60 years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly established the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The UDHR is an unprecedented document that outlines the basic rights and protections for all persons throughout the world, regardless of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. At the document's core is the recognition that "the inherent dignity and... the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."

60 years after its creation, the UDHR is as relevant today as ever, in all parts of the world, including the United States. In past decades, we have seen the U.S. fall behind in its commitment to recognize and protect human rights at home and abroad with practices that undermine what the authors of the UDHR envisioned 60 years ago:

Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

The U.S. Government’s actions, including systematic violations against detainees and advocacy for executive discretion to use coercive interrogation techniques, have had profound negative impacts on human rights in the U.S. and abroad. The human rights community continues to have grave concerns about the treatment of detainees on U.S. territory, the rendition of detainees to countries where they are likely to be tortured, the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq, and secret detention centers in the U.S. and other countries.

In the Midwest, there are abuses carried out by local law enforcement that are tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.  We continue to fight for justice for victims of torture in the notorious “Burge cases” or “Chicago torture cases,” where a group of police officers engaged in routine torture of suspects in Chicago police stations in the 1970s and 80s. They used methods including electric shock, burning, simulated executions, and suffocation.  Despite the investigations and the arrest of Jon Burge, many victims continue to languish in prison as a result of their coerced confessions.

Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Each year more than 300,000 people are detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), many times through warrantless and aggressive raids. On any given day, there are approximately 33,000 people in ICE detention, including asylum-seekers, torture survivors, and families with young children. Immigrant detainees are frequently denied access to the due process rights that are the foundation of the U.S. justice system.

Further, many of the detention facilities where immigrants are held are overcrowded and lack adequate health care. While the U.S. government has developed standards to address detention conditions, these standards are not enforceable under law. In May 2008, the press reported that 83 immigrants had died in detention between March 2003 and March 2008. Most of those deaths had not been reported previously.  

Article 23: Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment…Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

The Midwest Coalition recognizes the severe violations of basic labor and human rights faced by meatpacking workers throughout the Midwest. The industry’s massive dis-assembly lines can slaughter and process 400 head of livestock per hour, forcing workers to maintain intensely high rates of speed in their work – in often cold conditions, with slippery floors, and electric knives – leading to an injury rate more than double that of U.S. manufacturing as a whole. Industry-wide human rights abuses in the U.S. meat and poultry industry have been documented, citing line speed, lack of access to workers compensation and the right to organize, inadequate training, as among the industry’s hazards. These problems are compounded by the largely immigrant workforce, which receives minimal training and limited information in their native language and for whom immigration status can lead to fears about speaking up.

For over 10 years, members of the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights have been collaborating to promote and protect urgent human rights in our Midwest region and nationally. As we celebrate Human Rights Day and the 60th Anniversary of the UDHR, we are reminded of the importance of promoting values that ensure dignity, equality and peace. We must break free of the past and recommit to the Universal Declaration for Human Rights. We must restore principles that prioritize our common humanity and ensure equality and justice for all at home.

Get Involved and Help Protect Human Rights!

Tell President-Elect Obama to Ban Torture

Call for New Hearings for the Burge Torture Victims Still Behind Bars

Tell you Senator to Support The Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act