Organizations

International and national governmental and non-governmental organizations operate across Latin America and work on a variety of issues. These organization provide useful information on policy and contemporary concerns.

The following sources provide links to organizations that work on:  (1) multiple issues; (2) politics and democracy; (3) states & the law; (4) development & the environment; (5) gender; and (6) race & ethnicity.

Organizations Working on Multiple Issues
Organizations Working on Politics & Democracy
Organizations Working on the State & the Law
    • Amnesty International
      • A UK-based international non-governmental organization focused on human rights
    • Comisión Andina de Juristas
      • A private international organization that seeks to strengthen the rule of law in Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela
    • CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists)
      • A US-based, nongovernmental organization that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists
    • Cristosal
      • A nonprofit organization that promotes the defense and guarantee of human rights in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
    • Due Process of Law Foundation
      • Regional organization promoting rule of law in Latin America. It includes reports on judicial independence, human rights and indigenous peoples.
    • Equipo Nizkor
      • A human rights nongovernmental organization that focuses on Latin America
    • Human Rights Watch
      • A US-based, nongovernmental international organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights
    • IAD (Inter-American Dialogue)
      • A US-based think tank in the field of international affairs primarily related to the Western Hemisphere; one of its areas of work is the rule of law.
    • International Crisis Group
      • A Brussels-based transnational nongovernmental organization that works to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world
    • Justice Studies Center of the America (CEJA)
      • An international agency of the Inter-American system that supports justice system reform and modernization processes in the Americas
    • The OAS’s Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
      • The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS) that promotes and protects human rights in the Americas
    • The OAS’s Inter-American Court of Human Rights
      • The Inter-American Court is a regional human rights tribunal that interprets and applies the American Convention on Human Rights
    • Open Government Partnership (OGP)
      • Multilateral initiative to promote open government, empower citizens, and fight corruption; it covers Latin America and the rest of the world.
    • Reporters Without Borders
      • An international non-profit organization that promotes freedom of information
    • TI (Transparency International)
      • An international nongovernmental organization working to combat corruption and promote transparency through advocacy, research and exposing networks and systems of corruption
    • UN Human Rights Committee
      • A UN body of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by member states
    • WOLA (Washington Office on Latin America)
      • A research and advocacy organization working to advance human rights in the Americas
Organizations Working on Development & the Environment
development
environment
Organizations Working on Gender
    • Center for Reproductive Rights
      • A global legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing women’s reproductive health, self-determination, and dignity as basic human rights
    • CLADEM (The Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights)
      • A feminist network that works to contribute to the full validity of women’s rights in Latin America and the Caribbean, using the law as a tool for change
    • ILGA
      • ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, is an organization committed to the human rights of all people, regardless of gender identity, sex characteristics and expression
    • MADRE
      • MADRE is an international women’s rights organization and feminist fund, which provides grantmaking, organizational strengthening and legal advocacy for women in crisis including war and disaster
    • The OAS’s Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM)
      • The Inter-American Commission of Women is an inter-governmental agency established to ensure the recognition of women’s human rights. It is a hemispheric political forum for women’s rights and gender equality.
    • Pro Mujer 
      • Pro Mujer is a nonprofit development organization that provides financial inclusion, health and educational programs to low-income women in Latin America. It currently operates in Mexico, Nicaragua, Argentina, Boliva and Peru.
    • UN ECLAC’s Division for Gender Affairs
      • The Division for Gender Affairs, of the UN ECLAC (United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), works on gender mainstreaming in development work in Latin America and the Caribbean
    • UN Women
      • A global organization for gender equality, that works to develop and uphold standards for the empowerment and equal treatment of women and girls
Mexico
      • Fondo Semillas
        • A nonprofit feminist organization working to improve the lives of women and trans peoples in Mexico. Their work includes organizational support to other groups through grantmaking, the promotion of the feminist agenda, and the mobilization of institutional, corporate and individual donors from Mexico and abroad.
Brazil
      • GELEDÉS Instituto da Mulher Negra
        • A civil society organization operating for over 30 years, GELEDÉS works to promote to the human rights of Black women and girls in Brazil through tackling gender and racial discrimination
Chile
      • Fondo Alquimia
        • Fondo Alquimia is a nonprofit organization that works to mobilize resources across Chile to support gender equality and feminist human rights. The organization has facilitated grants to grassroots organizations directly supporting the rights of women and transgender people across the country.
Organizations Working on Race & Ethnicity
Mexico
honduras
Panamá
argentina
Brazil
chile
colombia
ecuador
University of Southern California