Oxford LibGuides: People on the move: legal &amp; HR responses: UN & International Red Cross

Roles of United Nations and the International Red Cross

Formally known as the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, it is now more commonly referred to as the UN Refugee Agency

Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law (MPEIL)
Remote access requires Oxford SSO. See in particular entry 'Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for (UNHCR)'
Alternative names: Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) ; Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro)

The Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law combines the fully updated online edition of the Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) (originally published in print between 1991 and 2001) with the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro) which has been published (online only) since September 2019. The peer-reviewed articles in both works are updated and added to monthly.

UNHCR and International Refugee Law by Corinne Lewis
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link.
ISBN: 0415524423
Publication Date: 2012
Print copy at Internat 570 L673.5a if preferred
UNHCR and the Struggle for Accountability : technology, law and results-based management by Kristin Bergtora Sandvik (Editor); Katja Lindskov Jacobsen (Editor)
Call Number: Social Science Library HV640.3.UNH 2016
ISBN: 1138911526
Publication Date: 2016
Note This book is in the Bodleian Social Science Library, in the Manor Road Building behind the Law Library
The Rise and Decline of a Global Security Actor by Anne Hammerstad
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this book online via title link
ISBN: 9780199213085
Publication Date: 2014
Print copies in Social Science Library JZ5588.HAM 2014
UNHCR's Parallel Universe : Marking the contours of a problem by Zieck
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 9789048513321
Publication Date: 2010

Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law (MPEIL)
Remote access requires Oxford SSO. Includes entry International Organization for Migration (IOM) by
Jürgen Bast. There is also entry on predecessor International Refugee Organization (IRO)
Alternative names: Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) ; Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro)

The Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law combines the fully updated online edition of the Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) (originally published in print between 1991 and 2001) with the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro) which has been published (online only) since September 2019. The peer-reviewed articles in both works are updated and added to monthly.

Specific subject searches to try in SOLO

International Organization for Migration
Emigration and immigration law
Emigration and immigration -- Government policy

The International Organization for Migration : challenges, commitments, complexities by Megan Bradley
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this book online via title link
ISBN: 9781138818965
Publication Date: 2020

Open access available to all with access to the internet

IOM Unbound? : obligations and accountability of the International Organization for Migration in an era of expansion by Megan Bradley (Editor); Cathryn Costello (Editor); Angela Sherwood (Editor)
Call Number: Open access title available to download via title link
ISBN: 9781009184182
Publication Date: 2023-06-29
Print copies in BLL Internat 680 B811a and SSL K3275.IOM 2023

Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law (MPEIL)
Remote access requires Oxford SSO. See entry on International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) among others
Alternative names: Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) ; Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro)

The Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law combines the fully updated online edition of the Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) (originally published in print between 1991 and 2001) with the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law (MPEiPro) which has been published (online only) since September 2019. The peer-reviewed articles in both works are updated and added to monthly.

Protecting Civilians in War the ICRC, UNHCR, and their limitations in internal armed conflicts by Miriam Bradley
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via link
ISBN: 0198716389
Publication Date: 2016
Print copy available in the Social Science Library at KZ6515.BRA 2016
International Organisations, Non-State Actors, and the Formation of Customary International Law by Sufyan Droubi (Editor); Jean d'Aspremont (Editor)
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this book online via title link
ISBN: 9781526134158
Publication Date: 2020
Particularly Ch 14 'The International Committee of the Red Cross and custom' by Iris Müller

UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Official website for the UN Refugee Agency
UNHCR Statute
Official website Read online or download pdf
Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
Official website UPR "is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council that calls for each UN Member State to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years. The UPR provides each State the opportunity to regularly:

Report on the actions it has taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to overcome challenges to the enjoyment of human rights; and
Receive recommendations – informed by multi-stakeholder input and pre-session reports – from UN Member States for continuous improvement."
UPR Info : Database
Open Access "UPR Info's Database of UPR recommendations and voluntary pledges allows you to access and search all UPR recommendations and voluntary pledges across several categories: State under Review, Recommending State, Regional Group, Organisation, Response UPR cycle, Thematic Issues, and Type of Action. Some of them are exclusive to this unique database developed by UPR Info."
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"UPR Info is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland. It was established in 2008 and has Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

UPR Info takes its name from the process established on 15 March 2006 by the UN General Assembly resolution 60/251: The Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This unique mechanism consists of a review, carried out by the Human Rights Council (HRC), of the human rights records of all UN Member States.

UPR Info was founded in response to the creation of the UPR to provide information on the mechanism and foster transparency by providing free access to UPR recommendations through our organisation’s database."
OHCHR JURIS Database
Open Access
"The JURIS database is a central repository of the jurisprudence of the United Nations Treaty Bodies (Committees)."
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Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Monitors implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (4 January 1969)
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
Monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (3 January 1976).
Human Rights Committee (CCPR)
Monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (23 March 1976) and its optional protocols.
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979) and its optional protocol (3 September 1981).
Committee against Torture (CAT)
Monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (26 June 1987).
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2 September 1990) and its optional protocols.
Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW)
Monitors implementation of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1 July 2003).
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT)
Established pursuant to the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) (22 June 2006) visits places of detention in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW)
Official website of OHCHR treaty body
Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)
Official website of UN Treaty Body
UN OHCHR Disappearances and executions
Official website. Links to Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)
ICRC: International Committee of the Red Cross
Official website. See links below for useful sections within this large website
ICRC: Migrants, refugees, asylum seekers
Section of official website
ICRC: Library's Research Guides
The ICRC Library produces research guides in order to help researchers access the most relevant and reliable sources on the ICRC and international humanitarian law from its online catalogue, the full text of reference documents such as the annual reports of the ICRC, and much more. Research guides are enriched with links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.

For more on humanitarian law

War, weapons & victims : legal responses
by Elizabeth Wells Last Updated Mar 7, 2025 103 views this year