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Hope in Hope: Domestic Implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human RightsThe message of hope that President-Elect Obama and his team offer is intoxicating. The election that enabled its acceptance as a common mantra was undoubtedly historic. Even the Economist lauded the enduring ability of the American political machines and the American public to 'surprise' the international community. It's a new era, a new world, we'd like to believe. We've waited so long and now everything will be different—better.
Sadly, that's probably not going to be the case, as a group of 80-odd attendees heard at an ACLU panel and film screening last night at the Church Center for the United Nations. The panel, co-sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the U.S. Human Rights Network, the Opportunity Agenda, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, and Witness focused on the challenges of domestically implementing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Held on the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the UDHR, the ACLU-led event featured panelists from the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Rights Working Group, the NAACP, the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center and the Committee on International Human Rights of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. While many celebrated and commemorated the UDHR's birthday, Craig Mokhiber, Deputy Director of the New York Office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, reminded the Church Center audience that we, in the United States and internationally, remain "in a period of crisis." All 192 member states in the United Nations system are home to egregious human rights abuses. Mokhiber, speaking in an unofficial capacity, discussed how the past successes of the U.S. human rights movement have been eroded over the course of the last eight years. The American public has been asked to defer their human rights in the name of security and counterterrorism efforts, border protection policies, and the unencumbered operation of the free market. However, erosions of rights and liberties began long before 9/11 and can't be singularly pinned to the Bush Administration, stated Jumana Musa, Policy Director of the Rights Working Group, who spoke on how immigrants had been systematically targeted by failed U.S. policies for decades prior to the fall of the Twin Towers. Mokhiber outlined that both Democratic and Republican U.S. administrations have opposed the incorporation of social, economic and cultural rights into binding international human rights treaties, that administrations pre-Bush refused to acknowledge the right to development and rejected international human rights mechanisms like the Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court. Additionally, the U.S. has maintained the "dubious distinction" of being one of only 2 countries that haven't ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Somalia, with only a minimally functional government, is the other) and is the only developed nation in the Western hemisphere that continues to impose the death penalty. In the struggle for racial justice, Damon Hewitt of the NAACP alerted the Church Center audience that U.S. anti-discrimination laws unfortunately demand that the victim of discrimination prove not only the effect of discrimination but also the intent. The ACLU's report, Race & Ethnicity in America supports this fact, outlining how "for all constitutional violations of equal protection, intent to discriminate must be shown. The burden of proof of intent to discriminate is generally very high and, thus, such claims rarely succeed. As a result, it is very hard, if not impossible, to bring and prevail in intentional discrimination cases, deterring many victims from seeking legal remedies." In the sphere of reproductive rights, Cynthia Soohoo, Director of U.S. Programs at the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), highlighted the tremendous possibilities that exist for the Obama administration. The U.S. has the opportunity to implement national policy that adequately provides prenatal and obstetric care in a country where maternal mortality rates are inexcusably high and intensely racialized, where the failed policy of abstinence-only education prevails in too many classrooms, and where a lack of access to family planning methods leads not only to infringements on a woman's right to choose, but also results in health hazards and competes with effective public STD prevention programs. Sex Workers Project Director, Andrea Ritchie, followed Cynthia Soohoo by reinforcing that in cases where rape and sexual abuse is experienced by women and LGBT communities, international human rights law is much more protective than U.S. law. The UDHR and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) mandate ccess to work which is freely chosen and accepted and just and favorable work conditions, principles that are undermined when sex workers are arbitrarily arrested and detained and when vulnerable migrant women are sexually abused. A film screening, organized by Witness followed the panel and featured System Failure, a video documenting sexual abuse, beatings, forced medication and neglect at a California youth correctional agency. The video and larger advocacy campaign achieved sweeping legislation that began comprehensive reforms of the agency. The Center for Reproductive Rights also presented a film documenting the harassment of patients at a family planning center. International law provides valuable tools, mostly under-utilized by domestic human rights activists, and an opportunity exists to more fully engage these tools. Shulman of the Committee on International Human Rights of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York underscored that if we can commit ourselves to the human rights principles outlined in the UDHR and Franklin Roosevelt's famous Four Freedoms State of the Union Address "we'll have done the right thing, we'll have made our own country better, and we'll have [more security]." There's hope in hope. The election of Barack Obama does not ensure change but does allow for its possibility. There are opportunities now in ways that weren't even fathomable during the outgoing Bush administration. But they require work. Nobel laureate poet Seamus Heaney speaks about the difference between hope and optimism. Optimism doesn't require any work; it's just a vague sentiment that things will turn out alright in the end. Hope, however, places the burden of effort on the individuals audacious enough to believe in it. We will be allowed hope but only if we're willing to work toward hopeful outcomes. Celebrate the UDHR at 60 with the ACLU. Visit www.udhr60.org and sign the ACLU’s petition calling on the government and newly elected president to recommit to the UDHR. Read Human Rights Begin at Home, a new human rights publication on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and opportunities for domestic use, incorporation and implementation of the human rights framework, developed over the past sixty years. Tags: Human Rights Program, UDHR
You Oughta Be CommittedSixty years ago, the United States was one of 48 nations to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since then we've had an unimpeachable human rights record achieving all of the standards set forth in the declaration's 30 articles. Oh, wait — wiretapping, torture, illegal detention, a biased criminal justice system... OK, there's still a few things to be done. Here's a comic showing what America may have looked like if the Bush administration were as committed to the UDHR as they are to waterboarding alleged terrorists. Tags: UDHR
Immigrants Like Me(Originally posted on DailyKos.) I'm an immigrant and I had it easy. When my parents made the heartbreaking decision to leave Argentina because the political and economic situation made life too dangerous and difficult — when they decided that the best they could do for their two small daughters was to leave behind their family, friends and culture, and relocate to the United States — they took a bold and painful step towards the future. They worked tirelessly to give our family the opportunity to thrive. My mother started out as a messenger carrying documents throughout Manhattan. To this day, she knows the city like the back of her hand. My father continues to work 10-12 hour days six days a week driving a truck.
But compared to the life immigrants like us face today, we had it really easy. You see, I came to this country with a shiny little document called a green card. Today, immigrants like me have few or no options to come to the United States legally. The wait-times for some visas can be decades long. Today, most people in my family's desperate situation come to the United States illegally. They come because life in their home country has become unbearable — they cannot feed their children or keep them out of harm's way. What's missing from the immigration debate is the fact that most immigrants don't want to leave their country. Most immigrants don't come because the grass is greener in the U.S. — they come because there is no grass in their home country. They work hard, pay taxes, learn English, adopt American traditions, and do the best they can to make a life for themselves and their family. That is why I was devastated to learn of the deplorable conditions that thousands of immigrants face every day when ICE arrests them and incarcerates them until they can be deported. For the past two years, I have been working in Massachusetts under a grant from the ACLU Human Rights Project to document conditions for immigration detainees in this state. What I found shocked and disturbed me. I interviewed immigrants who had spent months and even years locked up in local county jails fighting for their chance to stay in the country. They told me stories of being denied medical care, being harassed by guards, being transferred from one jail to another with no warning or justification, being unable to receive visits from family-members, being housed with violent criminals, languishing in overcrowded jails where gyms are converted into housing by adding rows and rows of bunk beds and mattresses on the floor, not having books or newspapers to read, not being able to go out into the fresh air, being fed stale bologna sandwiches for months on end. As I was listening to these stories, I thought "this could have been me." Instead of going to college, then law school, taking the oath of citizenship and becoming a full member of this society, I could have been in a cell next to a convicted criminal, fearing for my safety and unable to see or touch my loved ones. I felt that these immigrants embraced America as much as I did, but America did not embrace them back. What is different today? The answer is the government's new, post-9/11 aggressive policy against immigrants. In 2003, the government deported 186,000 people. Last year, it deported 349,000. And its strategic plan Operation Endgame calls for the deportation of all deportable persons by the year 2012. What did these people do to deserve such harsh treatment? I believe that they are simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time — immigrants have become this era's scapegoats for many of the problems our nation faces. Job losses? Blame the Mexicans who steal our jobs. No health care? Blame the illegals who use our hospitals. You get the point. Today, we're releasing the results of this investigation in a report called Detention and Deportation in the Age of ICE. The title is telling. ICE's enforcement strategies send chills down the spines of thousands of immigrants. The report is a thorough look at the situation in Massachusetts, complete with personal stories and hundreds of pages of the government's own documentation. I hope it opens up a window into an area that most people know nothing about, and that it sheds some light onto a system that has grown out of control in the shadows. I think America is better than this. After WWII, when we were outraged by the atrocities in Europe, we stood up and gave life to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, lifting up the basic human dignity of all people. Now, we must turn an eye inward. When we treat the most vulnerable among us in a way that degrades and denies their human dignity, we degrade and deny the very qualities that make our country a beacon of hope for so many. Tags: UDHR
The UDHR at 60(Originally posted on AlterNet.) Born of a need to recognize "the inherent dignity and...the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family," the Universal Declaration of Human Rights came into being 60 years ago today. Its passage brought a worldwide awareness of the basic rights and protections to be enjoyed by all human beings everywhere and established the modern human rights system that provides the legal and moral authority for governments, advocates and attorneys to take action anywhere human rights are threatened. Sadly, as a result of eight years of disastrous policies by the Bush administration, one place where those rights are in jeopardy is right here at home. 
Under the guidance of Eleanor Roosevelt, the United States was a driving force in the creation of the UDHR, and the document was clearly influenced by our nation's own Bill of Rights. But, like the Bill of Rights, the UDHR has suffered as our policies and practices have not always lived up to the ideals for which it stands. In the last eight years in particular, the U.S. has fallen behind in its commitment to recognize and protect human rights at home and abroad. It is remarkable to think that the UDHR's admonition that "disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind,"would one day apply to our own government. We are hopeful that the new administration under President-elect Obama will recommit to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and use it as a guidepost for setting policy at home and abroad. This means protecting the rights to life, liberty and security of individuals; the right of persecuted individuals to seek asylum on our safe shores; the right to freedom of expression even when one's views are in disagreement with that of the president; the right of all children to an equal education; the right to be treated equally regardless of race, religion, gender, national origin, disability or sexual orientation; and the right to be free from torture, abuse and inhumane treatment, among others. The shameful practices of the Bush administration have trampled those freedoms, but it is not too late to fix them. To begin with, President-elect Obama should fulfill his pledge to restore America's moral leadership by shutting down the prison at Guantánamo Bay and the military commissions that take place there on Day One of his presidency, by executive order. He should also issue an executive order on his first day in office that instructs all agencies to take immediate steps to end torture and abuse. And he should prohibit the rendition or transfer of any person to another country where there is a reasonable possibility the person would be subject to torture or abuse or detained without charge. Article 5 of the UDHR states that "no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Closing Gitmo and the military commissions and ending torture, abuse and rendition is crucial to fulfilling that obligation. By taking these steps, President-elect Obama can start to make a clean break with the past and ensure that we will once again be the country the authors of the UDHR envisioned 60 years ago today. Reaffirming our commitment to the rights and freedoms laid out in that monumental document will send a clear message to the world that the U.S. is ready to lead by example and reclaim its role as a leader in human rights. Just as importantly, it will reaffirm our promise to ensure equality and justice for all at home. Then, and only then, we will be on the path to reclaiming the America we believe in. To learn more about the UDHR and sign the ACLU's petition calling on the new administration to recommit to the UDHR, go to www.udhr60.org Tags: Human Rights Program, UDHR
Preventing Death Sentences and Protecting Human RightsOn September 20, 2004, Jonathan Magbie, a 27 year-old quadriplegic, was sent to the D.C. Central Detention Facility to serve a 10-day sentence for possession of a single marijuana cigarette. Just four days later, after two transfers to a local hospital, Magbie died a tragic and unnecessary death due to the failure of staff at the jail to treat him for acute pneumonia, to provide him with the ventilator he needed to breathe when he was tired, or even to give him enough food and water to sustain himself. One correctional officer at the jail infirmary locked him in a cell, so that he had no way to communicate his distress for hours. Just last week the National Prison Project (NPP) helped to secure a settlement with District of Columbia officials that mandates the implementation of policies that will protect disabled prisoners and assure that prisoners with medical conditions the jail cannot handle are sent to better-equipped facilities.
This is just one of the many tragic examples of gross violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ Article 5, which states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” As Magbie’s death exemplifies, prisoners and detainees are often confined under conditions that turn their sentences into death sentences. According to a 2007 study commissioned by the California state government, as many as one in six prison deaths in California could have been prevented with proper medical care. Most of the NPP’s cases address the crisis of over-incarceration in the United States, including prison and jail overcrowding that results in deliberate indifference to prisoners’ mental and medical health needs. For far too long, unnecessary deaths due to improperly treated medical conditions have been tolerated in this country, as well as deteriorating and disgusting living conditions that cause prisoners to suffer far beyond the punishment imposed by a court. For example, the NPP recently proved that detainees in the Maricopa County, Arizona jails are denied necessary medical care. These detainees in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jails in Phoenix were forced to stand for hours in crowded rooms while they suffered untreated illness, deprivation of sufficient food, and unsanitary conditions. In the Virgin Islands, Jonathan Ramos, a prisoner with mental illness incarcerated for stealing a bike, was locked up for five years, even after charges against him were dropped after he pleaded not guilty because of his mental illness. Prison officials left him to rot in isolation, where his condition deteriorated by the day. The NPP has since secured a court ruling that ordered Ramos transferred to a stateside hospital. It would not be surprising if prisoners assumed that they are not entitled to medical care and a toilet that flushes, that they are not among the “humans” entitled to the rights stated in the UDHR. After all, U.S. prisons haven’t done such a bang-up job of adhering to this international treaty even though, according to the U.S. Constitution, it is the binding law of the land. The NPP has taken on the responsibility to combat torture in our prisons and jails and to remind prisoners that they, too, deserve protection from cruel and inhuman treatment, because the NPP believes that the rights of all Americans are not secure until the law protects prisoners as well as the rich and the powerful. Celebrate the UDHR at 60 with the ACLU. Visit www.udhr60.org and sign the ACLU’s petition calling on the government and newly elected president to recommit to the UDHR. On December 10, the ACLU’s efforts will culminate in the online launch of an exclusive publication about the importance of the UDHR. Tags: UDHR
Realizing the UDHR Requires Ending Violence Against WomenThe 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an opportunity to remind our government, particularly the incoming new administration and Congress, of its duty to protect the human rights of its people — an obligation it signed up for when it voted for the UN General Assembly's adoption of the UDHR's 30 articles in 1948.
Arguably the most basic and fundamental right outlined in the Declaration is Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. And yet victims of gender-based violence across the country (and throughout the world) are denied this right on a daily basis: every day more than three women are killed by their intimate partners in the United States, and many more are assaulted, raped, trafficked, stalked, and otherwise abused. Clearly, the government cannot prevent every act of violence committed by individuals, but it must do everything in its power to protect women's safety. Unfortunately, the government has abdicated much of its responsibility for the human rights violations women suffer in the form of violence — and that is why advocates must turn to the UDHR and other international human rights mechanisms to remind the United States that it has an affirmative obligation to ensure that everyone can enjoy the right to life, liberty and security of person. This is exactly what Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales) did in 2005 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the police of Castle Rock, CO had done nothing wrong when they refused, despite her repeated pleas for help over a ten-hour period, to enforce the court-issued protective order she had obtained against her estranged husband. Jessica's husband kidnapped their three daughters in violation of the court order and, after no effort by the police to locate them, the night ended tragically with the deaths of all three girls. Not accepting the Supreme Court's decision as the end of the line, Jessica and her advocates petitioned the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to find that her human rights had been violated by both the police's inaction and the courts' denial of a remedy. The IACHR's governing document, the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, like the UDHR, holds the government to a higher standard of accountability for protecting women from gender-based violence than does U.S. domestic law. Jessica has given testimony at two hearings before the IACHR, and the Commission is expected to issue its findings and recommendations in 2009. Sixty years ago the United States government adopted the UDHR, and yet it continues to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses occurring every day within its borders. Women, children, immigrants, people of color, and poor people in particular have been neglected by the government, often with the dismissive attitude that the government is not responsible for ensuring their rights. But we cannot let the government forget that it endorsed the rights set forth in the UDHR, and that it is obligated to uphold them or those rights will become meaningless. On this 60th anniversary, we must hold the U.S. government to its highest aspirations and ensure that the rights set forth in the UDHR are fully realized. Celebrate the UDHR at 60 with the ACLU. Visit www.udhr60.org and sign the ACLU's petition calling on the government and newly elected president to recommit to the UDHR. On December 10, the ACLU's efforts will culminate in the online launch of an exclusive publication about the importance of the UDHR. Tags: UDHR
Protect Universal Human Rights: Close GitmoThis week marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR, which serves as the founding document of the modern human rights system outlines the basic rights and protections that are to be enjoyed by all people and arguably carries a moral force, in addition to an ideological and political one.
Unfortunately, the anniversary of the Declaration comes at a time when America's historical role as a leader in the human rights movement and its moral standing in the world is severely damaged. On January 11th, one month after the world celebrates the UDHR, America will mark another solemn anniversary – seven years since the first detainees were brought to the prison at Guantánamo Bay. Gitmo has become a symbol for the Bush administration's worst excesses – including indefinite detention, torture, and unconstitutional military commissions. Juxtaposed against the UDHR, particularly Articles 5 and 9 which clearly state... No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. ... U.S. policies and practices have illustrated a blatant disregard for international law and human rights. We now stand at a pivotal turning point. With new leadership, the United States has the potential to regain its moral standing in the world. As part of our efforts, we are calling on President-elect Obama to close the Guantánamo prison and end the military commissions on day one of his presidency. We are collaborating on videos with Brave New Foundation containing direct testimony from those with firsthand knowledge of the system of injustice that thrives at Gitmo. Join our efforts to urge President-elect Obama to give us back the America we believe in. Celebrate the UDHR at 60 with the ACLU. Visit www.udhr60.org and sign the ACLU's petition calling on the government and newly elected president to recommit to the UDHR. On December 10, the ACLU's efforts will culminate in the online launch of an exclusive publication about the importance of the UDHR.
I Have the Right to Vote…Right?My favorite section of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is Article 21, which states that “everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.” Why is this section so important? After all, if you’re a citizen of the United States and 18 or older, you have the right to right to vote…right?
Sadly, you don’t. Many Americans believe that the U.S. Constitution grants citizens the right to vote, but it doesn’t. Rather, the Constitution merely says you cannot deny individuals the right to vote due to race, gender or age. Nowhere does the Constitution say voting is a right. We just finished one of the biggest and most expensive elections in the history of the United States and it seems like you couldn’t do anything without having celebrities, candidates and your co-workers urging you to vote. Voting is, after all, our greatest civic duty . What could be more fundamentally American than the right to vote? Apparently the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 21. More information on the ACLU’s work on voting and human rights is available in Out of Step With the World: An Analysis of Felony Disfranchisement in the U.S. and other Democracies. Celebrate the UDHR at 60 with the ACLU. Visit www.udhr60.org and sign the ACLU’s petition calling on the government and newly elected president to recommit to the UDHR. On December 10, the ACLU’s efforts will culminate in the online launch of an exclusive publication about the importance of the UDHR. Tags: UDHR
Protecting the Dignity of All PersonsThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) starts with a simple premise: all members of the human family possess inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights. From that modest beginning, the UDHR’s protections grow. All persons have a right to life and to be free from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The family unit is entitled to special protection from the State because of its fundamental place in society, and everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution. Much like our own Constitution, which guarantees due process for all “persons”—not just United States citizens—the UDHR makes no distinction based on alienage.
That’s a good thing, because each year more than 300,000 people are detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On any given day, there are approximately 33,000 people in ICE detention, including asylum-seekers, torture survivors, and families with young children. As the detention population has skyrocketed, so has public awareness of the grossly deficient conditions in which many of these people are held. Through litigation and advocacy, the ACLU has fought to defend the human rights of immigration detainees. At the San Diego Correctional Facility, hundreds of detainees lived for weeks or months in dangerously overcrowded conditions, many sleeping on the floor with their heads lying just below the toilet. In Texas, immigrant children still are held in a former medium-security prison operated by a for-profit prison company, but conditions at the facility steadily improved following litigation and public outrage; initially, children as young as three wore prison uniforms and received little access to education or exercise. By carefully documenting instances of serious medical neglect, we have helped to identify system-wide failures that lead to preventable in-custody suffering, and sometimes death. The United States was a major force in the creation of the UDHR, a set of principles that underscore our common humanity. And the country that pushed for the adoption of the UDHR would demand nothing less than accountability from all nations, including our own, that fall short of the declaration’s protections. Celebrate the UDHR at 60 with the ACLU. Visit www.udhr60.org and sign the ACLU’s petition calling on the government and newly elected president to recommit to the UDHR. On December 10, the ACLU’s efforts will culminate in the online launch of an exclusive publication about the importance of the UDHR. Tags: UDHR
Toward a Universal Declaration of Reproductive FreedomTo reach our full potential as human beings, each of us must be free to make personal and private decisions about our lives free from unwarranted government intrusion. With whom do we form intimate relationships and enjoy a private sexual life? Will we have children? Raise a family? When and with whom? At their core, these questions and whether we live in a society that respects and supports our right to decide for ourselves how best to answer them profoundly shapes the contours of our lives. In this foundational sense, reproductive freedom is a basic human right.
This week, we come together as an international community to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As this blog symposium makes clear, this is both a time to acknowledge the great advances this treaty fostered and a time to renew our commitment to realizing the vision of freedom, justice, and peace it renders. While the Universal Declaration did not expressly argue for the universality of reproductive rights, subsequent treaties as well as the efforts of generations of women's health advocates have shown us the importance of recognizing the role reproductive freedom plays in securing human dignity. But as with all freedoms, reproductive freedom is only truly meaningful if everyone enjoys it equally. We may not all make the same decisions in life, but we can support and respect the right of every individual to make important life decisions based on his or her own values, beliefs, and unique circumstances. As a first step, we must ensure meaningful access to a range of services —from sex education to birth control to high-quality prenatal care and birthing services to the option of safe and legal abortion. We will not reach the full potential of the Declaration of Human Rights until we can ensure that the reproductive rights and access to services granted to some become a reality for all. Celebrate the UDHR at 60 with the ACLU. Visit www.udhr60.org and sign the ACLU's petition calling on the government and newly elected president to recommit to the UDHR. On December 10, the ACLU's efforts will culminate in the online launch of an exclusive publication about the importance of the UDHR. Tags: UDHR
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