What underlies the Administration’s effort to examine human rights through the State Department’s newly created Commission on Unalienable Rights? And what is at stake? The asserted purpose of the Commission, as announced in July 2019 by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is to examine human rights in light of “foundational documents” and provide advice to the Secretary on the development of human rights principles to guide U.S. foreign policy. Advocates have raised concern that the Commission, which includes a chair and members with well-known and extreme positions opposing reproductive rights and LGBTQI rights, is subterfuge for rolling back rights protections for women, LGBTQI people, and other marginalized and vulnerable communities. These concerns are well-founded, including and particularly with respect to reproductive rights. This essay (1) highlights and counters the Administration’s assertion of confusion over the status of reproductive rights as human rights, (2) examines the Administration’s attempts to purge reproductive rights from the global discourse, and (3) explores its attacks on reproductive rights within the United States to probe an underlying interest in undermining rights, including reproductive rights, through the creation of the Commission.
Download the PDFMore HRLR Online
Starved for Justice: International Complicity in Systematic Violations of the Right to Food in Haiti
Starved for Justice: International Complicity in Systematic Violations of the Right to Food in Haiti Sandra C. Wisner Abstract A series of international economic assistance programs in Haiti has led to a protracted and worsening food crisis in the country, amplifying the country’s vulnerability to starvation and malnutrition, as well as natural disasters, like earthquakes…
The Right to Counsel in Eviction Proceedings: A Fundamental Rights Approach
Vamsi A. Damerla* “Summary eviction proceedings are the order of the day. Default judgments in eviction proceedings are obtained in machinegun rapidity, since the indigent cannot afford counsel to defend. Housing laws often have a built-in bias against the poor. Slumlords have a tight hold on the Nation.”[2] —Justice Douglas Abstract Every day in the…
Seizing the Opportunity for Advanced Whistleblower Protections and Rewards in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office
Arielle Gerber[1]* Abstract Corruption has destructive impacts on people and governments worldwide. Through the creation of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, alongside the passage of a Whistleblower Protection Directive, the European Union has signaled its commitment to fighting corruption and encouraging transparency in both the public and private sectors. However, implementation of the Whistleblower Protection…