# Content The Cingranelli-Richards human rights database contains quantitative information on government recognition of 15 internationally recognized human rights in more than 200 countries from 1981-2011. It includes measures of the practices of governments that allow or impede citizens who wish to exercise their physical integrity rights like the rights not to be tortured, summarily executed, disappeared, or imprisoned for political beliefs; civil liberties such as free speech, freedom of association and assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, and the right to participate in the selection of government leaders; employment rights; and rights of women to equal treatment politically, economically, and socially. The database is designed for use by scholars and students who seek to test theories about the causes and consequences of human rights violations, as well as policy makers and analysts who seek to estimate the human rights effects of a wide variety of institutional changes and public policies including democratization, economic aid, military aid, structural adjustment, and humanitarian intervention. The primary source of information about human rights practices is obtained from the annual United States Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Coders are instructed to use this source for all variables. For a group of four rights known as "Physical Integrity Rights" (the rights to freedom from extrajudicial killing, disappearance, torture, and political imprisonment), coders use Amnesty International’s Annual Report in addition the Department of State reports. If discrepancies exist between the two sources, coders are instructed to treat the Amnesty International report as authoritative; some scholars believe that this step is necessary to remove a potential bias in favor of American allies. # Acknowledgements The human rights database was developed, updated, and published by Professor David Cingranelli of Binghamton University, SUNY, Professor David Richards of the University of Connecticut's Human Rights Institute, and Professor K. Chad Clay of the University of Georgia.