Our Mission

As part of its mission to support the broader understanding of human rights and to encourage reflection and dialogue, the Museum selectively develops collections that support its mandate and work. Focusing on the development of dynamic digital collections exemplifies both the Museum’s core goals and its organizational values of innovation, accessibility and engagement. These collections, fundamental to research, scholarship and exhibit development, represent the Museum’s contribution to Canada’s national collection.

Our Collections

The Museum maintains permanent collections that include archives, artifacts, art and rare books, in addition to a robust library collection of published human rights resources. 

The art and artefact collection supports the Museum’s exhibit program and assists in the telling of our human rights stories.

The archives consists of records that capture corporate memory as well as private records, acquired from individuals or groups, that document the subject of human rights. At the heart of the collection is a significant body of unique oral history materials.

The library collection includes scholarly works, journals, graphic novels, children’s literature, audio/visual material and research databases dealing with the many facets of human rights. These materials, in multiple languages and in a variety of physical and digital formats, assist us in transforming information into understanding and knowledge.
Material from the archives and library collections can be accessed via our Reference Centre (restrictions may apply).