Difference between revisions of "Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance"

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'''Housing Rights Working Group meeting-Wednesday March 25, 6:00PM''' (Bi-weekly) Online:[https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/TXZ98R1SSoqG-wrytaTiiw Link to attend]. Learn about current initiatives of housing justice coalition partners and help us plan our annual [http://wiki.pghrights.mayfirst.org/images/b/b8/Housing_Justice_Summit_Flyer_Advance_Volunteer.pdf Housing Justice Summit] and other movement-building work. '''All are welcome! New volunteers needed to help us build housing justice in 2026!''' For more information, contact working group co-chair Leeretta Payne for information at pghrights@riseup.net
 
'''Housing Rights Working Group meeting-Wednesday March 25, 6:00PM''' (Bi-weekly) Online:[https://pitt.zoom.us/meeting/register/TXZ98R1SSoqG-wrytaTiiw Link to attend]. Learn about current initiatives of housing justice coalition partners and help us plan our annual [http://wiki.pghrights.mayfirst.org/images/b/b8/Housing_Justice_Summit_Flyer_Advance_Volunteer.pdf Housing Justice Summit] and other movement-building work. '''All are welcome! New volunteers needed to help us build housing justice in 2026!''' For more information, contact working group co-chair Leeretta Payne for information at pghrights@riseup.net
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'''WEBINAR: [https://stonybrook.zoom.us/meeting/register/Jwge6iprRIqW3N20GUuDhw Leveraging Global Human Rights to Protect our Cities'''] -'''Wednesday April 8, 6:00-7:15PM Eastern'''/ 3:00PM Pacific)
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Today in the United States we face a human rights emergency. The deployment of National Guard and ICE agents in major cities usurps the basic rights of residents as well as local authority. Rights to free speech and assembly are under attack, and courts are failing to hold leaders accountable to the law. The international human rights system can provide a court of appeal for situations like this. This panel of legal experts, advocates, and scholars will discuss how international human rights can be a tool for cities and local movements serving as the front line defenders of human rights. [https://stonybrook.zoom.us/meeting/register/Jwge6iprRIqW3N20GUuDhw '''REGISTER HERE''']<br>
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:'''Panelists:''' '''Lisa Borden''', Deputy Federal Policy Director, Southern Poverty Law Center; '''Jamil Dakwar,''' Director, Human Rights Program, American Civil Liberties Union; '''Amy Berquist,''' Associate Program Director, International Justice Program, The Advocates for Human Rights (Minneapolis)
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:Faciltiator: '''Manisha Desai''', Director, Center for Changing Systems of Power at Stony Brook University & Board member, Human Rights Cities Alliance
  
 
=Current Work=
 
=Current Work=

Revision as of 17:42, 21 March 2026


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!"

Saturday March 28 is the 2026 3rd annual Pittsburgh Housing Justice Summit, 9AM-4PM at University of Pittsburgh's Frick Fine Arts Building. Register here: bit.ly/406eW40 Program and schedule

About Us

Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance (HRCA) The Human Rights City Alliance is a networking organization supporting cooperation and community learning that brings diverse groups and individuals together to advance people-centered human rights in Pittsburgh. We support the realization of our City Council's 2011 Proclamation declaring Pittsburgh a "human rights city" by fostering local democracy, coalition-building, and a human rights culture that maximizes human rights and dignity for all people in our region. See our mission statement

Contact us: pghrights@riseup.net


Latest updates
 December 10 is International Human Rights Day
Public Statement: City governments and community advocates are building “firewall for freedom” in the face of human rights emergency

Pittsburgh Activists travel to New York to testify to world leaders on housing rights and immigrant rights -- Community leaders from Pittsburgh will speak to ambassadors from around the world to encourage them to press the U.S. government to improve local human rights conditions and support international law. Read more

*Summer 2025: Pittsburgh Delegation Travels to D.C. to "appeal to the world" for human rights--Joining activists from around the country, local delegates will encourage foreign ambassadors to support recommendations for improving human rights conditions in our communities. The initiative is part of the United Nations peer-review assessment of the U.S. human rights record, known as the “Universal Periodic Review,” or “UPR.”

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


Volunteer!
We are a volunteer-led organization that supports collaborative efforts with community partners. To find out more or get involved, please contact us at pghrgihts@riseup.net.

  • Housing Rights Working Group --This group meets bi-weekly. Contact Leeretta Payne for details (pghrights@riseup.net)

Calendar

Saturday March 28 is the 2026 3rd annual Pittsburgh Housing Justice Summit, 9AM-4PM at University of Pittsburgh's Frick Fine Arts Building (Across from Carnegie Main Library on Schenley Dr.). This year we join advocates around the world to demand an end to corporate greed and government complicity in the housing crisis. Help build community power to demand fair housing, resist evictions and support dignified housing for all. Join community housing advocates, experts, and public officials to learn how we can make housing more affordable and livable, strengthen tenant rights, and build movements for real solutions to housing insecurity and displacement. Housing is a human right, and people shouldn’t have to choose between paying for rent or health care, or between new shoes or healthy food for their kids. Register here: bit.ly/406eW40
Program and schedule
Download flier


Housing Rights Working Group meeting-Wednesday March 25, 6:00PM (Bi-weekly) Online:Link to attend. Learn about current initiatives of housing justice coalition partners and help us plan our annual Housing Justice Summit and other movement-building work. All are welcome! New volunteers needed to help us build housing justice in 2026! For more information, contact working group co-chair Leeretta Payne for information at pghrights@riseup.net


WEBINAR: Leveraging Global Human Rights to Protect our Cities -Wednesday April 8, 6:00-7:15PM Eastern/ 3:00PM Pacific) Today in the United States we face a human rights emergency. The deployment of National Guard and ICE agents in major cities usurps the basic rights of residents as well as local authority. Rights to free speech and assembly are under attack, and courts are failing to hold leaders accountable to the law. The international human rights system can provide a court of appeal for situations like this. This panel of legal experts, advocates, and scholars will discuss how international human rights can be a tool for cities and local movements serving as the front line defenders of human rights. REGISTER HERE

Panelists: Lisa Borden, Deputy Federal Policy Director, Southern Poverty Law Center; Jamil Dakwar, Director, Human Rights Program, American Civil Liberties Union; Amy Berquist, Associate Program Director, International Justice Program, The Advocates for Human Rights (Minneapolis)
Faciltiator: Manisha Desai, Director, Center for Changing Systems of Power at Stony Brook University & Board member, Human Rights Cities Alliance

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.

UN Reviews of U.S. Human Rights

We are currently involved in the United Nations Universal Periodic Review of the U.S. government and have participated in filing two civil society stakeholder reports to the UN, including: Discriminatory Taxation Policies Obstruct the Realization of Economic and Social Rights in the United States, and Housing and Homelessness in the United States. Our team continues to work with national allies to put pressure on the U.S. government and win support of international allies and human rights advocates.

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 Collaborative Housing Association
Our Board members serve on the leadership of this initiative to support the development of cooperative housing in our region.

Highlights of past actions

Immigrant Rights

HRCA partners with the Global Switchboard, Casa San Jose, and other organizations led by and supporting immigrants and immigrant rights. We also collaborate with advocates and experts in the National Human Rights Cities Alliance to uplift ways cities can organize locally to protect and strengthen immigrant rights.
In January 2025, Our national counterpart, the Human Rights Cities Alliance and Young Initiative on the Global Economy, Occidental College hosted a webinar on How Cities Can Defend Human Rights in the Face of Mass Deportations, Webinar recording How Cities Can Defend Human Rights in the Face of Mass Deportations

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:

: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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