Democracy, Human Rights And Advocacy
Democracy, Human Rights And Advocacy
Disability Rights
Disability rights are essential for ensuring individuals with disabilities have protections, accessibility, and opportunities equal to those of able-bodied people. Areas of focus include accessibility accommodations, employment equality, and education.
Guarantee the availability of accessible infrastructure, ensure equality in the workplace, and increase school resources and staff to accommodate students with disabilities.
Genocide
Considered one of the most egregious crimes against humanity, genocide entails the intentional eradication of a group of people. Communities are targeted based on ethnicity, religion, and/or race. Genocide is accomplished through a variety of tactics, including slaughter, starvation, forced displacement, imprisonment, and sterilization.
Hold perpetrators of genocide accountable via policy and intervention and provide support and resources for survivors and their families.
National Security Rights
National security rights refers to the government restricting citizens’ rights in the name of protecting the nation. Freedoms that are often impeded upon include speech, privacy, due process, and movement.
Ensure that there is a legitimate threat when rights are restricted due to alleged national security concerns, and reform national security policies that disproportionately affect citizens of certain race, ethnicity, or nationality. Also, investigate human rights violations that are committed to safeguard national security, such as torture and arbitrary detention.
LGBTQ+ Rights
LGBTQ+ rights protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and people of other gender and/or sexual identities. Essential rights include protection against discrimination and hate crimes, marriage equality, freedom of expression, and access to healthcare.
Introduce legislation or policies to address the disproportionate rate of hate crimes and violence faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community, advocate for equal marriage rights, including same-sex marriage, and ensure access to necessary healthcare while preventing discrimination by healthcare professionals.
Technology Rights
Technology rights are an ever growing concern in modern society. Focuses include the privacy and protection of personal data, the right to internet access, and cyberbullying and digital harassment.
Introduce legislation or policies to safeguard citizens’ personal data and regulate the ways in which companies and organizations may collect, store, and use it. Additionally, improve infrastructure to provide internet access to all citizens and hold platforms and users to higher standards regarding the prevention and consequences of cyberbullying and digital harassment.
Intelligent Voting Alternatives
Modern technology allows for the creation and utilization of intelligent voting alternatives, offering improved security, safety, and accessibility for voters. Intelligent voting systems and technologies also help to build trust in the democratic election process and ensuing results.
Adopt biometric data verifications, such as facial recognition and iris scans to improve voter and election integrity. Also, utilize secure electronic voting, offering increased voter turnout for citizens who are isolated or abroad, including military personnel.
Prison Reform
Prison reform aims to improve the conditions and policies of the prison system. Important issues addressed by prison reform include the abuse of prisoners, the role of racial inequality in sentencing and treatment of prisoners, and the questionable morality of for-profit prisons.
Introduce additional supervision to ensure the humane treatment of inmates and explore alternatives to profit-driven prisons, reducing the incentives for these institutions to amass prisoners and cut costs at the expense of inmates.
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is the exploitation of a person for involuntary labor or services. Common forms of trafficking include prostitution, child labor and sexual exploitation, and organ harvesting. Human trafficking is considered a form of modern slavery.
Train law enforcement to better recognize and respond to human trafficking cases. Improve victim support, recovery, and protection services. Increase accountability for businesses that perpetuate human trafficking, domestically and internationally.
Human Rights
Human rights are the foundational rights and liberties belonging to every human being, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, age, gender, or any other criteria. Some examples of human rights are the right to life, the right to be free from torture and arbitrary detainment, the freedom of speech, and the right to healthcare. Human rights are built on the basis of dignity and equality for all.
Introduce legislation or policies that help to ensure the recognition of human rights for any and everyone. Review and investigate human rights violations brought to attention by the people of America and the international community.
Religious Freedom Advocacy
Religious freedom is the right to practice and express one’s religious beliefs, free of persecution or unjust treatment. While America was founded on religious freedom, some nations still discriminate against and punish people for pursuing the religion of their choice. Religious freedom also protects the right to abstain from practicing a religion if the individual chooses to do so.
Fight for global religious freedom, so that humans may observe and pursue any religion without facing discrimination, coercion, or other consequences. Promote education regarding interfaith tolerance to achieve a mutual respect between different religious followings. Ensure the separation of church (religion) and state.
Voter Awareness
Voter awareness aims to educate citizens about their voting rights and responsibilities. It is exceptionally important to improve the awareness of young voters, as they historically have the lowest voter turnout rate of all age groups.
Improve voter awareness by providing public information regarding eligibility requirements, available voting methods, and election misinformation. Encourage young Americans to register and vote in elections.
Voter Rights
Voter rights are designed to ensure a fair, equitable election process. It is crucial for citizens to understand their rights regarding voting in elections.
Promote education regarding voter rights and resources for overcoming common obstacles. Eliminate financial requirements for voting, such as taxes and fees that can prevent low-income citizens from casting their ballot. Protect the Constitutional right to vote for citizens with prior felony convictions.
Unlawful Killings
Unlawful killings are intentional or negligent killings that are in violation of the law. They are often carried out by government organizations, law enforcement, or independent groups and individuals. Unlawful killings are frequently a result of war crimes, extrajudicial executions, police brutality, and mob or vigilante justice.
Increase accountability for perpetrators of unlawful killings and launch independent investigations regarding government and/or law enforcement involvement in unlawful killings.
Free Speech
Free speech is the right to communicate one’s thoughts, opinions, and beliefs without government censorship or retaliation. Free speech not only protects verbal communication, but also expression via writing and art. While free speech cannot be censored by the US government, the same does not apply to private companies.
Explore ways to better protect free speech across the internet, while working to reduce the spread of misinformation without impeding upon free speech. Promote education regarding the protections, as well as the limitations, of free speech.
Climate Justice
Climate justice advocates for accountability regarding the destruction of the natural environment. Prevalent concerns include water and food accessibility, deforestation and desertification, natural weather disasters, rising sea levels, and man-made environmental crises (such as oil spills). The fight for climate justice focuses on equality, as poorer communities and nations disproportionately suffer from damage inflicted by wealthier communities and nations.
Introduce legislation or policies to more effectively regulate practices that damage the environment, as well as enforcing harsher penalties for negligent and/or intentional damage. Verify that man-made environmental crises are appropriately addressed and all necessary restoration steps are taken. Take steps to ensure the availability of water and food, especially when faced with climate emergencies.
Women's Rights
Women’s rights refer to the fundamental human rights that all women are entitled to. Prevalent women’s rights issues include domestic violence and abuse, voting, education, reproductive rights and healthcare, and employment.
Provide adequate support and resources for leaving violent or abusive relationships, introduce legislation or policies to grant women autonomy over their health and reproductive rights, and improve employment equality, including wage discrepancies and representation in male-dominated industries.
Death Row Prisoner Advocacy
Death row prisoner advocacy aims to ensure fair, impartial legal trials and prevent unjust executions for prisoners that have been sentenced to death. It also calls for the humane treatment of death row inmates.
File appeals to challenge wrongful convictions and combat cruel and inhumane conditions, including long-term isolation and botched executions.
Men's Advocacy
Men’s advocacy brings light to issues that disproportionately affect men, aiming to increase men’s health and well-being. Topics to address include men’s mental health and suicide prevention, father’s rights, and false accusations of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Promote education regarding prevalent issues faced by men in today’s society and how to seek out the necessary support, research and address the disparity in suicide rates between men and women, and improve support systems for men, especially for those suffering from psychological, emotional, and/or physical abuse or trauma.
Racial Discrimination
Racial discrimination is the unjust treatment of individuals or groups due to their race, ethnicity, or the color of their skin. Common forms of racial discrimination include hate speech, racial slurs, profiling by law enforcement, and employment inequity.
Promote education regarding the history of racial discrimination and the importance of a diverse, non-discriminatory society. Ensure access to education in communities that are disadvantaged due to racial discrimination. Improve employment laws to better address issues such as discriminatory hiring practices and pay inequality.
Crisis And Conflict Resolution
Crisis and conflict resolution entails the peaceful de-escalation and management of altercations, emergencies, and similar events. Such practices are especially relevant when dealing with interpersonal disputes, natural disaster response, public health emergencies, and diplomatic tensions.
Mandate crisis and conflict resolution training for law enforcement and other emergency response personnel and increase budgets for crisis and conflict resolution personnel, allowing for future financial savings by addressing current issues in the present.
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting extreme physical or psychological pain upon an individual. Torture is often used as a means to punish, intimidate, and/or extract information. While there are multiple international laws and conventions that forbid torture, it is still prevalent in modern society. Not only is the prevention of torture necessary, but also the provision of support systems for victims.
Promote education regarding recognizing and preventing torture, as well as the physical and psychological consequences. Create additional resources to support torture victims and their families.
Arbitrary Detention
Arbitrary detention occurs when a person is imprisoned or detained in the absence of a valid legal basis. Typical signs of arbitrary detention include the lack of due process, isolation from the outside world, and even indefinite detention with no established release date. Labeled as a clear violation of human rights, victims oftentimes suffer physical and psychological trauma.
Require transparency and accountability from government agencies and organizations that routinely detain individuals and promote education regarding citizens’ Constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial.
Right To A Healthy Environment
The right to a healthy environment is a basic human right that extends to all corners of the world. Key aspects of a healthy environment include clean air, potable water, and a stable ecosystem to provide food and shelter.
Introduce legislation or policies to more effectively regulate pollution and environmental destruction, as well as enforcing harsher penalties for negligent and/or intentional damage. Promote education regarding achieving a healthier environment, including the detrimental effects of microplastics.
War Crimes
War crimes are acts of violence that breach international laws. Deliberately targeting civilians, killing or torturing prisoners of war, using banned weapons, and committing genocide all constitute war crimes. The prosecution and punishment of the aggressors are essential for protecting the international community.
Provide support and resources for humanitarian organizations that investigate and document war crimes and improve arms control to prevent the acquisition and use of banned weapons.
Forced Disappearance
Forced disappearances occur when persons are abducted and/or imprisoned, oftentimes by government authorities or organized syndicates. Knowledge of the victim’s health and whereabouts are withheld by the criminal group, while denying involvement and responsibility. Forced disappearances frequently include unlawful detention and an absence of legal protection.
Introduce legislation or policies to improve regulation and accountability of organizations and agencies that are suspected of facilitating forced disappearances and advocate for sufficient response from the international community when forced disappearances are suspected.
Crimes Against Humanity
Crimes against humanity involve large-scale or systematic attacks against civilian populations. Acts such as enslavement, torture, sexual violence, persecution, and extermination are all examples of crimes against humanity. Oftentimes, preventing and stopping such crimes require international cooperation.
Provide aid for victims, including food and water, healthcare, clothing, personal hygiene products, and relocation assistance. Advocate for sufficient response from the international community when crimes against humanity are committed.
Other Civil And Human Rights Advocacy
While many civil and human rights concerns have been raised thus far, it is not an exhaustive list. In an ever-changing world and social landscape, new offenses are sure to emerge. USO strives to both anticipate and address these civil and human rights infractions.
Review and investigate civil or human rights violations brought to attention by the people of America and the international community. Introduce legislation or policies to help protect everyone’s liberties.
Voter Protection And Safety
Voter protection and safety is essential for ensuring honest, democratic elections. It’s critical that voters do not feel any hesitation, unease, or fear when it comes to casting their ballot.
Implement legislation or policies to safeguard against voter suppression. Provide safe voting environments free of intimidation and coercion. Offer accessible options for voters with disabilities.
Right To Adequate Health Care
The right to adequate healthcare calls for all people to have access to essential healthcare without facing discrimination or suffering from financial distress as a result. Common challenges faced when trying to receive healthcare include the cost of the services, the lack of availability of facilities and medical staff, and the presence of conflict or war.
Improve government programs that citizens rely on for obtaining healthcare. Review key aspects of the health insurance industry that may be predatory or discriminatory. Examine the ethicality of privatized hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Children's Rights
There are none more vulnerable and in need of protection than children. Current children’s rights issues include emotional and physical abuse, child labor, kidnapping and trafficking, lack of education, and much more. It is non-negotiable to protect the youth and future generations of America.
Train teachers, coaches, bus drivers, and other related personnel to better recognize and report signs of abuse and neglect. Increase resources and personnel dedicated to finding, recovering, and rehabilitating kidnapped and trafficked children. Ensure equitable access to education for all children, including those in disadvantaged or remote communities.
Freedom Of Association
The Freedom of Association gives individuals the right to create, join, and participate in organizations, free of government encroachment. Freedom of Association is particularly important in protecting activist groups, labor unions, and non-governmental organizations.
Ensure that citizens’ Freedom of Association is not influenced by their ethnicity, race, nationality, religion, or other related factors. Promote education regarding the right to association in the workplace (labor unions) and the legality of retaliation by superiors.
Refugee And Migrant Assistance
Refugee and migrant assistance is designed to provide support for individuals who have fled their home country due to any number of reasons, including war, political unrest, discrimination, and persecution. Refugees and migrants often require help to acquire basic needs (food and shelter), find employment, provide education for their children, and navigate legal processes.
Increase resources to assist refugees and migrants in obtaining employment authorization. Ensure refugee and migrant children receive an education. Provide legal aid for complicated legal processes, such as applying for asylum and citizenship.