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Center for Promotion of Human Rights

Mission

The Cato Institute's Center for Promotion of Human Rights seeks to increase the understanding of ideas and policies based on the inalienable human rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It offers a human-rights-based alternative to coercive ideologies worldwide by showing the justice and the practical benefits of personal liberty and limitations on state power. The center complements the Cato Institute's work in the United States by creating, managing, and promoting products and programs in a number of languages and promoting worldwide cooperation among those who understand and value liberty.

Global Freedom Initiative

Promoting human rights

Tom Palmer promoting human rightsThe Center for Promotion of Human Rights works around the globe to promote the ideas and policies of liberty. The Center helps facilitate a worldwide network across disparate countries that advances aspirations for individual liberty, freedom of association, religious freedom, freedom of trade, limited government, the rule of law, and peace. Through the publication and distribution of books, promotion of Internet content, syndication of articles through the press, creative use of new media, organization of teaching seminars and policy conferences, and more, the Center is gaining an international reputation for reliable, up-to-date, and insightful analysis, which is influencing the terms of the debate over public policies around the world. The Center cooperates with the other Centers of the Cato Institute in the Institute's Global Freedom Initiative.

Internet

The Center coordinates a network of eleven major programs and many subsidiary projects working together across linguistic, cultural, and regional contexts to bring the ideas and policies of individual liberty, toleration, free markets, the rule of law, and peace to populations around the world. The various teams publish books, maintain websites that offer a wealth of texts and audio and video presentations, syndicate articles to the print media, and organize seminars for students, conferences for policy makers, and much more. The Center's programs are a major component of the Cato Institute's Global Freedom Initiative. The major programs of the Center are:

ElCato.org (Spanish)
Elcato.orgElcato.org is the oldest of Cato's non-English projects. Established in 1998, it has steadily increased its influence throughout Latin America and the Spanish-speaking world. In addition to the website, ElCato.org produces a blog, LibreMente.org, books, podcasts, public forums, and newspaper and magazine articles in Spanish. ElCato.org also produces an online Spanish interactive map of the Economic Freedom of the World Study.


Cato.ru (Russian)
Cato.ru Cato.ru was founded in the fall of 2005 to provide Russian speakers with an alternative to socialism, mercantilism, and chauvinistic nationalism. Cato.ru publishes books, syndicates articles to the Russian media, sponsors essay contests and summer schools, organizes lectures and public forums, provides an online 'library of freedom,' produces podcasts, and more. In October 2006 the staff of Cato.ru organized a major policy conference on "Freedom, Commerce, and Peace: A Regional Agenda" in Tbilisi for journalists, government ministers, members of parliament, think tank directors and students from countries of the former Soviet bloc and neighboring states. In 2007 Cato.ru also sponsored a summer school in Alushta, Crimea.


Misbahalhurriyya.org (Arabic)
Misbahalhurriyya.org Misbahalhurriyya.org (the "Lamp of Liberty" in Arabic) was established in January 2006 by part-time volunteers. By September of that year the program had a full-time editor, and it now enjoys close relations with Arabic newspapers and institutions as a source of intelligent journalism, and public policy research. Misbahalhurriyya.org also produces a blog, Mudawwanat al Hurriyya, publishes books, syndicates articles to the print media, and organizes conferences in the middle east. Misbahalhurriyya.org also produces an online Arabic interactive map of the Economic Freedom of the World Study.


Cheragheazadi.org (Persian)
Cheragheazadi.org Cheragheazadi.org (the "Lamp of Liberty" in Persian) was launched in December 2007. The program brings ideas to speakers of Persian worldwide. In addition to producing original articles on policy issues in Iran and neighboring countries, Cheragheazadi.org publishes books (Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom is available on the site in Persian, and others will be coming out soon), and is planning seminars and conferences on libertarian ideas for Persian speakers. Cheragheazadi.org will soon produce an online Persian interactive map of the Economic Freedom of the World Study.


Chiraiazadi.org (Kurdish)
Chiraiazadi.org Chiraiazadi.org (the "Lamp of Liberty" in Kurdish) was launched in December 2007. The program brings intelligent journalism through print and multimedia to the Kurdish-speaking regions of the Middle East and to speakers of the Sorani dialect of Kurdish worldwide. Chiraiazadi.org has published Kurdish versions of classic texts, including The Law by Frederic Bastiat. Others, including John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, will be coming out in early 2008. Chiraiazadi.org will soon produce an online Kurdish interactive map of the Economic Freedom of the World Study.


Tiandaocn.org (Chinese)
Tiandaocn.org Tiandaocn.org (Chinese: "Natural Order") was launched in December 2007 and is the flagship program for the Cato Institute's work in China. Tiandaocn.org works with scholars and journalists to promote prosperity and freedom among speakers of Chinese. The website offers texts, including translations of many books and numerous papers and studies written originally in Chinese, as well as video of presentations at Cato and in China (some in English and some in Chinese). Tiandaocn.org is participating with Chinese partners in summer schools and winter schools for scholars and journalists in China and will be publishing books in 2008. Tiandaocn.org will soon produce an online Chinese interactive map of the Economic Freedom of the World Study.


Unmondelibre.org (French)
Unmondelibre.org Unmondelibre.org (French: "One Free World") is the Cato Institute's project for Francophones. It was launched in December 2007 and works with scholars, media, and students in Europe, Africa, Canada, the Caribbean and elsewhere. Unmondelibre.org maintains a library of liberty of books in French, publishes studies and essays, country studies, and book reviews, and arranges podcasts, which will be syndicated to African radio stations. UnMondeLibre.org will publish books (mainly in Francophone Africa) in 2008. A seminar for Francophone students is planned for 2008 in Morocco. Unmondelibre.org produces an online French interactive map of the Economic Freedom of the World Study.


Ordemlivre.org (Portuguese)
Ordemlivre.org Ordemlivre.org (Portuguese: "Free Order") is the Cato Institute's project for Portuguese-speaking populations around the world. Launched in December 2007, Ordemlivre.org has already co-published A Volta do Idiota ("The Return of the Idiot") in Brazil and plans further book publications. OrdemLivre.org writers have published in leading Brazilian papers and the editors are working to syndicate articles to papers in Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, and other Portuguese speaking regions of the world. A policy conference and summer school are planned for 2008 in Brazil. OrdemLivre.org produces an online Portuguese interactive map of the Economic Freedom of the World Study.


Africanliberty.org (English and Swahili)
Africanliberty.org Africanliberty.org is the Cato Institute's African-focused program. It was launched in December of 2007 and provides content in English and Swahili, as well as access to material in French, Portuguese, and Arabic. AfricanLiberty.org brings African voices for liberty to the wider world and works with African media to disseminate policy ideas for a new century of peace, freedom, and prosperity. AfricanLiberty.org also produces audio and video content and will be working in 2008 with African broadcast media, especially radio. In addition, AfricanLiberty.org will publish books in African countries (in English and, in conjunction with UnMondeLibre.org and OrdemLivre.org, in French and Portuguese). The first books planned for 2008 include African editions of the works of Frederic Bastiat, Johan Norberg, and Franklin Cudjoe.


Azadliqciragi.org (Azerbaijani)
Azadliqciragi.org Azadliqciragi.org (the "Lamp of Liberty" in Azerbaijani) is the latest non-English program from the Cato Institute. Launched in March, 2008, Azadliqciragi.org is a joint project of the Cato Institute and the Free Minds Association of Azerbaijan. The project hosts seminars and student essay contests, publishes books, and brings economic and political commentary to Azerbaijani-speakers worldwide — in Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, and elsewhere — through print journalism and multimedia sources. Additionally, Azadliqciragi.org hosts the Economic Freedom of the World study online, together with a growing library of longer policy studies and classic libertarian texts. The project has already produced translations of classic works of liberty and plans to host seminars for speakers of Azerbaijani, Persian, and other languages. The project cooperates closely with Cato's Persian and Russian projects, Cheragheazadi.org and Cato.ru.


WauBebas.org (Malay and English)
WauBebas.org WauBebas.org (the "Kite of Freedom" in Bahasa Melayu/Indonesia) is the latest non-English program from the Cato Institute. Launched in August 2008, WauBebas.org is a joint project of the Cato Institute and the Malaysia Think Tank. It provides a platform for libertarian ideas in the language spoken by hundreds of millions of people from Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and other countries in the region. The first WauBebas.org Freedom Academy was held in Kuala Lumpur in August 2008. Other WauBebas.org projects include the "Libertarian Education Project" (LEAP) and the "Project to Advance Democratic Institutions" (PADI). WauBebas.org syndicates articles on public policy, liberty, and other topics to the popular media, as well as sponsoring high level academic and policy seminars. WauBebas.org also works closely with Cato's Tiandaocn.org project (in Chinese).


Books

Human Rights Books

The Center arranges scholarly translations, and publishes a number of fine non-English editions of important books that make the principles of free markets, individual liberty, limited governments and peace available to new readerships all around the world.

Click here for a list of translated books.

Conferences

Staff