Human Rights Day, December 10, 2009

December 10, 2009

December 10, Human Rights Day, serves as an important benchmark by which to measure and evaluate U.S. efforts to rebuild the domestic economy and improve the lives of every man, woman and child.

http://www.ushrnetwork.org/

Human Rights Day, December 10, 2009
The Most Vulnerable At Risk
US Human Righs Network

ATLANTA (December 9, 2009) — The global economic crisis has constricted funding at every level of government and stalled progress on social issues as well as the human rights front.

Typically, the burdens created by the crisis have fallen disproportionately on the least powerful and most vulnerable citizens. This is as true in the United States as in developing nations – state and local health services, educational resources, employment assistance, affordable housing programs and a host of other support systems for the poor are being slashed to balance budgets.

December 10, Human Rights Day, serves as an important benchmark by which to measure and evaluate U.S. efforts to rebuild the domestic economy and improve the lives of every man, woman and child.

While the economic realities have justifiably delayed efforts to expand protections for human rights, the U.S. cannot use them as an excuse to abandon commitments or lower standards that have been established by international treaties and agreements to which the U.S. is a party.

These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which this day commemorates. “Tough times require tough choices,” says US Human Rights Network executive director Ajamu Baraka. “But meeting the basic needs of the disadvantaged is an obligation, not a choice.”

The Obama administration has expressed its intent to incorporate a human rights perspective in its policies and practices. Human rights advocates have repeatedly noted three key yet cost-effective initiatives that would advance this agenda: Reactivate the federal Interagency Working Group on Human Rights to coordinate U.S. compliance with its human rights obligations; expand the mandate of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission to include human rights; and take specific measures to address the concerns of the United Nations Committee reviewing U.S. compliance with the International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

To date, however, none of these appear to be in motion. “The government’s commitments to human rights must be clear and unambiguous,” Baraka says. “These initial steps would begin to bring federal action in line with administration rhetoric.”

The administration must play a crucial leadership role, but the responsibility to ensure the protection of human rights at home does not lie solely with the executive branch. Congress as well as state and local governments and agencies must work to ensure that human rights concerns are a component of all major policy debates, including the current battle over health care reform.

At this point, however, it appears that the universal right to health care is being used as a bargaining chip to be horse-traded away in favor of vested economic interests. A similar scenario on a global scale is playing out in Copenhagen at the climate change summit. Human Rights Day provides a vivid backdrop for these proceedings and offers a stark reminder that if the U.S. is to lay claim to renewed moral authority in the international community, an approach to human rights based on legal and ethical obligation rather than expediency is an absolute requirement that cannot be compromised or conveniently set aside when money is tight.

The US Human Rights Network is a coalition of more than 300 U.S.-based organizations and 1,500 individuals working on the full spectrum of human rights issues. For more information, please visit our website: www.ushrnetwork.org.

• Contact: Ajamu Baraka, (404) 695-0475