ACTION ALERT: Take action and pressure the Obama Administration 
to issue an Executive Order (EO) on Human Rights!!

President Obama is considering issuing an executive order on human rights. The Executive Order would address the human rights obligations of the United States and put concrete action behind President Obama's recognition that human rights begin at home.

The Human Rights at Home Campaign has been pressing the Administration to issue a comprehensive Executive Order that would integrate the U.S.'s human rights commitments into all of the agencies of the government. This Executive Order presents President Obama with an important opportunity to uphold core American values of equality and justice for all by building a much-needed human rights infrastructure here at home.

Help us urge the President to issue a strong, comprehensive Executive Order
that will result in meaningful progress on domestic human rights. 

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The results of the 2008 elections offered the promise of a renewed U.S. commitment to human rights principles that will translate rhetoric to action. Public opinion polls have also found an overwhelming and bipartisan majority of Americans (80%) endorse the notion of human rights.  In the wake of the elections, a coalition of more than 50 U.S.-based organizations launched discussions of how best to leverage new opportunities to influence human rights policies at the federal, state and local levels. From these talks emerged Campaign for a New Domestic Human Rights Agenda, now called the Human Rights at Home Campaign.

In general, the Campaign calls for strengthened commitment to human rights at home and abroad, and seeks to build a political culture from coast to coast that supports and advocates for human rights at home and abroad.  Specifically, the Campaign advocates for reforms called for in Human Rights at Home: A Domestic Policy Blueprint for the New Administration. [Full text of the blueprint here; Summary of the blueprint here].

Key objectives of the Campaign include:

• Revitalize an Interagency Working Group on Human Rights which will serve as a coordinating body among federal agencies and departments for the promotion and respect of human rights and the implementation of human rights obligations in U.S. domestic policy.
• Transformation and strengthening of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights into a U.S. Commission on Civil and Human Rights.
• Meaningful government compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which the U.S. has ratified.
• Strengthened federal, state, and local government coordination in support of human rights.

The Campaign blends public education, media outreach, and advocacy efforts to increase awareness among state and local officials of their respective responsibilities to protect and promote human rights. Through its listserv, the Campaign additionally seeks to share information and increase collaboration among domestic human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and social justice groups in support of Campaign goals. The Campaign is led by a Steering Committee, and implements its work through four sub-committees - the IAWG, HRC, CERD and State/Local sub-committees. 

Campaign Related Publications

Domestic Policy Blueprint for the New Administration

State and Local Human Rights Agencies: Recommendations for Advancing Opportunity and Equality Through an International Human Rights Framework highlights ways in which an international human rights framework can advance the critical work of state and local human rights agencies and recommends reforms at the national level to create a better system of accountability around the United States’ domestic and international human rights obligations and to coordinate and support state and local efforts. The report was produced under the auspices of the Campaign for a New Domestic Human Rights Agenda, and is a joint project of Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute and the International Association of Human Rights Officials, in conjunction with the Campaign’s subcommittee on state and local government coordination.

Campaign Press Releases and other Media

Amnesty International, the ACLU and the Human Rights at Home Campaign Call on Their Members and Allies to Urge President Obama to Issue an Executive Order on Human Rights