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.S.: End Beating of Children in Public Schools (08/20/2008)
DALLAS – More than 200,000 U.S. public school students were punished by beatings during the 2006-2007 school year, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint report released today. In the 13 states that corporally punished more than 1,000 students per year, African-American girls were twice as likely to be beaten as their white counterparts.

International Drug Policy Up For Debate At Landmark U.N. Forum (07/07/2008)
VIENNA, Austria – The American Civil Liberties Union today joins a diverse coalition of civil and human rights organizations participating in the United Nations’ “Beyond 2008 Forum,” a historic opportunity to assess the past decade of international drug policy and to shape its future course. The ACLU and others will speak to the inability of current, principally punitive drug policies to reduce the supply of or demand for illicit drugs, as well as the significant violence, health problems, and civil and human rights violations directly attributable to these policies.

ACLU Calls For Greater Accountability For Unlawful Deaths In U.S. Custody (06/30/2008)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today urged the United States government to heed the concerns of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions. Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, whose mission includes reporting on alleged killings in the U.S. and overseas for which U.S. government and military officials may be responsible and the failure to prosecute and punish those responsible, announced his preliminary findings after touring the U.S. at the invitation of the U.S. government.

On International Day To End Torture, ACLU Renews Call For Independent Prosecutor (06/26/2008)
NEW YORK - On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the American Civil Liberties Union calls on the United States government to appoint an independent prosecutor for U.S. torture crimes, to put an end to practices that involve torture and abuse and to fulfill its obligations under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The CAT, ratified by the U.S. in 1994, forbids governments from deliberately inflicting severe physical or mental pain or suffering upon those under their control, prohibits the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and bars the transfer or the rendition of persons to countries where they could be at risk of being tortured.

ACLU Welcomes U.N. Independent Expert On Extrajudicial Executions To U.S. (06/16/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed a fact-finding mission to the U.S. by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions. Special Rapporteur Philip Alston's mission includes reporting on alleged killings in the U.S. and overseas for which U.S. government and military officials may be responsible, and the failure to prosecute and punish those responsible. The ACLU calls on the U.S., state and local governments to fully cooperate with the special rapporteur.

Human Rights : General : Publications view all

Soldiers of Misfortune (05/13/2008)

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 (04/27/2006)

Human Rights : General : Legal Documents view all

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 - Declaration of Manfred Gnjidic (05/11/2006)

El-Masri v. Tenet - Declaration of Khaled El-Masri (05/11/2006)

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

El-Masri v. Tenet - Declaration of Steven Watt (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

A Violent Education: Corporal Punishment of Children in U.S. Public Schools (08/19/2008)
A report by Human Rights Watch and the ACLU.

Biography of Doudou Diène, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (05/15/2008)

Biography of Jennifer Turner (03/19/2008)

Statement by Jamil Dakwar on Behalf of the ACLU to the Human Rights Council 6th Session (12/12/2007)

Protecting the Most Vulnerable: A Call to Action on Behalf of Detained Children (11/20/2007)

Human Rights : General : Fact Sheets

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

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

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