International Information by Subject

Agriculture and Food

Organizations

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  The most important IGO focused on agriculture and food. Its site includes authoritative studies and links to statistical databases.
• International Fund for Agricultural Development
  Pertains almost exclusively to the programs and projects of IFAD, which works to eliminate rural hunger and poverty in developing countries.

Statistics

• AMAD: Agricultural Market Access Database
  Includes tariff rates, exchange rates, import statistics, world reference prices, and other data.
• FAOSTAT
  Includes all statistical databases of the Food and Agriculture Organization.
• UN/ECE Timber Database
  Provides data on forest resources and their utilization in North America, Europe, and the Former Soviet Republics.
• WFP in Numbers 
  Presents World Food Programme statistics, including data on expenditures, food shipments, and resources.

Reports

• State of Food and Agriculture
  Each thematic volume analyzes international trends, as well as agricultural conditions and policies, by region and country.
• State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA)
  Addresses major issues in the fishing sector.

Legal Sources

• FAOLEX
  Contains treaties, laws, and regulations on food, agriculture, and renewable natural resources worldwide.

 

Arms Control

Organizations

• Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission
  The principal site on the CTBT and its implementation.
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  The site’s e-Library includes key historical texts, fact sheets, speeches, press releases, the NATO Handbook, and the NATO Review.
• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 
  This is the chief site on the Chemical Weapons Convention.
• United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
  Brings together a wealth of documentation on disarmament and arms control issued by UN bodies.
• United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
  The value of UNIDIR’s site lies mainly in its descriptions of its sales publications and current research.
• Bonn International Center for Conversion
  Includes numerous full-text reports and studies on the redirection of human and material resources from the defense industry to civilian uses.
• Conflict Data Service
  Provides user-friendly access to quality information in the form of country guides, thematic guides, information on peace agreements, a database of researchers and recent publications, and its Information Bank.
• Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining
  Includes a wealth of information on demining and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and Their Destruction.
• International Campaign to Ban Landmines
  This is the primary site on the Mine Ban Treaty.
• NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security
  Includes key NGO and UN documents, such as resolutions and voting records on disarmament in the General Assembly.
• Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
  SIPRI is a reliable source of information on arms transfers and production, military expenditures, military technology, chemical and biological weapons, and European security.

Statistics

• SIPRI Military Expenditure Database
  Provides military expenditures by country in local currency, in constant U.S. dollars, and as a percentage of GDP.

Databases

• FIRST: Facts on International Relations and Security Trends
  This database provides national information on conflicts, the defense industry, military expenditures, armed forces, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction.

Annual Reports

• Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor
  Monitors the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty and international efforts to ameliorate the landmine crisis.

Legal Sources

• Status of Multilateral Arms Regulation and Disarmament Agreements
  Provides the full text of each agreement and lists the countries that have signed and/or ratified it in alphabetical and chronological order.

Directories

• War, Peace and Security World Wide Web Server
  This is the preeminent directory of official servers of the world’s national armed forces.

 

Children

Organizations

• Human Rights Watch, Children’s Rights
  Includes international and regional conventions and news.
• United Nations Children’s Fund
  Includes the children’s NewsLine, documentation related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, annual reports, and information on research and evaluation activities.
• United Nations Children’s Fund Innocenti Research Centre
  Includes dozens of first-rate studies in many disciplines on children. Many of these are full-text.
• United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child 
  The CRC monitors compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Documents related to the Committee’s activities are accessible through theTreaty Bodies Database.
• United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict  Provides access to a wide range of documentation and many pertinent links.

Statistics

• The Progress of Nations  This visually stunning source from UNICEF, which ceased publication in 2000, ranks the nations of the world by their achievements in child health, nutrition, education, family planning, and progress for women.
  • 1995
  • 1996
  • 1997
  • 1998
  • 1999
  • 2000
• State of the World’s Children  
  Addresses the social, economic, and political developments impacting children. Statistical data on health, nutrition, and education are provided for all countries.
• Statistical Data from UNICEF
  Provides national data on infant and maternal mortality, vaccinations, oral rehydration, malnutrition, breastfeeding, school enrollment, and adult literacy.

 

Economic Development

Organizations

• Institute of Development Studies
  Hosts the Eldis database, which provides access to 100,000 Web pages and 10,000 full-text studies.
• International Fund for Agricultural Development
  Focuses on the programs and projects of IFAD, which works to eliminate rural hunger and poverty in developing countries.
• International Monetary Fund
  The strength of the IMF site is its full-text studies and reports, thousands of which are organized by country on its Country Information page. This is not an outstanding source of statistics.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
  Provides hundreds of free online publications on topics in economic and social development, in addition to more than 4,000 that can be purchased. This site also presents a broad assortment of statistics.
• United Nations Division for Sustainable Development
  Under National Information, the DSD brings together broad and detailed social, economic, institutional, and environmental data.
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  The most useful aspects of this site are its project pages.
• UN Women
  Includes news and studies related to women’s rights, women’s economic empowerment, and increasing women’s role in the decision-making processes affecting their lives.
• United Nations Development Program
  Although this site includes hundreds of full-text reports and studies, its strength is its descriptions of UNDP programs. It is not an exceptional statistical source.
• United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
  This site, which is for the most part arranged by development issue, provides links to excellent regional sites on information technology, gender, governance, and regional integration.
• United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
  Provides full-text reports, studies, journals, and statistics on economic and social development, with special emphasis given to population, women, the environment, natural resources, commerce, industry, tourism, and infrastructure improvement.
• United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
  This is the UN’s main source of studies and statistics on economic and social development in Europe and the Former Soviet Republics.
• United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
  ECLAC is the leading source of economic analysis for Latin America and the Caribbean. The site includes many full-text studies.
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  This site, from the leading industrial development organization, is useful but not outstanding. It contains online publications and UNIDO project descriptions.
• World Bank
  This is one of the most extensive sources of development-related statistics and full-text studies on the Internet.
• World Bank Institute
  This site is most notable for its Topics in Development, which lead users to links organized by subject.
• World Institute for Development Economics Research
  Includes the World Income Inequality Database and hundreds of outstanding full-text publications.

Regional Development Banks

• African Development Bank Group
  Focuses almost entirely on the ADBG.
• Asian Development Bank
  Offers statistics, online publications, and program information for developing countries in Asia and the Pacific.
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  The most valuable aspect of this site for research is its Country Investment Profiles, which cover Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics.
• Inter-American Development Bank
  Focuses on IADB projects.

Statistics

• CHASS Data Centre
  Includes databases from many IGOs and Canadian governmental sources.  Focuses on economic and financial data.
• Country Information Sheets on Health, Nutrition, Population, and Poverty
  Provide statistics concerning intra-country differences between rich and poor as measured by HNP service and use.
• Exchange Rates for Selected Currencies
  Find today’s exchange rates to the eighth decimal point.
• Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific
• OECD Statistics
  Provides a broad array of social, economic, and environmental statistics. Some data is limited to OECD member nations.
• Penn World Tables: An Expanded Set of International Comparisons
  One of the richest sources of international statistics on the Internet, the Penn World Tables cover 152 countries and 29 broad subject areas.
• World Bank Poverty Data
  Includes income/consumption surveys, data from World Bank poverty assessments, and social indicator tables.
• Social Indicators
  Includes data on population, youth and the elderly, housing, water supply and sanitation, health, childbearing, education, literacy, income, and unemployment from the UN Statistics Division.
• Statistics and Quantitative Analysis Unit, Inter-American Development Bank
  Includes web-based databases and statistics for the Americas.
• World Economic Outlook Database
  Presents several types of GDP data and statistics on inflation.
• World Income Inequality Database
  Collects and stores information on income inequality for developed, developing, and transition countries.

Databases

• AccessUNDP
  Indexes project reports of the United Nations Development Programme issued between 1972 and 1998. Reports for 1989 onward may be found in the Government Documents Library under the call number MFICHE338.91Un4.  UIUC users only .
• Eldis: The Gateway to Development Information
  Provides access to 10,000 full-text documents and 100,000 selected Web pages.

Annual Reports

• Asian Development Outlook
  Surveys economic developments in the developing economies of the Asian and Pacific region.
• Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific
  Assesses the economic and financial state of Asian and Pacific economies. Some tables are found only in the print version of this publication.
• Global Development Finance
  Tracks the annual movement of international capital flows to developing countries, and discusses selected analytical and policy issues in international finance.
• Human Development Report
  Analyzes the role of a broad range of socioeconomic variables in fostering human well-being.  The human development indicators at the end of the report quantify these variables for every country.
• Overcoming Human Poverty: UNDP Poverty Report
  Analyzes the structural causes of poverty and proposes solutions.
• World Development Report
  Each annual volume of this World Bank publication evaluates policy options for promoting economic development.
• World Economic Outlook
  Reviews global economic developments and provides an extensive statistical appendix.

Glossaries

• OECD Development Assistance Committee Glossary
  Defines terms used in OECD documentation.

Directories

• Directory of Economic, Commodity, and Development Organizations
  Includes regional economic organizations and intergovernmental commodity and development organizations.

 

Environment

Organizations

UN Bodies

• GIWA: Global International Waters Assessment
  GIWA will assess the ecological status of all international waters.
• Global Environment Facility
  The GEF finances projects related to biodiversity loss, climate change, degradation of international waters, and ozone depletion. These projects are the focal point of the site.
• Global Fire Monitoring Centre 
  Serves as a portal to current and archived information, including statistics, reports, and programs.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  The IPCC assesses research related to global warming, and its reports have a wide audience. Few of their publications are available via this or any other site.
• OzonAction Programme
  Serves as a gateway to UN documents pertaining to ozone layer depletion.
• United Nations Environment Programme, Geneva
  The sole function of this site is to provide links to the UNEP programs and secretariats located in Geneva.
• United Nations Environmental Programme
  The site of the UN’s chief environmental program. It consists of information on the organization’s activities and environmental law.

UN Convention Secretariats

• Ozone Secretariat 
• Secretariat of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
• Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity  
• Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
• Secretariat of the Convention on Migrating Species
• Secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification  
• Secretariat of the Regional Seas Conventions
• Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention on Trade in Hazardous Chemicals
• Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 

Other Organizations

• World Bank Environment Page
  Provides information on a wide range of environmental topics.
• World Meteorological Organization
  The WMO issues statistics and maps on ozone depletion, and the WMO Library provides links to environmental issues.

Statistics

• GRID: Global Resource Information Database
  Provides a wide range of environmental, ecological, and geographical data sets. Those that cannot be downloaded directly are described in detail and may be requested.

Indexes

• ELDIS: The Gateway to Development Information
  Indexes 10,000 documents and organizations, many of which focus on the environment.
• UNEP Site Locator
  Provides access to the more than sixty UNEP sites.

Annual and Biennial Reports

• Global Environment Outlook
  Assesses and makes policy recommendations for environmental threats.
• State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA)
  Identifies and discusses major issues in the fishing sector.
• World Resources Institute
  Assesses the state of the environment and proposes environmental policies.

Seminal Reports

• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
  Undertakes a new way of assessing the state of the Earth’s ecosystems.
• Reefs at Risk: A Map-based Indicator of Threats to the World’s Coral Reefs

Legal Sources

• Environmental Legal Instruments
  Includes the full text of international legal conventions, as well as information on promoting and implementing them.
• Handbook for the International Treaties for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, 5th ed.
  This is a basic tool for understanding the Montreal Protocol.

Glossaries

• Climate Change: A Glossary by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change 

Directories

• Ministries of the Environment
  Includes ministries of the environment and the environmental protection agencies of many national governments.

 

Health

Organizations

• Family Health International
  More than 1,500 full-text publications on family planning, reproductive health, gender issues, and sexually transmitted diseases (particularly HIV/AIDS) can be accessed on this site.
• International Agency for Research on Cancer
  The strength of this site lies primarily in its statistical databases, which pertain primarily to Europe but also to non-European nations.
• Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
  This is a rich source of scholarly information on every facet of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Full-text publications are arranged by subject.
• World Health Organization
  This is the preeminent online source of information on international health issues.

Statistics

• Cancer Mondial  
  CANM brings together several key statistical databases on cancer. While the emphasis is on Europe, some of the databases cover other regions as well.
• CIHI Country Health Profiles
  Consists of Health Statistics Reports, which present basic national-level demographic and health data for most developing countries.
• Health for All Statistical Database (HFA-DB) 
  Contains data on key international health statistics for the World Health Organization’s European Region.
• Reproductive Health Indicators
  This bibliographic and statistical database is an indispensable source of information on abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, and related topics in Asia and the Pacific.
• Tobacco Free Initiative
  This site addresses the tobacco pandemic from many angles, supporting its positions with both popular and scholarly material.
• WHO Statistical Information System
  WHOSIS is the World Health Organization’s most extensive statistical database.

Databases

• Directory of On-going Research in Cancer Prevention
  This database contains abstracts of current work in primary prevention, chemoprevention, early detection, and screening. Completed and published studies are not included.

Indexes

• Health Reform Online
  The World Bank hails this as “the Web’s most comprehensive index of health reform resources.”

Annual Reports

• World Health Report
  This is the principal statistical compendium on world health. The complete text is available for only 1999 and 2000 (excerpts are provided for earlier editions).

Legal Sources

• International Digest of Health Legislation
  This database contains national and international health legislation. Texts are summarized or cited by title. Links to full-text legislation are provided when possible.

Glossaries

• Glossary of AIDS-Related Terminology
  Facilitates the translation of English-language terms related to AIDS into French, Russian, and Spanish.

Directories

• Directory of NGOs in Official Relations with WHO
  Provides links to nearly two hundred NGO Internet sites.
• National Health-Related Websites 
  Provides links to national health ministries and statistical agencies.

 

Human Rights

Organizations and Bodies

Human Rights Treaty Bodies

Each of the following UN committees monitors compliance with one or two major human rights conventions. The documents of each committee are available on the Treaty Body Database.

• Committee against Torture
• Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
• Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• Committee on the Rights of the Child
• Human Rights Committee

Charter-based Bodies

The Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights publish some of the most authoritative country reports found on the Internet. The documents of these two bodies–as well as human rights documents issued by the General Assembly, the ECOSOC, and the Security Council–are available on the Charter-based Bodies Database.

• Commission on Human Rights
• Economic and Social Council
• General Assembly
• Security Council
• Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

Related Bodies

• Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
  Supports the work of the Commission on Human Rights, the Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, and the Treaty Bodies.

Human Rights Courts and Tribunals

• European Court of Human Rights
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights
• International Criminal Court
• International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
• European Court of Human Rights
  Includes full-text case law, judgments and decisions, and other documentation for cases brought before the Court. Search these documents by using the HUDOC database.

NGOs

• Amnesty International (UK)
  AI’s authoritative reports on countries and major human rights issues, as well as links to Web sites in nineteen categories, can be accessed through itsLibrary.
• Human Rights Internet
  Serves the information needs of scholars and human rights advocates through its extensive Documentation Centre.
• Human Rights Watch
  Includes authoritative reports on a wide range of human rights issues.

Databases

• Charter-based Bodies Database
  Includes human rights documents issued by the UN’s major bodies, the UN Human Rights Commission, and the Commission’s Sub-commission.
• Inter-American Human Rights Database
  Contains documents on cases brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
• United Nations Treaty Collection
  This online database provides the most detailed information on the status of major multilateral instruments deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and covers a range of subject matter such as Human Rights, Disarmament, Commodities, Refugees, the Environment and the Law of the Sea.

Annual Reports

• Annual Report of Amnesty International
  Gives a snapshot of the human rights situation in every country.
• Annual Report of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  Records human rights violations committed against human rights advocates by country.
• European Union Annual Report on Human Rights
  Describes the EU’s development in the field of human rights and explains the goals, methods, and activities of EU human rights bodies.
• For the Record: The European Human Rights System  and The United Nations Human Rights System Archive
    For the European Human Rights System, the first edition provides an introduction to Council of Europe human rights bodies and legal instruments and reviews human rights developments within the organization. For the United Nations Human Rights System, each edition analyzes UN human rights documents on every country during the preceding year.
• Human Rights Internet Annual Reports
  Discusses programs and work with other organizations.
• Human Rights Watch World Report
  Assesses the human rights situation in every country.

Guides

• INCORE Guide to Internet Sources on Truth and Reconciliation
  Consists of links to scholarly articles, international organizations, academic programs and institutes, news sources, and listservs.
• United Nations Documentation Research Guide: Human Rights
  Describes UN human rights bodies and documentation.

Documentation

• Amnesty International Library
  Provides full-text reports on regions, sub-regions, countries, and current human rights issues.
• DIANA International Human Rights Database
  Designed as an archive of international human rights documentation.
• Inter-American Human Rights System
  Includes documentation from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.
• University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
  Includes conventions, research guides, bibliographies, and links to over 2,400 other human rights sites.

Bibliographies

• Women’s Human Rights Resources
  Provides annotated bibliographies on more than thirty issues in women’s international human rights law. Each bibliography includes scholarly articles, conventions, UN and NGO reports, case law, and legislation, with links to full-text when possible.

 

Humanitarian Aid

Primary Sites

• ReliefWeb
  ReliefWeb is the premier online source of information on natural disasters and complex emergencies. It includes maps, country updates, and more than 50,000 documents and archives.

Organizations and Bodies

• International Committee of the Red Cross
  The ICRC is an important source of news on humanitarian crises. The site also provides succinct analysis of issues in humanitarian law.
• International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  The IFRC is among the world’s most active NGOs in the areas of disaster response and preparedness and is a leading source of news in this area.
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  The site’s chief information source is REFWORLD, a collection of full-text databases described as “the most comprehensive and reliable refugee information resource available.”
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
  This site, which for the most part consists of ReliefWeb, includes information on OCHA as well.
• United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East 
  Describes UNRWA’s activities in education, health care, relief, and social services.
• World Health Organization, Humanitarian Health Action
  Provides health-related information pertaining to specific countries and emergency situations, as well as articles and documents on public health topics.
• World Food Programme
  Describes the work of the organization.

Statistics

• OECD Development Assistance Committee Statistics
  DAC statistics measure the flow of aid and other financial resources to aid recipients.
• WFP in Statistics
  Represents official statistical information on World Food Programme activities, including data on expenditures, food shipments, resources, transport and staff.

Annual Reports

• World Disasters Report
  From the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, this report assesses humanitarian crises and the response of the international community.

Directories

• Directory of Humanitarian Organizations
  Includes IGOs, NGOs, national governmental agencies, academic and research institutions, and news sources.

 

Labor

Organizations

• International Labour Organization
  This site’s most outstanding elements are its legislative and statistical databases, which are listed below.

Statistics

• ILOSTAT
  This new ILO database of labour statistics provides annual and infra-annual labour market statistics for over 100 indicators and 230 countries, areas and territories.
• LABORSTA
  This database provides statistics on employment, wages, job-related injuries, and strikes and lockouts for all countries. As of 2008, ILO International Labour Migration Database was integrated into LABORSTA.

Databases

• LABORDOC
  Labordoc, the ILO Library’s database, contains references and full text access to the world’s literature on the world of work.

Legal Sources

• EPLex
  Employment Protection Legislation database provides information on all the key topics that are regularly examined in national and comparative studies on employment termination legislation. The information is broken down to cover more than 50 variables, and will be updated annually to facilitate analysis of impacts and trends over time.
• NATLEX
  Contains information on national labor laws, social security, and workers’ rights.
• NORMLEX
  NORMLEX is a new information system which brings together information on International Labour Standards (such as ratification information, reporting requirements, comments of the ILO’s supervisory bodies, etc.) as well as national labour and social security laws. It includes the NATLEX database as well as the information which was previously contained in the former APPLIS, ILOLEX and Libsynd databases.
• TRAVAIL
  The TRAVAIL Database of Conditions of Work and Employment Laws provides a picture of the regulatory environment of working time, minimum wages and maternity protection in more than 100 countries around the world. It contains comprehensive legal information, which allows you to conduct customized research on a specific country, to compare the legislation of several countries or regions on a particular subject or to perform searches by text.

Glossaries

• Glossary of Labour Law and Industrial Relations (with Special Reference to the European Union)

  Provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of the development and current status of labour law and industrial relations issues, including globalization and international labour standards. Published 2005.

• Occupational Safety and Health Glossary

  The glossary is aimed at translators, interpreters and safety and health practitioners who need to read or write professional literature in more than one language.

Directories

• Ministries of Labor 
  Provides links to ministries of labor and an analysis of current developments and trends in ministries of labour all around the world.

International Law

Organizations

• Inter-American Juridical Committee
• United Nations. Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea
• United Nations. General Assembly. Sixth Committee
• United Nations. International Law Commission
• United Nations. Office of Legal Affairs. Codification Division.
• United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
• World Intellectual Property Organization
• World Trade Organization

Courts and Tribunals

• Court of Justice of the European Communities
• European Court of Human Rights
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights
• International Court of Justice
• International Criminal Court
• International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
• International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
• United Nations Dispute Tribunal

Treaties

• Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy
  Provides the full text of international agreements from the 18th century to the present.
• Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators (ENTRI)
• Inter-American Legal System: A Comparison of the Inter-American Treaties, 1947-1999
• International Human Rights Instruments
• International Trade Instruments, Treaties, Conventions, Model Laws: A Reverse Chronological List
• List of Conventions, Declarations, and Other Instruments Contained in General Assembly Resolutions.
  Includes documents issued from 1946 to the present.
• Peace Treaties 1989-1999
  This is a comprehensive list of peace agreements by region, sub-region and country.
• Political Database of the Americas
• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
• Text of Inter-American Treaties Approved within the Framework of the Organization of American States
• United Nations Treaty Database
  Full-text multilateral treaties deposited with the UN Secretary-General and the League of Nations.

Indexes

• Trade Law Library: Internet Sites for Commerce, Finance and Economics

Bibliographies and Guides

• United Nations Documentation Research Guide: International Law
• United Nations Documentation Research Guide: Treaties

Other Sites

• Lex Mercatoria

 

Migrants and Refugees

Organizations

• Migration Policy Group
  A non-profit European organization focused on equality and mobility, this site’s sections include on migration, anti-discrimination, and integration.
• Inter-Governmental Consultations on Asylum, Refugee, and Migration Policies in Europe, North America and Australia
  Provides asylum data from member nations.
• International Organization for Migration
  Through Migration Web, the IOM brings together UN reports and resolutions, the CIS Migration Legislation Database, a searchable database of migration-related Internet sites, and information on related journals, listservs, and study programs.
• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  The site’s chief information source is REFWORLD, a collection of full-text databases described as “the most comprehensive and reliable refugee information resource available.”

Statistics

• Asylum data
  Covers Australia, Canada, the United States, and many Western European countries for 1992 to the present.
• LABORSTA
  ILO International Labour Migration Database has been integrated in LABORSTA.On the LABORSTA welcome page please click on “Statistics” in the left menu; choose the “By topic” option; and from the “Other indicators” section select “International Labour Migration Statistics”. Provides data on citizenship, employment, immigrant laborers, and nationals working abroad.

Guides

• INCORE Guide to Internet Sources on Refugees
  Consists of links to news sources, journals and articles, academic institutions, and international organizations.

 

Population

Organizations

• Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre
  The CELADE site includes full-text, scholarly studies and reports, most of which are in Spanish only.
• United Nations Population Division
  Provides several key documents in HTML and PDF format.
• United Nations Population Fund
  The UNFPA site is a rich source of statistics and studies on many facets of population.
• United Nations Population Information Network
  POPIN is one of the best sources of regional and topical research in the field.

Statistics

• Revision of the World Population Estimates and Projections
  These estimates and projections provide the standard set of population figures that are used throughout the United Nations system.
• FAOSTAT
  Search the POPULATION domain to find current data and projections.
• Population Data Sheet: Population and Development Indicators for Asia and the Pacific
  Includes demographic and social indicators by region, sub-region, and country.
• State of World Population Indicators
  Find data for more than forty demographic and socioeconomic variables by region, subregion, and country.
• World Population Trends
  Provides data on fertility, mortality, family planning, population policies, and world population estimates and projections.

Databases

• POPIN Electronic Library 
  Includes bibliographies and bibliographic databases, country and regional profiles, statistical sources, directories, and other resources.
• Reproductive Health Indicators
  This bibliographic and statistical database is an indispensable source of information on abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, and related topics in Asia and the Pacific.

Annual Publications

• State of Food Insecurity in the World
  SOFI provides detailed data on the number of people facing hunger by region and looks at a broad range of factors that contribute to food insecurity.
• The State of World Population
  Each volume highlights critical population issues, such as the growth of young and old generations, reproductive rights, reproductive health, and urbanization.

Legal Sources

• Annual Review of Population Law
  This database contains official government documents on population policies, reproductive health, women’s rights, and related topics from every nation.
• Population and Family Planning: Laws, Policies and Regulations
  Covers China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• World Abortion Policies
  Consists of tables covering abortion laws, abortion rates, maternal mortality ratios, fertility rates, and contraceptive data for all countries.

Guides

• INCORE Guide to Internet Sources on Mixed Marriages
  Consists of links to news sources, scholarly articles, NGOs, and statistics.

Glossaries

• Dictionary of Demographic and Reproductive Health Terminology
  Provides the French and Spanish equivalents of English-language terms.
• Glossary of Population Terms
  Includes definitions for English, French, and Spanish-language terms.

Directories

• Demographic, Population and Family Planning World Wide Web Sites
  Organized by region, this resource includes IGO regional and country offices, NGOs, government agencies, and academic institutions.

 

Trade

Organizations

• Federation of International Trade Associations
  Contains databases of organizations, associations, and other bodies supporting exporters and importers in North America.
• International Trade Centre
  Includes an international trade web index, statistical databases, and several types of international trade directories.
• United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business
  UN/CEFACT seeks the facilitation of commercial transactions through the simplification and harmonization of procedures and information flows.
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  The most useful aspects of the UNCTAD site are its project sub-sites.
• World Customs Organization
  Includes full-text documents on major issues in customs (e.g., electronic commerce and customs IT), the full text of customs conventions, and a tutorial on the Harmonized System,
• World Trade Organization
  Consists primarily of WTO legal texts and related documentation.

Statistics

• AMAD: Agricultural Market Access Database
  Includes tariff rates, exchange rates, import statistics, world reference prices, and other data.

Databases

• UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade)
  Identifies the reported market share of 120 to 140 countries or areas by commodity and trading partner.
• UNCTAD-TRAINS: Trade Analysis and Information System
  Provides the six-digit codes for trade control measures (e.g., tariff) and import flows.

Search Engines

• Index to Trade Information Sources on the Internet
  Facilitates access to selected Web sites containing statistics, full-text publications, legal and technical information, and directories.

Indexes

• Web Resources for International Trade
  Described as “the most comprehensive database of International Trade Web Resources on the Internet,” the site provides more than 3000 links to import/export sites.

Legal Sources

• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
  Includes information on CITES as well as databases on endangered species.
• SICE: Foreign Trade Information System
  Perhaps the most complete source of information on international trade in the Americas.

Directories

• FITA Directory of Export Management Companies
  This database, which FITA claims is the only directory of its type on the Internet, provides access to information on EMCs in the U.S.
• FITA Membership Directory: International Trade Associations in North America
  Includes more than 350 independent associations in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
• Links to Trade Facilitation and E-Business Web Sites
  Includes E-business sites, IGOs, NGOs, trade and transport services, and research centers.

 

Women

Main Sites

• Family Health International
  More than 1,500 full-text publications on family planning, reproductive health, gender issues, and sexually transmitted diseases (particularly HIV/AIDS) can be accessed on this site.
• Human Rights Watch, Women’s Rights Division
  This is a good source of current information, including in-depth, full-text reports.
• Portal on Women, Peace, & Security
  This UNIFEM product offers comprehensive information on the dangers and responsibilities facing women and girls during armed conflicts and women’s roles in peace building
• United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
  The CSW’s activities revolve around the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Links to hundreds of full-text documents related to this endeavor are provided for each of the Commission’s annual sessions.
• United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
  CEDAW monitors the compliance of governments with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Access CEDAW documents through the Treaty Bodies Database.
• United Nations Development Fund for Women
  Includes news and studies related to women’s rights, women’s economic empowerment, and increasing women’s role in the decision-making processes affecting their lives.
• United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women
  The DAW is a good source of information on the Fourth World Conference on Women and an excellent source of full-text documents on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and its implementation.
• Women’s Human Rights Resources
  Provides annotated bibliographies on more than thirty issues in women’s international human rights law. Each bibliography includes scholarly articles, conventions, UN and NGO reports, case law, and legislation. Links to full text are given when possible.
• WomenWatch: The UN Gateway on the Advancement and Empowerment of Women
  Includes a broad range of documentation from United Nations bodies and conferences related to women’s well-being.

Statistics

• Gender Statistics Publications-UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
  List of publications from the UN Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean
• The Progress of Nations  Ranks the nations of the world according to their achievements in child health, nutrition, education, family planning, and progress for women.
  • 1995
  • 1996
  • 1997
  • 1998
  • 1999
  • 2000
• Reproductive Health Indicators
  This bibliographic and statistical database is an indispensable source of information on abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, and related topics in Asia and the Pacific.
• Statistical Data from UNICEF
  Provides national data on infant and maternal mortality, vaccinations, oral rehydration, malnutrition, breastfeeding, school enrollment, and adult literacy.
• Statistics on Women in Asia and the Pacific
  This indispensable source has sections on population, the family, health, education, labor, and women in politics.

 

Directories

• Directory of National Organizations Dealing with Programmes and Policies on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean
  Provides data on official governmental bodies and programs for the advancement of women and gender equity.