Academics and Human Rights Groups Oppose Unalienable Rights Commission

As reported by MSNBC, on Tuesday three letters were sent to Secretary of State Pompeo opposing the establishment of the Commission on Unalienable Rights. MSNBC also devoted a live segment on the letters in which advocates explained that the Commission is designed to deprive or limit rights to women, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals in particular. Human Rights advocacy groups and academics  signed onto one of those letters, an effort organized by Human Rights First addressing concerns about the cover of religious liberty to further oppress marginalized groups.  

The letter from academics reads in part “In the United States, the story of the past two and a half centuries is in many ways one of the asof-yet unfinished recognition of these rights for African Americans and other minorities, women, LGBTQI people, people with disabilities, children, and other marginalized populations, often via immense struggle against those who would limit rights to a privileged few. Likewise, the story of the international human rights movement is one of the deepened recognition and protective reach of rights based on the painstaking work of social movements, scholars, and diplomats, through
international agreements and law.”

Another letter was signed onto by a group of US Senators and one other by Catholic priests.