International human rights is becoming more important as communication becomes increasingly widespread.

1. The Most Notable Human Rights
Organizations Worldwide

3. With a total of 3 million people involved through
volunteerism and activism, Amnesty International is active in
over 150 countries, and the American arm will celebrate its
50th anniversary next year. The organization deliberately
keeps itself separate from any government or corporate
agenda. They aim to bring human rights to every person in
the world regardless of race, religion, gender, or ethnicity. To
achieve this end Amnesty International engages in lobbying,
education and often works to free prisoners of conscience.

5. Human Rights Watch was originally named Helsinki Watch when it
was founded in 1978 to ensure the Soviet Union complied with the
Helsinki Accords. Their strategy of covering human rights violations
in the media was effective and helped transform the Soviet Union.
There were other "Watch" organizations that adopted similar
strategies and goals in other regions. These organizations which
were monitoring The Middle East, Africa, and Asia came together in
1988 to form Human Rights Watch. They monitor and condemn a
wide variety of human rights abuses including torture, corruption
and the use of children in the military.

6. The International Labour Organization (ILO)

7. The vast majority of UN member countries are a part of the ILO. The
organization works to protect basic worker rights and improve security
and fair pay, and prevent inhumane employment practices. To do this the
ILO includes governments, employers and employees in its governing
structure. Their main focuses are on ending forced labor and child labor
and have made great strides with each.

8. Human Rights First

9. Formerly known as Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights,
Human Rights First was founded in 1978 and is based in New
York and Washington D.C. The organization seeks to protect
refugees around the world and believe human rights are for
everyone. Human Rights First often works to fight human
rights violations within the United States and pushes the
government to intervene abroad when it finds human rights
violations. The organization itself admits that true change has to
come from within a country and outside influence can only do
so much.

11. The United Nations Foundation addresses a wide variety of human rights
related causes including climate change, energy, technology, and
women's rights. Started in 1998, the foundation received a generous
donation of $1 billion dollars from Ted Turner. The organization works
closely with the UN and is the UN's largest source of funding from
private sources.

12. United Nation’s Children’s
Fund (UNICEF)

13. A well known human rights organization, UNICEF works in
developing countries to provide assistance to children and mothers. It
was started in 1946 to provide humanitarian assistance to the
countries that were destroyed during World War II. UNICEF is one of
the most well funded human rights organizations and accepts
contributions from both private donors and governments. UNICEF
works with over 200 countries to give assistance in the form of
medicines, shelter, educational supplies and more. In 2006, FC
Barcelona became the first sports team to support an organization as
opposed to being sponsored by an organization when they agreed to
show the UNICEF logo on their jerseys and provide donations
annually.

14. World Health Organization (WHO)

15. The World Health Organization is an agency of the United Nations that
focuses exclusively on health issues throughout the world. WHO came
into the spotlight recently with their work in Africa fighting the spread of
ebola. WHO helps educate people on both communicable diseases like
HIV and non-communicable disease like malnutrition. They were an
integral part of the eradication of small pox.