About IHRLI

Educational Programming and Scholarship – IHRLI serves the educational mission of the College of Law and the larger university through courses, research opportunities, seminars and conferences as well as a new LLM in Rule of Law and Governance. Faculty and staff prepare students for careers in human rights and legal advocacy. IHRLI also manages a variety of research projects and produces articles, books and policy studies.

International Projects – IHRLI is unique among academically based human rights centers in its commitment to designing and implementing international human rights and rule of law projects. IHRLI has received over 80 grants, totaling more than $28 million in support from private foundations, government agencies and international organizations. These grants fund programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Europe. IHRLI projects address a variety of issues including large scale human rights documentation and analysis, transitional justice, capacity building, gender rights, international criminal law and rule of law reform. Currently, IHRLI is undergoing a period of growth, marked by record fundraising with over $10.2 million in new grants in a two-year period from 2008-2009.

Community Outreach – IHRLI supports the University’s commitment to social justice and Vincentian values. IHRLI engages in outreach to the local and regional community while linking DePaul University to national and international partners working on human rights and rule of law issues. The Institute has created innovative connections between faculty, staff, students, activists and community representatives as part of a broad mission to defend and protect fundamental human rights.