Human Rights For Humans Everywhere

by digby

It’s fitting that the day that Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize also happens to be Human Rights Day — another aspiration rather than fully realized accomplishment. The Human Rights Campaign is recognizing the day with a new initiative:

In general, the campaign calls for strengthened commitment to human rights at home and abroad, and seeks to build a political culture from coast to coast that supports and advocates for human rights at home and abroad. Specifically, the Campaign advocates for reforms called for in Human Rights at Home: A Domestic Policy Blueprint for the New Administration. [Full text of the blueprint here; Summary of the blueprint here].The Campaign blends public education, media outreach, and advocacy efforts to increase awareness among state and local officials of their respective responsibilities to protect and promote human rights. Through its listserv, the Campaign additionally seeks to share information and increase collaboration among domestic human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and social justice groups in support of Campaign goals.

Sadly, torture, indefinite detention and due process for some but not for all are becoming normalized in America. In addition to the longstanding domestic shame of such things as ourmedieval prison system, human rights advocacy of the kind we used to think of as applying to totalitarian governments like China or Saudi Arabia are now things we need to deal with at home. And that’s pretty awful.

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