Sponsored by CRL's Global Resources Network, Columbia University’s Center for Human Rights Documentation and Research, and the University of Texas Libraries, the conference focused on "Human Rights Archives and Documentation: Meeting the Needs of Research, Teaching, Advocacy, and Justice," and was held at Columbia University’s Kellogg Conference Center in New York City.

The three day conference opened on Thursday evening (October 4, 2007) with keynote "conversations" with Juan E. Méndez, President of the International Center for Transitional Justice, and Dr. David Dr. Marwell, Chief of Investigative Research at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Special Investigations. The conversation was moderated by Peter Rosenblum, Associate Clinical Professor of Human Rights Law, Columbia School of Law.