNHR is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization funded through donations from individuals, foundations, and supporters. The organization relies on the generosity of donors to fund its student training programs, field research, and advocacy work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

UNHR trains the next generation of human rights advocates by engaging undergraduate and graduate students from partner universities in supervised human rights fact-finding, documentation, and advocacy projects. It delivers structured educational programs (LLM, study abroad, summer fellowships, simulations, seminars) and produces rigorous reports and legal submissions that support accountability efforts and the advocacy goals of affected communities worldwide.

Product overview

The University Network for Human Rights operates as a single unified educational and advocacy organization rather than a platform-based product. Its core offerings consist of student training programs including the NOVA Law School Human Rights Advocacy LL.M. (a graduate degree partnership with NOVA Law in Lisbon), the ACTS in Portugal semester study abroad program, Summer Fellowship opportunities, Human Rights Simulation exercises, and Seminar Instruction courses. These programs are complemented by research and advocacy projects and published reports. The organization does not offer software products, APIs, or technology-enabled services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACTS Program: Study abroad program in Lisbon, Portugal, hosted at NOVA School of Law
• Summer Fellowship
• LLM in Human Rights Advocacy

Products and services

• NOVA Law School Human Rights Advocacy LL.M. Master of Laws degree program in human rights advocacy offered in partnership with NOVA Law School in Lisbon, Portugal, training graduate students in human rights practice.
• ACTS in Portugal Program Semester-long study abroad program hosted at NOVA School of Law in Lisbon, Portugal, providing students with experiential human rights training.
• Summer Fellowship
• Human Rights Simulation
• Seminar Instruction

Quantifiable outcome

• Reports submitted to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide, and Independent International Commission of Inquiry on OPT
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• NOVA School of Law (Lisbon, Portugal)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partner for LLM in Human Rights Advocacy program based in Lisbon, Portugal. UNHR works with NOVA Law to deliver graduate-level human rights training. Also hosts ACTS semester study abroad program.
• Wesleyan UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary university partner with multiple student cohorts participating in UNHR field research projects in Mexico, Argentina, and other locations. Wesleyan students have conducted interviews and documentation work.
• Yale UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university including Yale Law School and Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. Yale students have participated in field research in Mexico and other countries. Yale Lowenstein Human Rights Project collaborates on reports.
• Harvard Law School Student Advocates for Human RightsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on multi-year research documenting human rights abuses in Nagorno-Karabakh. Students from Harvard participated in fact-finding trips and report preparation.
• Oxford UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner contributing students and researchers to Nagorno-Karabakh documentation project.
• UCLA Law School Promise Institute for Human RightsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Nagorno-Karabakh research collaboration.
• Boston University Law SchoolmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on legal analysis of genocide and apartheid in Gaza and Occupied Palestinian Territory. BU students and experts contributed to May 2024 report.
• Cornell Law SchoolmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in apartheid analysis and legal documentation of Israel actions in OPT.
• University of PretoriamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner contributing to genocide analysis report on Gaza.
• Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint investigation with IHRC documenting Bolivia human rights violations under interim government. Conducted six-month investigation interviewing over 200 people.
• Fundar (Mexico)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published report 'Disappearances in Mexico: Active Impunity and Obstacles to Justice and Search' with UNHR. Fundar is a leading Mexican human rights organization.
• Justiça Global (Brazil)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrazil-based human rights organization partnering on mining dam collapse documentation in Mariana and Brumadinho. Researchers from both organizations visited affected communities.
• Seoul National UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Korea massacres documentation project, collaborating on report about US role in Korean Peninsula atrocities.
• Pomona CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudents from Pomona College participated in Western Sahara human rights documentation.
• Trinity CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudents from Trinity participated in Honduras deportees documentation project.
• NarmadaBachao Andolan (NBA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndian grassroots organization partnering on Sardar Sarovar Dam documentation. UNHR released joint report documenting forced displacement impacts on Adivasi communities.
• Cultural SurvivalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational NGO that filed petition before IACHR in 2008 on behalf of Ngöbe communities displaced by hydroelectric dam in Panama.
• Artsakh UnionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization of forcibly displaced Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. Joint submissions to UN mechanisms on discrimination against women and other issues.
• Collective in Search of Truth and Justice (Colectivo en Búsqueda de Verdad y Justicia)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in Mexico working on disappearances. UNHR supports their fight for rights and access to international mechanisms.
• Connecticut Tenant UnionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal tenant organization in Connecticut that UNHR supports through housing rights advocacy, evidence gathering, and direct action participation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL): Latin America–focused human rights NGO that litigates before the Inter-American system. Directly comparable to UNHR's Mexico disappearances work and Inter-American Commission engagement.

Direct peers

• MADRE: International women's human rights organization partnering with grassroots groups and engaging UN mechanisms. Comparable in scale, mission, and partnership-driven advocacy model, with similar donation-based funding.
• Amnesty International: Largest global human rights NGO, producing country reports and engaging international legal mechanisms. UNHR overlaps in mission (fact-finding, documentation, international submissions) but with a unique academic-student training layer Amnesty lacks.
• Human Rights Watch: Global human rights organization that produces independent investigations and submits findings to international bodies. UNHR operates a comparable documentation-to-advocacy model at a smaller scale, with similar target audiences (international courts, UN mechanisms, media).
• Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights: US-based human rights organization combining litigation, advocacy, and fellowship programs. Comparable to UNHR in combining student/fellowship training with frontline documentation and legal advocacy before international bodies.
• EarthRights International: NGO combining documentation, legal advocacy, and training on human rights and environmental accountability — directly comparable to UNHR's Brazil mining dam collapse work and broader socio-environmental human rights mandate.
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH): Federation of 192 human rights organizations that submits cases to international courts and the ICC. Comparable to UNHR in producing international legal submissions and partnering with local NGOs for documentation work.
• WITNESS: Organization that trains activists in video documentation of human rights abuses. Comparable to UNHR in training modality (skill-building for advocacy) and use of documentation as an evidence base for international accountability.
• Center for Constitutional Rights: US-based human rights and civil liberties organization engaged in strategic litigation before international and domestic courts. Comparable in combining documentation, legal advocacy, and student/clinical engagement.

Broad incumbents

• International Crisis Group: Global organization producing field-based analysis and policy recommendations on conflict-affected countries. Comparable to UNHR in field-driven research methodology and international advocacy orientation, though Crisis Group is policy-focused rather than rights-violations-focused.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-network-for-human-rights

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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