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:The incoming presidential administration has promised to begin mass deportations and other harsh immigration enforcement measures “on day one.” This webinar will help prepare us, as local officials, community leaders, and neighbors, to understand and respond effectively in defense of the human rights of non-citizens in our communities. The panelists will pay special attention to what those of us who are not lawyers, or who don’t have much experience with immigration policy, can do. The specter of detention camps, family separation, the militarization of the border, and the summary denial of persecution and torture claims is real and terrifying. But there are proven measures that we can take to blunt, challenge, and ultimately overturn such policies, and cities will play a critical role in this effort. The first step is to get informed and organized.
 
:The incoming presidential administration has promised to begin mass deportations and other harsh immigration enforcement measures “on day one.” This webinar will help prepare us, as local officials, community leaders, and neighbors, to understand and respond effectively in defense of the human rights of non-citizens in our communities. The panelists will pay special attention to what those of us who are not lawyers, or who don’t have much experience with immigration policy, can do. The specter of detention camps, family separation, the militarization of the border, and the summary denial of persecution and torture claims is real and terrifying. But there are proven measures that we can take to blunt, challenge, and ultimately overturn such policies, and cities will play a critical role in this effort. The first step is to get informed and organized.
  
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:'''Panelists''': '''Mary Meg McCarty''', ''Executive Director, National Immigrant Justice Center''; '''Bettina Rodriguez Schlegel''', ''Chief of Staff, Acacia Center for Justice''; '''Ev Meade, Director''', ''Proceso Pacifico & Human Rights Cities Alliance Steering Committee''
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:'''Panelists''': '''Mary Meg McCarty''', ''Executive Director, [https://immigrantjustice.org/ National Immigrant Justice Center]''; '''Bettina Rodriguez Schlegel''', ''Chief of Staff, [https://acaciajustice.org/ Acacia Center for Justice]''; '''Ev Meade''', ''Director, [https://www.procesopacifico.org/ Proceso Pacifico] & Steering Committee Member, [https://humanrightscities.wixsite.com/hrca/about Human Rights Cities Alliance]''
  
 
*<big>'''SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, April 5, 2025: Fair Housing Summit'''</big>
 
*<big>'''SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, April 5, 2025: Fair Housing Summit'''</big>

Latest revision as of 17:32, 21 January 2025

Human Rights City Alliance Logo -w TEXT- copy 4.png

Pittsburgh Human Rights City AllianceDignity & Justice for All of Us"Human rights don't trickle down...they RISE UP!"

Donate to support human rights!

About Us

Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance is a grassroots network of individuals and groups committed to advancing and protecting human rights for all people in our region. We work to create a culture of human rights by building and supporting broad coalitions advocating for human rights, fostering human rights learning, and promoting policies that help all people to live with dignity and justice.

We work to bring together diverse groups and individuals to encourage the realization of our City Council's 2011 Proclamation declaring Pittsburgh a "human rights city". We strive to foster a human rights culture that maximizes human rights and dignity for all people who live in our region. We help network leading community organizations and concerned residents to advance people-centered human rights in Pittsburgh.

Ways to Get Involved

Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletterfor updates on events & action opportunities!
University Human Rights Working Group: Faculty members, staff and graduate students can subscribe here.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

Join a Working Group
--Working groups meet regularly to develop projects on specific issues. Everyone is welcome to attend & learn about local human rights issues and find ways to get involved! Current working groups include:

For more information, meeting times and links, please contact Maddy McGrady at madeline@theglobalswitchboard.org

Donate

Don't have time to volunteer? You can still support our work to bring human rights home by making a donation via our fiscal sponsor, The Global Switchboard. Simply select "Human Rights City Alliance" as the beneficiary.

Calendar

  • Intercollegiate Student Housing Coalition Meeting, Wednesday, January 22, 2025, 6:00PM-7:30PM
As a follow up to our November student housing and tenant rights workshop, students across campuses are invited to convene for our first Intercollegiate Student Housing Coalition meeting. Learn how students can collaborate to advocate for housing as a human right as part of the Pittsburgh Housing Justice Table. For more information, contact madeline@theglobalswitchboard.org.
  • Housing Rights Working Group Meeting, Tuesday, January 28, 6:00-7:00PM on Zoom (Email madeline@theglobalswitchboard.org for the Zoom link)
All are welcome to get involved in planning the April Fair Housing Summit!
  • WEBINAR: How Cities Can Defend Human Rights in the Face of Mass Deportation, Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 3:00PM EST *Register Here
The incoming presidential administration has promised to begin mass deportations and other harsh immigration enforcement measures “on day one.” This webinar will help prepare us, as local officials, community leaders, and neighbors, to understand and respond effectively in defense of the human rights of non-citizens in our communities. The panelists will pay special attention to what those of us who are not lawyers, or who don’t have much experience with immigration policy, can do. The specter of detention camps, family separation, the militarization of the border, and the summary denial of persecution and torture claims is real and terrifying. But there are proven measures that we can take to blunt, challenge, and ultimately overturn such policies, and cities will play a critical role in this effort. The first step is to get informed and organized.
Panelists: Mary Meg McCarty, Executive Director, National Immigrant Justice Center; Bettina Rodriguez Schlegel, Chief of Staff, Acacia Center for Justice; Ev Meade, Director, Proceso Pacifico & Steering Committee Member, Human Rights Cities Alliance
  • SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, April 5, 2025: Fair Housing Summit

Recent Events & Actions

  • International Human Rights Day 2024 Our annual Human Rights Day press conference was successful, and we helped set the stage for city leaders from the Mayor’s office and Council to speak to the importance of our shared work to defend human rights in our city. The Human Rights City Alliance was presented with a Proclamation from the Mayor’s office reinforcing the City’s commitment to "respect, protect and fulfill human rights and to promote a culture of human rights in our city."

Current Work

The Human Rights City Alliance helps build alliances among individuals and groups in our area supporting human rights for all. We support local engagement in national and international human rights advocacy, and participate in UN human rights reviews of U.S. policies.

Universal Periodic Review 2025

We are currently involved in the United Nations Universal Periodic Review of the U.S. government and will be hosting a series of related community forums. See our Reports to UN Human Rights Bodies, submitted as part of the global work to improve compliance with international human rights law.

Working Groups Our current working groups focus on the following issue areas, and they are shaped by efforts of volunteers like you!

Housing Rights & Justice

HRCA is an active member of the Pittsburgh Housing Justice Table, a coalition of allied local organizations and independent advocates who believe that housing is a human right and that everyone should have access to the housing they need. Our Housing Rights Working Group supports the work of the Housing Justice Table through related events, education and advocacy efforts.
Through community engagement and conversations with Housing Justice Table coalition partners, HRCA developed A Human Rights-based Housing Strategy and Action Plan for Pittsburgh, PA which serves as a guiding document for our housing advocacy. We want our goals and strategy to reflect the needs and perspectives of our community, which is why we invite residents to review the document and share input with us so that we can strengthen it. Send your comments to hrca@theglobalswitchboard.org or join us for our next working group meeting!
You can learn more about the history behind our research and strategy conversations by reviewing our resource page, Building Pittsburgh's Human Rights Housing Strategy

Steel City Cooperative Housing Initiative

Relevant Events & Actions

  • (November 14, 2024), Student Housing & Tenant Rights Workshop Students are facing a housing crisis that is affecting them financially, physically, emotionally, and academically. 35 students from Pitt and CMU joined Carnegie Mellon Health Promotion and the Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance to discuss student housing justice, tenant rights, organizing efforts in the broader community, and more.

Racial Equity & Justice

HRCA is active as part of a broad coalition of community members and organizations committed to ending and redressing long-standing racial inequalities, inequities, and discrimination in the Pittsburgh region and beyond, recognizing that Freedom from Racial Discrimination is a Right, Not a Privilege.
This work includes raising awareness of the U.S. government's legal obligation to address racial discrimination under international law. For example, the U.S. ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in 1994 and has thus legally agreed to comply with and implement its requirements.

Recent events & actions:

Creating a Human Rights City

In 2011, the City of Pittsburgh issued a Proclamation declaring Pittsburgh the 5th Human Rights City in the U.S.. While this represents a step in the right direction, much work remains to strengthen and actually realize the City's commitment and to create a City in which everyone can thrive. We’re drawing from examples in other cities such as Atlanta to bring stronger human rights commitments along with processes for monitoring and setting targets for advancing equity and protecting the rights of all residents.

Relevant Events & Actions

  • (December 10 2024) International Human Rights Day Press Conference & Proclamation. The Human Rights City Alliance assisted in bringing together City leaders, residents, and community groups to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to renew our shared commitment to using human rights as a path to building a just and equitable city in which everyone can thrive. The Mayor's office also issued and presented our proclamation recognizing Dec. 10 as International Human Rights Day in the City of Pittsburgh.

Relevant Documents

Human Rights Education & Outreach

A key focus of HRCA is raising awareness among civil society and elected officials of the international human rights framework, and how we can (and should) use this framework to advocate for, monitor, and uphold "people-centered human rights" at home. This work includes building a movement of human rights enforcers and educating elected and government officials about their obligations under international human rights laws.

Relevant Documents

Resources

Link to more resources--toolkits, reports, and organizations supporting local human rights work

Annual Reports

Past Events & Actions

Archive




Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

All Pages

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