Whereas the United States has played a leading role in
developing global human rights standards since the country's inception;
Whereas the United States Bill of Rights, the first ten
amendments to the U.S. Constitution, are among the guiding principles which
helped develop the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Whereas Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, led the United States delegation and the United Nations (UN)
in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Whereas, December 10, 2008, marked the 60th anniversary of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly also adopted
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1966;
Whereas the world celebrated the 204th anniversary of the
abolition of the transatlantic slave trade on May 1, 2011;
Whereas, on January 1, 2008, the United States recognized
the 145th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation;
Whereas the United States continues to make legislative
amendments that improve the rights of all Americans; these include the 13th
Amendment in 1865, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the 14th Amendment, the 19th
Amendment, the Social Security Act of 1935, the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938, the Housing Act of 1949, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, the Civil Rights Restoration
Act of 1988, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Civil Rights Act
of 1991, and the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization of 2006;
Whereas the development of human and civil rights
standards and protections requires constant review and attention;
Whereas the UN Millennium Development Goals set forth a
fifteen-year plan to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental
degradation and discrimination;
Whereas there are as many as 27 million people around the
world who remain enslaved;
Whereas the United States has supported the adoption of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the UN General Assembly and has
ratified significant international human rights treaties that include the
International Conventions on the Elimination of Racism and Discrimination, on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and against Torture and
other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
Whereas the United States has ratified two of the eight
“fundamental” conventions outlined by the International Labor Organization
(ILO) including the Abolition of Forced Labour, and the Prohibition and
Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour;
Whereas the United States has also ratified the Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children,
Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, and the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed
Conflicts;
Whereas the United States signed the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities on July 30, 2009;
Whereas the United States is expected to be a regional and
global leader in the international civil and human rights movement; and
Whereas the United Nations headquarters are located in New
York City, and the Organization of American States is headquartered in
Washington, DC: Now, therefore, be it
That it is the sense of the House of
Representatives that—
(1)the United States recommits to fighting
discrimination, xenophobia, human and civil rights abuses in both domestic and
foreign policy;
(2)the United States
reaffirms its commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
(3)the United States
should give thorough review to domestic policy and legislative proposals that
would improve the economic, social, political, cultural, and civil rights and
lives of marginalized communities within the United States;
(4)the United States
Senate should give its advice and consent to the ratification of the UN
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and its Optional
Protocol, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, the UN
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the
First Optional Protocol to the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and
the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture and other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
(5)the United States
Senate should give its advice and consent to the ratification of the ILO
Convention on Forced or Compulsory Labour, the ILO Convention on Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, the ILO Convention on the
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, the ILO Convention on Equal
Remuneration, the ILO Convention on Discrimination in Respect of Employment and
Occupation, and the ILO Convention on the Minimum Age for Admission to
Employment;
(6)the United States
should fully support the Inter-American human rights system, especially
hemispheric conventions regarding the rights of all persons, women, children,
the disabled, marginalized communities, and the right to freedom of expression;
and
(7)it is the policy
of the United States to oppose slavery, torture, racism, discrimination, and
xenophobia in all forms.