As of January 30, 2004:

Human Rights First is the new name of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights


Why are we changing our n ame?

For 25 years, we have been known for our legal expertise and representation work, our thorough research and analysis, and our capacity for consensus building and persuasive advocacy.

We now seek to advance this work further by expanding and intensifying our outreach – to undertake more public forms of engagement that mobilize a broader and more active group of supporters. To do this, we need a name that is more inclusive and accessible to more people, a name that educates, inspires, and motivates. Human Rights First does this.

Human Rights First conveys a powerful idea

When basic rights are assured – the right to speak and associate freely, the right to personal liberty, the right to a fair trial – safe and stable societies are more likely to take root. Human Rights First communicates that justice, fairness and respect for human dignity can only be assured when human rights issues are put at the center of the debate.

We are changing our name to both educate and motivate the public about the importance of putting human rights first.

Putting Human Rights First

As Human Rights First, we will continue our research, representation, litigation and advocacy as a way to ensure lasting, positive change. The following describes some of the work in our focus areas:

Protecting Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Our asylum program is the largest pro bono representation program for refugees in the country. We have more than 1,000 open cases each year. Our volunteer lawyers – from the nation’s best firms – provide high quality legal services to these asylum seekers and win more than 90 percent of these cases. In 2003, law firms participating in this program volunteered more than 70,000 hours of service.

Our direct experience with individual asylum cases informs our perspective on the need for refugee policy reform in the United States. Our advocacy work focuses on making sure that refugees and asylum applicants arriving in the United States receive fair treatment and the protection of our laws.

As an example of this, our asylum work is the subject of Court TV’s recent original movie, Chasing Freedom. The film, which is being broadcast through February 2004 on Court TV, was inspired by the story of one of our clients, an Afghan woman who fled the Taliban in 2001. We are using the movie, and our new report In Liberty’s Shadow, which documents the lack of safeguards in the asylum system, as part of a campaign on asylum seekers and detention. The campaign asks the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to appoint a refugee expert in the Department, promulgate federal regulations governing parole of asylum seekers, and provide more independent administrative review of requests for parole. (You can participate – go to our "Write Ridge" campaign.)

Building a strong international system of justice and accountability. Our International Justice Program works to end impunity for the worst human rights crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. We are actively involved, for example, in the debate surrounding a plan by the Iraqi Governing Council to establish a War Crimes Tribunal and to try Saddam Hussein in Iraq. We are supporting the decision to base this tribunal in Iraq, but also urging the new tribunal to invite the formal participation of international lawyers, judges and investigators to help ensure that the trials are fair and credible.

Extending a lifeline to human rights defenders around the world. Local human rights activists are engines of democratic change in their societies. Often opposed by repressive local governments, they undertake their work at enormous professional and personal risk. Through our Human Rights Defenders Program, we are committed to challenging attacks against these courageous front-line activists, supporting their struggle for freedom and peaceful change in their own societies.

Safeguarding liberty and security in the United States. Almost immediately after the horrific events of September 11, 2001, we began working to ensure that civil liberties and human rights were not unnecessarily compromised in the rush of fear and anger that followed the attacks. As the magnitude of this work became clear, we designed our U.S. Law and Security Program to challenge policies and practices that undermine liberty in the United States, including through high profile litigation and advocacy. More broadly, through this program we are promoting a greater understanding of and respect for human rights in U.S. national security policy. Drawing on the insights of experts in law and security from across the political spectrum, we are working hard to promote a U.S. security policy that operates within the rule of law.

To learn more

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