Human Rights Research
Applied research is part of the mandate of the German Institute for Human Rights. International Human Rights Treaties as well as the German Basic Law (“Grundgesetz”) form the starting point of each research. The guiding questions are: To which extend does Germany fulfil its human rights obligations? Does national legislation adequately reflect human rights requirements? Do the German federal and state governments as well as authorities act in accordance with human rights law? To which extend do people in Germany enjoy their rights and are they aware of them? Which measures are needed to improve the implementation of human rights in both law and practice?
Independent – Interdisciplinary – Participatory
The Institute selects its research topics independently. Research is multidisciplinary, applying methodologies and methods from law, social sciences, educational sciences, economics and related disciplines. Using a human rights-based approach to data (UNHCR 2018), researchers are commited to the principles of participation, data disaggregation, self-identification, transparency, privacy, and accountability. Research findings contribute to policy advice, human rights education, advocacy as well as academic debates. The Institute has established Guidelines for Good Scientific Practice, a cross-departmental research coordinator, regular in-house training and interdisciplinary debate. Additionally, the Institute’s Child Protection Guideline regulates research involving children.
Funding
Research at the GIHR is primarily funded by the German parliament (“Bundestag”) through institutional funding. It also obtains research funding from the public sector as well as private foundations.
An overview of projects in the field of human rights research can be found here on the German-language section of the website.
