About the Center for Human Rights

The University of Washington Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) was established by an initiative of the Washington state legislature in 2009, following a decade of ambitious program-building on all three University of Washington campuses.

Our work is distinguished by UWCHR’s uniquely hands-on research mission, inscribed in the legislation that established our Center. Everything we do is conducted through partnership with organizations on the front lines of global human rights struggles. We place the resources of the university at the service of real-world social change, and we evaluate our success in terms of practical accomplishments for justice.

Our Mission

The University of Washington Center for Human Rights is committed to interdisciplinary excellence in the education of undergraduate and graduate students in the field of human rights; promoting human rights as a core area of faculty and graduate research; and engaging productively with local, regional, national, and international organizations and policymakers to advance respect for human rights.