American Civil Liberties Union

The ACLU Human Rights Program works to ensure that the U.S. government complies with universal human rights principles in addition to the U.S. Constitution. The Program uses human rights strategies to complement existing ACLU advocacy on national security, immigrants' rights, women's rights and racial justice. Learn more about the Human Rights Program.


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Human Rights : General : Press Releases view all

U.N. Expert On Extrajudicial Killings Calls For Special Prosecutor (05/29/2009)
NEW YORK – The U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings called for a special prosecutor to investigate the policies and practices that have led to unlawful deaths and other abuses in the United States' international operations. In a report made public late yesterday, Special Rapporteur Philip Alston said there have been "chronic and deplorable accountability failures with respect to policies, practices and conduct that led to alleged unlawful killings."

U.S. Elected To U.N. Human Rights Council (05/12/2009)
NEW YORK – The United States was today elected to a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council for the first time. The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the new administration's decision to join the Council, which has been shunned by the Bush administration.

Obama Administration Produces First List Of Human Rights Commitments (04/27/2009)
NEW YORK – The U.S. State Department today released its "Human Rights Commitments and Pledges of the United States of America" as part of the government's efforts to secure a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. While President Obama's decision to join the Council was the right one, the administration's first list of human rights commitments leaves out several key issues.

ACLU Welcomes U.S. Decision To Join U.N. Human Rights Council (03/31/2009)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed an announcement from the Obama administration that the United States will join the United Nations Human Rights Council, reversing a Bush administration decision to shun the top U.N. human rights body since its inception in 2006.

ACLU Statement On President’s Endorsement Of UN Resolution Against Criminalization Of Physical Intimacy Between Same-Sex Couples (03/18/2009)

Human Rights : General : Publications view all

Human Rights Begin at Home: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (12/10/2008)

Brief and Initial Analysis of the United States Report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (06/12/2007)

Dimming the Beacon of Freedom: U.S. Violations of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (06/20/2006)
A Shadow Report by the American Civil Liberties Union prepared for the United Nations Human Rights Committee on the occasion of its review of The United States of America’s Second and Third Periodic Report to the Committee on Human Rights

Out of Step With the World (05/25/2006)
First comprehensive international and comparative analysis of felony disfranchisement policies, examining other western democracies' policies, practices and legal precedents.

Enduring Abuse: Torture and Cruel Treatment by the United States at Home and Abroad - Executive Summary (04/27/2006)

Human Rights : General : Legal Documents view all

Observations and Supplementary Brief in Petition Before the Inter-American on Human Rights Alleging Violations of the Human Rights of Juveniles Sentenced to Life without Parole (12/11/2008)
Observations on the response of the United States regarding juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and supplemental submission in support of petition alleging violations of the human rights of juveniles sentenced to life without parole in the United States.

ACLU Urgent Appeal Cover Letter To UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (10/23/2008)

Petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (09/13/2006)
Petition alleging violations of the human rights of the New Jersey State Conference NAACP, the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, Councilwoman Patricia Perkins-Auguste, Councilman Carlose J. Alma, Stacey Kindt, Michael Mackason, Charles Thomas, and Dana Thompson, By the USA and the State of New Jersey, with request for an investigation and hearing on the merits.

El-Masri v. Tenet - Porter Goss Declaration (05/11/2006)

El-Masri v. Tenet - Memorandum in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss (05/11/2006)

Human Rights : General : Legislative Documents

Statement by ACLU to 87th Session of United Nations Human Rights Committee (07/10/2006)
Statement by ACLU to 87th Session of United Nations Human Rights Committee

Limited Communication for Terrorist Inmates (06/02/2006)
On April 3, 2006, the Bureau of Prisons proposed a new regulation imposing severe restrictions on the ability of persons in Bureau custody to communicate with the outside world. Although the regulation is titled “Limited Communication for Terrorist Inmates,” the regulation can be applied to persons who have not been convicted, or even charged, with any act of terrorism, or indeed with any crime at all.

Statement by the American Civil Liberties Union to the 85th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Committee (03/13/2006)
Statement by the American Civil Liberties Union to the 85th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Committee regarding the U.S. government compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Human Rights : General : Resources view all

Biography of Aron Cobbs (05/05/2009)

U.S. Human Rights Commitments and Pledges (04/27/2009)

Biography of Nahal Zamani (11/07/2008)

Biography of Alice Farmer (11/07/2008)

ACLU Statement on Capital Punishment in the United States to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (10/01/2008)
Statement delivered by Jamil Dakwar, Director, ACLU Human Rights Program, in Warsaw, Poland, on October 1, 2008.

Human Rights : General : Fact Sheets

FAQ: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (12/10/2008)

FAQ - The Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR) (06/20/2006)

FAQ - The Convention Against Torture (04/27/2006)

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