National Human Rights Commission
As Eleanor Roosevelt once observed, “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home . . . Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.” Recognizing the importance of human rights advocacy “close to home,” the Clinic works on projects focused on the U.S. at the federal, state and local levels—and even at our home institution. Indeed, despite the longstanding myth of American Exceptionalism, international human rights apply to and throughout the U.S. The Clinic’s projects include treaty implementation in L.A. County, human rights litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court, analyses of proposed federal legislation on digital rights and application of human rights standards to bolster racial justice initiatives within UCI School of Law.
Recent updates related to this area of focus can be found here
Featured Projects
CEDAW in Los Angeles County
The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW”) is a core international human rights treaty and the principal legal instrument for ensuring gender rights across the globe. CEDAW seeks to promote gender equity in every area of life—civil, political, economic, social and cultural. The U.S. is one of just six countries that have not ratified this treaty; implementation has therefore fallen to local jurisdictions and a “Cities for CEDAW” movement has emerged.
The Clinic has proposed that Los Angeles County implement CEDAW in order to advance gender equity within its jurisdiction. In 2019, our students drafted a comprehensive briefing paper in support of this proposal. Our students then gave a series of presentations to the County Commission on Human Relations, Women and Girls Initiative and Commission for Women. In 2020, the Clinic published a piece on the Human Rights at Home Blog explaining the continued relevance of CEDAW in today’s gender discourse. On January 5, 2021, the County Board of Supervisors approved a motion supporting CEDAW implementation and a possible CEDAW ordinance in 2021. We look forward to continuing to serve as a resource for the County in its human rights implementation efforts.
Alien Tort Statute Litigation Before the U.S. Supreme Court
In the fall of 2020, the Clinic was part of a litigation team representing child victims of forced labor before the U.S. Supreme Court in Nestle USA, Inc./Cargill, Inc. v. Doe I. The plaintiffs allege that corporate giants Nestle and Cargill aided and abetted child slave labor, in violation of the Alien Tort Statute, through monetary and technical assistance. Our students contributed research for the plaintiffs’ briefs and helped prepare for oral argument. Lead counsel for plaintiffs, Paul Hoffman, argued the case on December 1, 2020, and the Court is expected to render a decision in mid-2021. For more information, please refer to this press story on the three UCI School of Law clinics that worked on this case.
Comments to the FCC’s Section 230 Rulemaking
Together with the UCI Intellectual Property, Arts, and Technology Clinic, the Clinic filed a Reply Comment to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission objecting to a proposed rulemaking that would redefine key terms of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. The Reply Comment urges the FCC to consider U.S. international obligations and the potential human rights impacts of the rulemaking on individuals and communities outside the United States. For more information, please refer to this press release announcing the joint filing.