This area of work aims to advance the utility of the rights-based framework as a meaningful organizing tool for marginalized communities and social movements to articulate claims of socio-political rights and belonging. Toward this goal, and consistent with the OBI’s belonging framework, the Human Rights Agenda collaborates with the US Human Rights Network (USHRN) and several other human rights organizations to contribute to shadow reporting compiled by the USHRN.
Our work is submitted to and reviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Council. As such, it informs the UN’s recommendations to hold the US Government and legislative bodies accountable to their international obligations concerning civil liberties and rights as related to three major international covenants and treaties:
The International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a key international human rights treaty, providing a range of protections for civil and political rights. The ICCPR, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, are considered the International Bill of Human Rights. Accordingly, US social justice and human rights groups and activists have the opportunity to partake in such processes by reviewing the US Government’s record in adhering to its international obligations. LEARN MORE:
- Structural Racialization and Food Insecurity in the United States (2013)
- Legalizing Xenophobia and Islamophobia in the United States (2019)
The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD or more commonly referenced as CERD) is a human rights treaty designed to protect individuals and groups from discrimination based on race, whether intentional or not result of seemingly neutral policies. The United States ratified the CERD in 1994 and is therefore bound by all treaty provisions, which includes a periodic compliance review conducted by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. LEARN MORE:
- Structural Racism and Disparate Impacts in the United States (2019)
- The Pervasiveness of Islamophobia in the United States (2022)
The Universal Periodic Review
The work on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is submitted and reviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Council regarding the periodical review that focuses on reviewing the record of the United States of America Government every five years. LEARN MORE:
