The RWG Takes a Critical Look at the U.S. Human Rights Record on International Human Rights Day

MEDIA ADVISORY

RWG and other organizations to co-sponsor an American Civil Liberties Union panel commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Washington, D.C. December 8, 2008 – Jumana Musa, Policy Director of the Rights Working Group, will spotlight the human rights consequences for both U.S. citizens and non-citizens of the Bush Administration's self-proclaimed "war on terrorism," as part of a panel discussion on International Human Rights Day, December 10th. Ms. Musa will focus her presentation on how, since 9/11, people in the U.S. have experienced a steady and unapologetic erosion of their Constitutional rights and civil liberties in the name of national security and what can be done to restore these basic rights. Ms. Musa will look at issues like detention without charges or access to attorneys, racial profiling, torture, and warrantless and aggressive raids that have rounded up legal and undocumented workers alike.

The panel, hosted by The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will highlight the urgent need for the U.S. to recommit to the human rights and fundamental freedoms called for by the Universal Declaration and the U.S. Constitution. The panel takes place on International Human Rights Day, marking the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the U.S. and 47 other countries.

What: Panel Discussion on "Bringing Human Rights Home"
Where: United Nations Church Center, 10th Floor Conference Room, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
When: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 6:00-8:00pm
Who:

• Jumana Musa, Policy Director, Rights Working Group
• Andrea Ritchie, Director, Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center
• Mark R. Shulman, Chair of Committee on International Human Rights of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York
• Cynthia Soohoo, Director, U.S. Legal Program, Center for Reproductive Rights
• Moderated by Jamil Dakwar, Director, Human Rights Program, American Civil Liberties Union

Please RSVP by emailing Aadika Singh at aadikas@aclu.org.