International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
http://www.icrc.org/

The International Committee for the Red Cross acts to help all victims of war and internal violence, attempting to ensure implementation of humanitarian rules restricting armed violence. This site offers information about ICRC operations around the world, international humanitarian law, and a thematic subject guide including information about: landmines, children and war, women and war, humanitarian action in armed conflicts, etc.

The UNHCR web site offers information about refugee issues worldwide including maps, background information, resources for teachers, and a section entitled REFWORLD, sponsored by the UNHCR Centre for Documentation and Research.

REFWORLD offers a collection of full-text databases representing the most comprehensive and reliable refugee information resource available, drawn from the most current and authoritative sources. REFWORLD builds upon UNHCR's commitment to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information possible and to make it easily accessible worldwide.

There are more than 34 million refugees and internally displaced people worldwide, people uprooted by conflict, oppression or persecution; approximately 80 percent of them are women and children. This site offers reports and links to information about contemporary international refugee issues.

The mission of the United Nations Development Program is to help countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable human development by assisting them to build their capacity to design and carry out development programmes in poverty eradication, employment creation and sustainable livelihoods, the empowerment of women and the protection and regeneration of the environment, giving first priority to poverty eradication.

The UNDP Poverty Home Page offers excellent information and resources related to poverty and development. This site also offers links to other resources and information about the UNDP Poverty Report entitled "Overcoming Human Poverty."

Netaid.org uses the power of the Internet to help end extreme poverty. It changes the way people can connect - and make a difference in each other's lives - all over the world. An excellent resource for information about poverty, human rights, and much more.

ReliefWeb is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA, and offers information concerning contemporary humanitarian efforts around the world. ReliefWeb is a great starting point for general information.

The Doctors Without Borders web site provides information about the work of the agency around the world. This site features special reports on humanitarian challenges worldwide including a list of the "Top Ten Most Under-Reported Humanitarian Disasters. The DWB site also includes up-to-date information concerning the situations in Mozambique, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Chechnya among others.

In this lesson, students assess the mission, accomplishments and global impact of Doctors Without Borders, the medical relief organization awarded the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize. Students analyze newspaper stories of recent work done by the organization in different countries around the world, focusing on why the group was present in each case, the various obstacles that they had to overcome and the difference that their presence made in each country and to the people they helped.

Center for International Education PO Box 413, Garland Hall 102 Milwaukee, WI 53201 Tel: 414-229-4344 Fax: 414-229-3626 cie@uwm.edu Copyright © University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee