Derechos: Human Rights Listings

Dr. Jorge Bustamante will visit the United States from April 30 to May 18 at the invitation of the U.S. government. The purpose of his visit is to witness first hand the situation of migrants at the borders and in immigration detention facilities and to discuss migrant rights-related issues with U.S. officials, experts and civil society advocates. The Special Rapporteur began his mission in California and will make stops in Arizona, Texas, Georgia, New York, New Jersey and conclude in Washington, DC. He will submit a report on his findings and recommendations to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

A professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Bustamante was appointed Special Rapporteur by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in August 2005. The mandate of the special rapporteurship is to examine measures to overcome obstacles to the full and effective protection of the human rights of migrants, including difficulties for migrants who are undocumented. Dr. Bustamante is the President and founder of El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, a prominent Mexican institute for the study of border issues. He is the author of numerous studies on the sociology of the border region between the United States and Mexico and on Mexican-origin residents of the United States. In 1988, he received the Premio Nacional de Ciencias from the President of Mexico, the highest award granted to scientists by the Mexican government.

WHEN:
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
6:30 - 8:30 pm

WHERE:
Global Rights
1200 18th Street, NW, Suite 602
Washington, DC 20036
(Metro Stops: Farragut North or Dupont Circle)

Please RSVP by Monday, May 14th to
Margaret Huang at margareth@globalrights.org or
202-822-4600 ext.129

Additional Background:

Global Rights is a human rights advocacy group that partners with local activists to challenge injustice and amplify new voices within the global discourse. Our United States Racial Discrimination Program works with social justice activists in the U.S. to use international human rights law and procedures to enhance their anti-racism advocay work. We provide long-term technical assistance to partner organizations, offer specialized training programs, coordinate U.S. civil society participation in international human rights activities, and produce relevant resource materials. Global Rights is currently working with partners in the criminal justice field, with domestic workers advocates, and with education reform activists. Please click here to support this program, as well as the other important work of Global Rights.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nationwide, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting human rights and civil liberties in the United States. Founded in 1920, the ACLU is the largest civil liberties organization in the country, with offices in 50 states and over 500,000 members. The ACLU advocates in federal and state legislatures and courts to hold the U.S. government accountable to the rights protected under the U.S. Constitution and other civil and human rights laws. For more on the ACLU, please visit: http://www.aclu.org/.

CASA of Maryland is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to work with the community to improve the quality of life and fight for equal treatment and full access to resources and and opportunities for low-income Latinos and their families. CASA also works with other low-income immigrant communities and organizations, makes its programs and activities available to them, and advocates for social, political, and economic justice for all low-income communities. CASA's vision is for strong, economically and ethnically diverse communities in which all people can participate and benefit fully, regardless of thier immigration status. For more information on CASA of Maryland, please visit: www.casamd.org.

The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) is a national organization composed of local coalitions and immigrant, refugee, community, religious, civil rights, and labor organizations and activists. It serves as a forum to share information and analysis, to educate communities and the general public, and to develop and coordinate plans of action to promote just immigration and refugee policies, while expanding the rights of immigrants and refugees regardless of status. NNIRR emphasizes the need to build international support and cooperation to strengthen the rights, welfare, and safety of migrants and refugees. For more information on NNIRR, please visit: www.nnirr.org.

The Rights Working Group is a national coalition of more than 250 community-based groups and policy organizations dedicated to ensuring that the American commitment to liberty and justice is fulfilled. The Rights Working Group's strength flows from its diverse membership, which brings together grassroots and national organizations from over 30 states, in fields such as civil rights, civil liberties, human rights, and immigrant rights. For more information on the Rights Working Group, please visit: www.rightsworkinggroup.org.

The US Human Rights Network works to promote US accountability to universal human rights standards by building linkages between organizations, as well as individuals, working on human rights issues in the United States. The Network strives towards building a human rights culture in the United States that puts those directly affected by human rights violations, with a special emphasis on grassroots organizations and social movements, in a central leadership role. The Network also works towards connecting the US human rights movement with the broader US social justice movement and human rights movements around the world. For more information on USHRN, please visit: www.ushrnetwork.org.