Our Work
Driven by the needs and interests of its membership, the Network has focused much of its efforts on building organizational capacity and skills at the grassroots level. A series of ongoing national, regional web-based and teleconference trainings and workshops have targeted specific issues for in-depth exploration and education.In 2007, we trained hundreds of activists on the fine points of the human rights framework; internal displacement related to hurricanes Katrina and Rita; indigenous and migrant rights; audio and video production and media access; gender identity and expression; the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and other international human rights treaties; the United Nations system; and health as a human right. The Network has also provided direct financial assistance to dozens of members to attend human rights trainings sponsored by other organizations.Building on our previous work, during 2010 US Human Rights Network’s major area of work focused on ensuring civil society engagement with the US Government Universal Periodic Review before the U.N. USHRN continued its member support, education and training activities, hosting its inaugural summer Human Rights Training Institute and producing a human rights documentation resource manual. Coordination support for the Human Rights at Home (HuRAH) Campaign, CERD National Task Force and the Gulf States Human Rights Working Group was on-going, with USHRN taking on a support role for the newly created Land and Housing Action Group and several other Member Action Teams. USHRN Core Purpose/Mission:To build a human rights movement in the US that:
- Ensures US accountability to universal human rights standards,
- Builds a human rights culture in the US that puts those directly affected by human rights violations at the center, and
- Connects the US human rights movement with broader US social justice movements and human rights movements around the world.
The USHRN is organized around certain Principles of Unity, which are:
- Human rights are interdependent, inalienable and universal.
- Human rights movements must be lead by those most directly affected by human rights violations.
- Human rights include Civil, Political, Economic, Social, Cultural, Environmental and Sexual Rights.
- Human rights are protected through building social movements.
- Human rights advocacy and organizations must always respect and reflect the diversity within communities.
The Network consists of a Coordinating Office located in Atlanta, GA as well as three basic Membership Structures:
