Past Actions & Events

Timeline of Notable Past Events & Actions

2024

• (December 10 2024) Rally & Press Conference: International Human Rights Day. We brought together City leaders, residents, and community groups to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which reflects the commitment of governments everywhere to protect and preserve the political and economic rights of all people. Together we renewed our commitment to the values and principles expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and committed to working together to promote the protection of human rights for everyone – especially those who are most threatened.:Co-sponsored by: Human Rights City Alliance & Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations
• (December 9 2024) Human Rights Craft Night for International Human Rights Day. Community members and volunteers came together at the library to create buttons and signs commemorating the 76th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• (November 14 2024) Student Housing & Tenant Rights Workshop at Carnegie Mellon University. Students are facing a housing crisis that is affecting them financially, physically, emotionally, and academically. Carnegie Mellon Health Promotion and the Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance met with students from CMU and Pitt to discuss student housing justice, tenant rights, organizing efforts in the broader community, and more.
• (November 9 2024) Housing Rights Forum: Advancing a Human Rights-Based Housing Strategy for our Region. The human right to housing is well established in international law, yet many residents in our region suffer from housing insecurity, poor quality housing, and homelessness. How can we work together to promote and protect housing as a human right? How can international human rights law be a resource to advance work for housing rights in our city? Panel participants: Muhammad Ali Nasir (MAN-E), Community Care and Resistance in Pittsburgh (CCRIP) & Allegheny County’s Just Home project; Bob Damewood, Regional Housing Legal Services; Rachel Shepherd, Commission on Human Relations; Leeretta Payne, Human Rights City Alliance.
• (October 2024) Immigrant Human Rights Community Forum: Countering Racist Campaigning & Building Inclusive Communities for All. Around 40 human rights supporters and advocates came together to hear from members of our local immigrant communities and experts in the field of human rights to explore how we can use human rights law to build a city for everyone and meaningfully address the racist politics of scapegoating. Panelists explored how can we work together to resist today’s “divide and conquer” campaigning and stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors. This community forum was held as part of our preparation to a submit a report on local human rights conditions to the UN as part of the 2025 Universal Periodic Review. Panelists: Carlos Blanco, Casa San Jose; Hetal Dhagat, Attorney, Education Law Center, Karim Alshurafa, Palestinian Community in Pittsburgh; Zainab Adisa, Racial Equity Fellow, Allegheny County Department of Human Services
• (October 13 2024) Indigenous Peoples' Day 2024 - Human Rights City Alliance reiterated calls from Indigenous peoples and human rights advocates to the Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park. In an open letter addressed to Mayor Gainey and City Council, HRCA highlighted Columbus' crimes against humanity, which would now be punishable under international human rights law and should not be celebrated.
• (August 25 2024) 10th Annual Human Rights Cookout and Potluck Around 60 human rights supporters and advocates came together to enjoy food, music and updates about human rights work happening in Pittsburgh.

Prior to 2024

• (December 2023) Peoples Campaign for Reparations and Black Self-Determination- held a community forum on this theme to help organize and build a Reparations Commission for Black Residents of Pittsburgh.
• (February 2021) Advancing the Human Right to Housing in our Cities Multi-city dialogue with organizers from Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and New York- View recording here Co-Sponsors: Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance, Atlanta Housing Justice League, Organization for Human Rights & Democracy, University of Pittsburgh Global Studies Center & Urban Studies Program, Student Human Rights Task Force- Pitt & The New School (NYC) Collaboration. Further background and recordings at:Zero Evictions Days Resource page and webinar recordings Featuring dialogues with Leilani Farha, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Adequate Housing.)
• (2020) International Human Rights Day Public/Media Statement:Pittsburgh Joins Global Efforts to Target Systemic Racism, Bring Human Rights Home [1]
• See the summary of our Human Rights Cities Conference, hosted at the University of Pittsburgh
• (2018) Communication Justice Initiative
• (2018) HRCA stood with the Community Power Movement and other advocates in calling for greater transparency and a commitment to community benefits from developers receiving public subsidies, including Amazon.
• Housing Summit 2016 & 2018
• (2017): Uniting Against Hate: Immigrant Rights, Racial Justice and the U.S. Prison System
• (2017) International Human Rights Day 2017 Press Conference at the City County Building
• (2017)Campaign to Stop Plan to Increase Policing on Public Transit-- This campaign led by the Alliance for Police Accountability, Casa San Jose, Pittsburghers for Public Transit, and the Thomas Merton Center warns that the Port Authority's planned fare enforcement policy would unfairly impact communities of color, increase the problematic trend of criminalizing young people, and threaten immigrant residents. The campaign called for civilian fare enforcers rather than armed Port Authority Police and a citation process rather than a criminal process to deal with fare evasion (See FAQs for more information).
• (2017) Pittsburgh Public Schools Passes Sanctuary Resolution
• (2016) International Workers Day March for Immigrant Rights 2016 Statement of Unity and Solidarity
• (2016) Pittsburgh becomes 6th US City for CEDAW A broad coalition of human rights advocates helped advance a new ordinance enacting the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in our City, December 6, 2016.
• (2015)World Food Day Watch video recording of October 2015 panel on the Right to Food
• OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute-Human Rights in Pittsburgh and Beyond, Resource Page
• Teach-In: Uniting Against Hate: How the prison industrial complex impacts our communities & what we can do to change it.