« There will be no Peace on this planet as long as human rights are violated in some part of the world » René Cassin The International Institute of Human Rights is an association under French local law having its seat in Strasbourg, composed of approximately 300 members (individual and collective) worldwide, universities, researchers and practitioners of human rights.

The Institute was founded in 1969 by René Cassin, after having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1968 (at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which he was one of the principal writers), and a group of individuals, following a colloquium on the European Convention of Human Rights held in Strasbourg.

René Cassin (1887-1976) was the first Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights and presided this Court from 1965 to 1968.

The Institute received the UNESCO Prize for human rights teaching in 1994 and its mission was recognized as one for public purposes by the decree of 19 December 2002 (JORF, 24.6.2003, p. 10559).

Article 1 of the Statuts: “(…) dedicated to the service of humanity, will work in total independence for the defense and the development of fundamental human rights, an indispensable condition for maintaining peace. The Institut (…) follows a mission of general interest as a non-profit making association.” .