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

ACLU Marks 60th Anniversary Of Landmark Human Rights Document (12/10/2008)
NEW YORK – On the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the American Civil Liberties Union is calling on the incoming Obama administration to recommit to the rights and principles laid out in the document and use it as a guidepost for setting policy at home and abroad. The UDHR was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948 to codify the basic human rights of all people, and is widely considered to be the founding document of the modern human rights movement.

More than 60 Atlanta Groups Come Together to Commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (12/10/2008)
Atlanta – The Human Rights Atlanta coalition today celebrates the launch of an Atlanta-based human rights campaign on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a set of fundamental rights and protections that are to be enjoyed by all persons throughout the world by the virtue of their humanity.

ACLU Joins Lawsuit Challenging Trafficking Of Indian Guestworkers (11/17/2008)
NEW ORLEANS - The American Civil Liberties Union today charged that workers brought to the United States from India to work in shipyards after Hurricane Katrina were misleadingly recruited, exploited and mistreated. The ACLU and the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP joined a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of over 500 guestworkers charging the workers were trafficked into the U.S. through the federal government's H-2B guestworker program with dishonest assurances of becoming lawful permanent U.S. residents and subjected to squalid living conditions, fraudulent payment practices and threats of serious harm upon their arrival.

ACLU Report Reveals Arrests At Hartford-Area Schools On Rise (11/17/2008)
HARTFORD, CT – Police arrests of students at Hartford-area schools are on the rise, according to a new American Civil Liberties Union report released today, a trend that disproportionately impacts children of color.

U.N. Torture Expert Should Investigate Brutal Force-Feeding Of Connecticut Inmate, Says ACLU (10/27/2008)
HARTFORD, Conn. – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture (UNSR) should review the force-feeding of inmate Bill Coleman by the Connecticut Department of Corrections (DOC), according to a letter filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union under the U.N. Urgent Appeal procedure.

Human Rights : General : Publications view all

Human Rights Begin at Home: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (12/10/2009)

Dignity Denied: The Effect of "Zero Tolerance" Policies on Students' Human Rights (11/17/2008)

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

Human Rights : General : Legal Documents view all

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 - Memorandum in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss (05/11/2006)

El-Masri v. Tenet - Porter Goss Declaration (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 Alice Farmer (11/07/2008)

Biography of Benjamin Smyser (11/07/2008)

Biography of Aadika Singh (11/07/2008)

Biography of Nahal Zamani (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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