Our Lines of Effort
Leveling the UN Playing Field for You
INHR is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to improving access to the United Nations and enhancing the effectiveness of small and mid-sized states and NGOs. We offer strategic advice, training, research, and capacity-building to maximize the impact of your interaction with UN agencies in Geneva and New York and bilateral presence in Brussels and Washington. We are training experts - supporting diplomatic skills for governments and advising on effective use of Artificial Intelligence in the military. Our free virtual intern program for SIDS/LDCs and training for new HRC members are just a phone call away.
Linking International Standards with Field Solutions
Our team of diplomats, lawyers and policy experts provide information and programs that help to make international standards more meaningful by showing how they are implemented in practice. We value improvement of international standards and work to show the meaning of these standards beyond the walls of the United Nations. Our field programs include work with partners in Libya, Myanmar, Afghanistan and China. Another example is our recent study on COVID-19 and human rights. This work also leads us to help implement programs on human rights and development in areas such as atrocity prevention, health and human rights, and humanitarian affairs.
Enhancing Civil Society Effectiveness
NGOs, business and trade groups, and civil society organizations use our representation services to advocate effectively before UN bodies on human rights, health and other issues. We have helped companies understand health impliciations of UN resolutions, shown lawyers how to advocate for accountability, and helped NGOs fund environmentally sustainable supply chains. Our training programs include advocacy, public speaking, donor relations, and specialized training for individual UN agencies, funds and programs. We also offer new training in Responsible AI in the military and risk mitigation. As part of our commitment to a level playing field, we work with civil society organizations from all countries but only represent delegations from small and medium-sized countries.
Latest News From INHR
INHR Profile: Eric Richardson
Eric Richardson, founding President of INHR, has worked around the world as a diplomat and lawyer for the US State Department. He served in and focused on China, North Korea, Libya, Tunisia, New Zealand, Israel and, the UN Human Rights Council. Now Eric teaches at Michigan and UC Berkeley law schools, leading INHR’s Student Legal Advisors program to help smaller delegations and represents various companies and NGOs. Find out more about Eric and his advice to young professionals starting in the humanitarian field!
See more details here.
INHR's Human Rights Council Side Event
On March 24, INHR held a side event at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 'Challenges Faced by Small Delegations and Innovative Solutions'. We had a panel of our Student Legal Advisors and Ambassadors from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Cabo Verde and Republic of the Maldives discuss their experience with our program, a free initiative to help small delegations. Read more about the INHR Virtual Legal Intern Program.
Welcoming our new Senior Technology Advisor, Dr Barry O’Sullivan
INHR is excited to welcome Dr Barry O’Sullivan, who has recently joined us as Senior Technology Adviser. Barry is a PhD in computer science and Professor at University College, Cork (UCC), Ireland. He is founding director of the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at UCC and the SFI Centre for Research Training in AI. Barry served as Vice Chair of the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on AI and is a Fellow and a past President of the European AI Association.
Together with INHR President Prof. Eric Richardson, they have organized the workshop on Artificial Intelligence and Diplomacy during the annual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, on 13 February 2023, in Washington DC . This workshop sponsored by INHR focused on opportunities and challenges of AI in Diplomacy. Experts addressed why the UN may not be the best entity for regulating AI at the international level and how tech experts can support diplomacy with data, crisis management, privacy and other analysis.
For more details, visit http://osullivan.ucc.ie/AIDip2023/ and inhr.org/responsible-ai-standards.
INHR Student Legal Advisors arrive in Geneva
Five of the fifteen student legal advisors from this year's program have recently arrived in Geneva for their internships. After a semester of studies at the University of Michigan and UC Berkeley, they will now be supporting delegations of Marshall Islands, the Maldives, Kazakhstan, Bahamas and the Gambia at the Human Rights Council, contributing to leveling the playing field for SIDS/LDC delegations in the United Nations.
Read more about the INHR Virtual Legal Intern Program and see a dramatization explaining how it works.
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