CIRI Human Rights Data Project

The Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Data Project (http://www.humanrightsdata.org) annually rates the level of government respect for a variety of internationally recognized human rights. The CIRI data set currently contains quantitative indicators of 13 human rights for 195 countries, annually from 1981-2006. The data set is typically updated each fall. The CIRI data are used in over 125 countries by scholars, students, policymakers, and analysts representing over 400 organizations. CIRI's Co-Directors are political scientists Dr. David L. Cingranelli at Binghamton University, SUNY [http://www.binghamton.edu/polsci/people/cingranelli.htm] and Dr. David L. Richards at The University of Memphis [ [http://128.226.6.231/dlrnew/index.html David Richards, Asst. Professor of Political Science, University of Memphis ] ] .

Accessing the Data

The CIRI data are free for not-for-profit users. Once registered, CIRI users can create customized datsets, choosing only the indicators, countries, and years they need; or, they can download the entire data set. As of December 2007, CIRI began using its own numeric country identifier code, but continues to offer others from Polity, COW, and other projects, for the purpose of data merging. The MyCIRI feature allows users to store their datasets on the CIRI server and easily update them when the master CIRI data are updated.

Financial Support

Financial support for the CIRI Data Project has come from the United States' National Science Foundation [Grant Nos. SBR-9730130 (1997-1998), SES-0318273 (2004-2006), SES-0647969 (2007-2010), and SES-0647916 (2007-2010). ] ; The World Bank; GTZ -- an international cooperation enterprise owned by the Government of Germany; Binghamton University, SUNY; The University of Memphis; and the Center on Democratic Performance at Binghamton University, SUNY.

Existing CIRI Human Rights Indicators

Currently, the human rights for which government levels of respect are annually rated by CIRI include (alphabetically):

* Assembly & Association
* Disappearance
* Electoral Self-Determination (formerly Political Participation & Free and Fair Elections)
* Empowerment Rights Index (An additive index summarizing government respect for electoral self-determination, movement, religion, speech, and workers' rights)
* Extrajudicial Killing
* Movement
* Physical Integrity Rights Index (An additive index summarizing government respect for disappearance, extrajudicial killing, political imprisonment, and torture)
* Political Imprisonment
* Religion
* Speech
* Torture
* Women's Economic Rights
* Women's Political Rights
* Women's Social Rights
* Workers' Rights

Forthcoming CIRI Human Rights Indicators

The CIRI Project is currently in year-one of a three-year National Science Foundation funded project to improve existing indicators and add others. Some improvements/additions forthcoming include:

* new Domestic Movement indicator
* new Economic Rights measure
* new Empowerment Rights Index
* new Foreign Movement indicator
* new Judicial Independence indicator
* improved Religion indicator
* improved Women's Social Rights indicator
* new Violence Against Women indicator

Notes