• A young Muslim American female student holds the U.S. flag during a 'Children of the World' student pageant at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan.

    © 2010 Reuters
    US: Public Officials Should Reject Discrimination
    Many Muslims and undocumented immigrants in the United States face hostility, fear, and resentment. Whether expressed elegantly or with vitriol, in plain words or in code, there are daily expressions of intolerance and prejudice that condemn these and other minority groups, and seek to define “American” in narrow terms that belie the nation’s multicultural history.
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  • Disrimination and Abuse of Discretion

    Despite a commitment to equal justice for all, public officials in the United States have instituted policies that either by purpose or effect discriminate unjustly on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, and other characteristics. Such discrimination violates internationally protected rights. In the criminal justice arena, public officials also abuse their discretion by overstepping their authority, or by instituting policies that undermine the rule of law and deny justice to all parties, including victims of crime, witnesses, and the accused.

Reports

Discrimination and Abuse of Discretion

  • US: 9th Circuit Decision a Victory for Rights
    Feb 7, 2012
    The February 7 decision by a federal appeals court to declare unconstitutional California’s Proposition 8, a successful ballot measure which banned same-sex marriage in 2008, is an important victory for human rights.
  • US/New York: Discipline Police Showing Anti-Muslim Film
    Jan 26, 2012
    New York City officials should order a full investigation into the showing of an anti-Muslim film during police training and take appropriate action against all those responsible.
  • US/Alabama: ‘No Way to Live’ Under Immigrant Law
    Dec 14, 2011
    Alabama’s new immigrant law denies unauthorized immigrants and their families, including US citizen children, their basic rights, threatening their access to everyday necessities and equal protection of the law.
  • Vote for an End to Discrimination
    Nov 11, 2011
  • US: An Attack on Human Dignity
    Oct 10, 2011
    The cornerstone of human rights is respect for the inherent dignity of all human beings and the inviolability of the human person, which is inconsistent with the death penalty. Capital punishment is unique in its cruelty and finality, and it is inevitably and universally plagued with arbitrariness, prejudice, and error.
  • US: Crack Cocaine Ruling a Victory for Rights
    Jul 1, 2011
    The US Sentencing Commission’s unanimous vote on June 30, 2011, to make new federal crack cocaine sentencing guidelines retroactive, is consistent with internationally recognized human rights principles. However, further reforms are required to bring the United States into full compliance with its international human rights obligations.
  • Gay Marriage: The Issue Is Respect
    Jun 26, 2011
    Earlier this year, a student in a human rights seminar I was teaching declared her conviction that gay parents damage their children by virtue of being gay. I explained as gently as I could why this is a discriminatory notion, incompatible with human rights standards, and moved on. My student sat as if stunned for two minutes, then gathered her books and left the class.
  • Q&A: State Immigration Legislation and Human Rights
    Apr 13, 2011
    The United States Congress has failed to reform the “broken” immigration system, and states have been attempting to fill the vacuum with their own immigration enforcement bills. This Q&A addresses whether common aspects of these bills comport with international human rights obligations of the US and discusses possible constitutional violations as well.
  • US: Improve Weak Standards to End Prison Rape
    Apr 4, 2011
    Proposed Justice Department standards to reduce rape in prison are unduly weak and should be significantly improved to protect victims and ensure accountability. The Justice Department released its proposed standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) on February 3, 2011, and established a sixty day comment period, ending April 4.
  • US: Human Rights Council Adopts Universal Periodic Review
    Mar 18, 2011

    The Universal Periodic Review of the United States addressed a large number of important issues, such as the death penalty, mistreatment of migrants, racial disparities in education, access to health care and accountability for torture.

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