Many in the United States think of human rights violations as a problem faced by people in foreign countries, not by people here at home. Protection of human rights, however, is equally important in the United States as in other countries. While the United States was an important and early leader in the creation of the international system for protecting and promoting human rights, the United States' policies and actions have not always been consistent with these standards. The United States has ratified some -but not all - of the international human rights treaties. Further, the United States often fails to comply with the obligations of those treaties we have ratified. Particularly since 9/11, there have been harmful breakdowns in protection of basic civil rights and civil liberties.
The Advocates for Human Rights actively works to promote and protect human rights in the United States in all of our areas of programming. Particular focus is placed on human rights education, abolishing capital punishmet, documenting post-9/11 human rights abuses, fact-finding and reporting on violations of women's human rights, protecting the rights of non-citizens.