UPR Pittsburgh
The UPR Cities Project In 2019-2020, the United States is undergoing a comprehensive human rights assessment through the United Nation’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. Pittsburgh community leaders will be working with other Human Rights Cities to provide local documentation and recommendations for this review of the US human rights record (See: UPR Cities Project). A UPR Pittsburgh Planning Committee made up of community organizers and representatives from City agencies working to advance human rights is producing a report for the UN's Universal Periodic Review and using this to shape ongoing conversations about human rights in our region.
Planning group members will help implement the UPR Cities “3 C’s”—that is, collect documentation and recommendations for addressing human rights gaps, compile these into reports for the national stakeholder report to the UN and for our local human rights assessment, and clamor: use this information to advocate for the recommendations we have for changes in policy and practice to make our communities places where everyone can enjoy their full range of human rights and dignity.
Our initial report to the UN will focus on national level recommendations, and we'll continue to build on that assessment and engage residents in consultations about local human rights conditions as we compile recommendations for policy changes and actions that can produce changes we need to realize human rights in our communities. Our local assessment has a target completion date of mid-Februrary 2020. This document will be used to promote public awareness and policy responses to our regional human rights conditions and to build political will—that is, a broad-based political constituency that is vocal and active in support and defense of human rights for all residents. A key goal of the UPR Cities initiative is movement-building to build the political will, skills, and collective momentum to carry out these recommendations and re-orient our community so that human rights are the top priority—not a by-product of economic growth and conventional “development.” We want UPR City activities we do support the ongoing work by community and grassroots organizations and to broaden our networks of mutual support and cooperation for human rights.
News and Activities
- Local news coverage-Pittsburgh files human rights report to the UN & Passes City Zero Evictions Day Proclamation
- Immigration rights are human rights, speakers at Downtown forum say Pittsburgh Post-Gazette August 6, 2019. Coverage of our UPR Cities Roundtable on the Rights of Immigrants and Refugees in the Pittsburgh Region.
- For more details see the UPR Cities Initiative.
