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The Global Magnitsky Act is the most comprehensive human rights and anti-corruption sanctions tool in U.S. history. Human Rights First works with civil society groups around the world to ensure that the United States uses this tool to hold the worst human rights abusers accountable.
Our Asylum Representation Program, which recruits and trains lawyers to represent refugees on a pro bono basis, is one of the largest and most successful programs of its kind in the country. Its impact could hardly be more profound: liberty instead of oppression, and sometimes life instead of death, for thousands of people. And beginning with the Refugee Act of 1980, which we helped draft, we’ve been at the forefront of all major reforms to the asylum system. Photo: AP.
After 9-11, the U.S government embraced the use of torture, renouncing its global leadership role on this issue. Thanks in part to the work we did in partnership with military leaders and interrogation and intelligence professionals, President Obama signed an executive order banning torture. In time, the landmark Senate Intelligence Committee torture report was released, documenting a program that was far more brutal and widespread than Americans were led to believe. Since then, the Obama Administration and Congress have passed legislation to make loophole lawyering impossible and ensure that our country never tortures again.
Republicans and Democrats, religious groups and civil liberties groups, military officers and peace activists, prosecutors and defense attorneys: we’ve worked with all of them at key moments to forge progress and to advance our long-term project of building a broad pro-human rights constituency in the United States. Learn about our coalition of retired military leaders.
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Among human rights groups in the United States, we’ve led the effort to ensure that the U.S. government makes antisemitism and extremism a foreign policy priority. Our emphasis is on Europe, where hate crime against Jews and other minorities is alarmingly prevalent and increasing in some areas. We urge the U.S. government to work with its European allies to institute laws and practices to combat this problem. Photo: AP.
Autocratic leaders are gaining power around the world while many rights-respecting democracies are backsliding. To counter this trend, we are working to ensure that American and foreign institutions remain accountable to their human rights obligation and uphold the rule of law.
Since the beginning of the democratic uprising in Bahrain in 2011, the U.S. government has failed to stand behind peaceful human rights activists as they face a brutal crackdown. We amplify the voices of Bahraini activists to give them a measure of protection, and we work alongside as we press the U.S. government to support their cause.
Republicans and Democrats, religious groups and civil liberties groups, military officers and peace activists, prosecutors and defense attorneys: we’ve worked with all of them at key moments to forge progress and to advance our long-term project of building a broad pro-human rights constituency in the United States. Learn about our coalition of retired military leaders.
After 9-11, Congress authorized military force against those responsible. But the war morphed into an ever-expanding conflict that has enabled human rights abuses. Torture, indefinite detention, unjust military commissions, and legally dubious drone strikes threaten national security as terrorists use them to win supporters and U.S. credibility crumbles. American ideals are a national security asset: the U.S. government best protects Americans when it protects human rights. It’s time to protect national security and fight terrorism in a smart, tailored, rights-respecting way.
Due process refers to a fair judicial process, which includes a fair trial, qualified legal representation, and the ability to appeal. We’ve championed the right of due process for activists opposing repressive regimes, and we’ve also led the battle against the military tribunals at Gitmo, which undermine due process. Photo: AP.
The overthrow of President Mubarak in 2011 offered the U.S. government a chance to reshape its policy toward Egypt and finally support human rights. Yet U.S. backing for democratic reforms has been halting. Drawing on years of experience working in Egypt, we’re pressing the U.S. government to once and for all place human rights at the heart of this key bilateral relationship. Photo: AP.
