The Columbia Human Rights Institute, in collaboration with the USHRN, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Constitutional Rights and Woodhull Freedom Foundation, wrote a statement for state, local and tribal leaders to support. The statement reaffirms the belief that all levels of government have a responsibility to respect and fulfill human rights, and that the federal government must commit to the UPR process. Please urge your state, local and indigenous leaders to sign on to the statement. The deadline to sign on is September 30. 

Lobbying the UN missions is a critical step in the advocacy process in trying to ensure that issues of interest are addressed during the UPR.  The most effective lobbying will take place from September to mid-October. Focus on the countries most likely to address your issue areas, based on previous questions and recommendations from past UPRs.
 

For more information contact the US Human Rights Network UPR Coordinator, Kerry Mclean, at kmclean@ushrnetwork.org.

Raise awareness of the UPR. Discuss the UPR on your organization’s mailing lists, on the website and on social media. Write articles about the UPR. Strong engagement from the general public and organizations representing civil society will strengthen the UPR mechanism.

The organization UPR-Info organizes meetings called "pre-sessions" which offer civil society organizations a platform to directly advocate to State delegations. In early October UPR-Info will host a virtual pre-session on the United States where organizations will brief Permanent Missions about the human rights situation in the United States. For more information visit the UPR-Info website.

The Human Rights Council’s review of the United States will be broadcast on UN TV on Monday, November 9. Encourage all within your networks to tune in. The session will be viewable live or on demand here. 

Stay tuned for details on advocacy and activities to engage in after the UPR session has taken place.