The U.N. Human Rights Portfolio

California is proud to support a global community dedicated to the protection of human rights. The chart above visually illustrates the significant departure this is from U.S. policy. The U.S. has only ratified five of these 18 U.N. instruments of human rights support. This puts the country, barely, in the ‘orange’ category. They are joined in orange by the illustrious company of Liberia, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and China. The U.S. has not supported protection of groups such as children, women or migrant workers nor the prevention of government sanctioned torture, cruel and unusual punishment or kidnaping. You’ll see all of Europe and the vast majority of the world are doing significantly better.

We’re joining all of them.

Universal declaration on human rights

Technically, this is not one of the instruments mentioned above. It is the mother of them all. A milestone in international cooperation, it is the first document to set forth fundamental human rights to be protected worldwide. The agreements which follow collectively support the ideals of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and codify specific principles of the Declaration into law.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Declaration.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights agree to respect the civil and political rights of individuals, including self-determination, liberty, suffrage, due process, freedom of thought, consciousness and religion, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

Considered one of the pillars of international human rights law, nearly the entire world has ratified it, except for a few inhumane places like China, Saudi Arabia and North Korea.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Covenant.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is also considered a pillar of international human rights law. It requires states to provide for and safeguard labor rights, social security, reproductive rights, intellectual property, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to health, and the right to a free education. 171 countries have ratified the Covenant, so nearly the entire world, including all of Europe and South America. The U.S. has not ratified this critical Covenant, putting it in the company of horrific human rights violators such as Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan and Brunei.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Covenant.

International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

This Convention resolves for state parties ‘to adopt all necessary measures for speedily eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms and manifestations, and to prevent and combat racist doctrines and practices in order to promote understanding between races and to build an international community free from all forms of racial segregation and racial discrimination…'

The U.S. is a party to the Convention, however, it took 28 years for the Congress to ratify the Convention, finally making it law. Arguably, it has been in violation ever since.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Convention (including its amendments).

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

This Convention states “State Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women.” It classifies such discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”

189 countries have committed to its standards, making the convention one of the most widely agreed upon international human rights instruments,. Who hasn’t committed to the seemingly obvious protection of women against discrimination? It is an small and illustrious list, anchored by the U.S. and including Iran, Somalia, Tonga and Palau.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Convention (including its amendments).

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment compels the prevention of torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by its member states. It requires states to take effective action to eliminate torture in any location under the state’s jurisdiction and forbids states from sending people to any country where there is reason to believe they will be tortured.

The vast majority of the world has also ratified this Convention, including the U.S. However, U.S. President George W. Bush proclaimed that the Convention did not apply to overseas prisons, allowing him to launch ineffective and brutally inhumane ‘black ops’ torture operations abroad.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Convention (including its amendments).

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child specifically protects the human rights of children, focusing on four pillars: non-discrimination, devotion to the best interests of the child, the right to live and develop and the respect for the views of the child. As UNICEF explained, “the Convention says childhood is separate from adulthood, and lasts until 18; it is a special, protected time, in which children must be allowed to grow, learn, play, develop and flourish with dignity.”

The Convention is the most widely ratified human rights convention of all time. All U.N. members are party to it, except one: the U.S.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Convention.

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

The primary goal of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families is to promote the respect for migrants' human rights. The Convention does not create new rights but aims at guaranteeing equality of treatment and the same working conditions for migrants and nationals.

Sadly, only the traditional origin countries of migrants have ratified this Convention, while, countries typically receiving of migrant populations have not, including all of North America and Western Europe.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Convention.

International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

This Convention prevents the crime against humanity of enforced disappearance by its member states. It considers enforced disappearance “to be the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law.” It also clarifies that “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for enforced disappearance.”

98 countries are signatories to the Convention, including most of Europe and South America. The U.S., Canada, China, Yemen and Syria are amongst those who do not support the Convention, apparently committed to their stances on the deprivation of liberty.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Convention.

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

This Convention promotes, protects, and ensures the full enjoyment of human rights and equality under the law for persons with disabilities, including the right to health, education, suffrage, adequate standards of living, and equal access to judicial remedies.

This is another widely supported instrument with 181 nations are members. The few countries that have not ratified the Convention include Cameroon, Uzbekistan, Botswana, Sudan, and, of course, the U.S.

Click here for the certified true copy of the Convention.

Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

This Protocol allows victims of violations of the rights specified in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to bring complaints to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights when access to justice in their country is not possible.

24 countries have ratified this Optional Protocol. The rest of the world apparently moved on after reading ‘optional.’