About the ACLU's Human Rights Program

Established on the heels of the success of the ACLU’s International Human Rights Task Force, the Human Rights Program was established in 2004 to give the work of the task force a permanent home. Since then, HRP’s mission has been to integrate a human rights framework into ACLU advocacy and to use international law and accountability mechanisms, human rights documentation, and strategic litigation to effect change in U.S. law and policy as well as to seek remedies for victims of human rights violations.

In the years since its establishment, HRP has successfully utilized the human rights framework to complement existing ACLU legal and legislative advocacy at the state and national level through its groundbreaking reports, impactful litigation strategies and international advocacy.

HRP has also allowed the ACLU to contribute submissions to and advocate before the UN human rights system (Human Rights Council, Treaty Bodies and the Special Procedures), represent victims of torture before the International Criminal Court (ICC), submit petitions on behalf of ACLU clients through the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), be part of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO), and collaborate with civil society organizations around the globe. Through this work, the ACLU has led and supported efforts to achieve collective justice at home and abroad.

Human Rights Program Staff
Jamil Dakwar, Director
Steven M. Watt, Senior Staff Attorney
Jennifer Turner, Human Rights Researcher
Marwa Elessawy, Paralegal

Email humanrights@aclu.org for more information.