The International Commission of Inquiry on Economic Sanctions was formed in response to a call by Ramsey Clark, former US Attorney General, following on from the work of an international tribunal to which he referred his indictment of the US government for war crimes in Iraq. The papers in this collection are those of the British Commission of Inquiry, active 1992-99,  which was formed in response to his call for support organisations for his initiatives to be formed internationally.

The material in this collection records the activities of the British Afro-Asian Solidarity Organisation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, including a number of meetings, press conferences and other events, addressed by Members of Parliament, visiting international statesmen and stateswomen, community activists, academics and others. Also recorded is its participation in international events, including the Seventh Congress of the Afro-Asian Peoples’ Organisation in Delhi in 1988.

Eric Levy (1928-2022) was for many decades a familiar participant in demonstrations and other campaigning events for all kinds of progressive causes, most recently focussing on the campaign to free the imprisoned journalist Julian Assange. He continued these activities right up to the time of his final illness at the age of 94 in 2022. The papers in this collection, newly acquired by HPR, mainly cover the period from around 1964 to the early 2000s.

This collection comprises the papers of the Preparatory Committee for the hundred-strong British Delegation which attended the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Pyongyang in 1989, along with material on the campaign for the 1989 Olympics to be co-hosted in both the North and the South of Korea, and the campaign to free the delegate to the Pyongyang Festival from the South, who was arrested on her return from the North.

Founded in 1980 as a book publisher, this company took on further functions during the early 1980s, including issuing press releases and other information on current affairs. It went on to organise seminars and other events relating to issues including the Irish peace process and campaigns for Korean reunification, activities which were subsequently taken on by separate campaigning organisations.

Active during the 1970s, this study group originated in a discussion project in 1972 on works including writings of the scholar communist George Thomson and the Chinese author Lu Xun. By 1975 it was holding regular meetings, and ran a study programme with study materials being circulated among British Museum and British Library staff. It also conducted a study project on the role in society of the British Museum and British Library.

The papers in this collection date from a period of activity during the 1990s when Third World Solidarity was establishing itself among a number of political, social and community circles as an advocate for resolving conflicts through negotiations and diplomatic means. The collection includes records of a number of its meetings, conferences and other events, as well as pamphlets, leaflets, press releases and other written material, and photos.

Papers of the Korea Friendship Committee, active from 1982 up until the mid-1990s, which was sponsored by a number of Members of Parliament, academics and other interested people. The collection records its organisation of a great number of events promoting friendship and solidarity with Korean reunification, including press conferences, receptions for visitors from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and other political, social and cultural activities.

The quarter century 1975-2000 saw the effects of the Sino-Soviet split upon radical movements throughout the world, not least communist parties and organisations. HPR’s extensive collection of material on relevant organisations and movements in this country casts valuable light on some essential turning points in the history of the resulting controversies both in this country and internationally.

HPR’s collection of pamphlets from the quarter century 1975-2000 period includes rare and even unique items issued by political and campaigning organisations, now digitised and made available for the first time on the internet. The cataloguing of the collection will cross-reference with hard-copy and digital availability in other relevant information bases, to ensure that any existing gaps in internet availability are filled.