Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance

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

Annual Human Rights Cookout & Potluck-Sunday August 30 Everyone is welcome to attend the annual Human Rights Cookout and Potluck at Frick Park/Forbes & Braddock Shelter (Details in calendar-below)!

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

Get Involved

We are a volunteer-led organization that supports collaborative efforts with community partners. To find out more or get involved, please contact us at pghrights@riseup.net.
Subscribe for updates on events & action opportunities!

Fall General Meeting: Wed. Sept. 16, 6:00PM at Carnegie Library East Liberty. All are welcome to learn about current work and ways to get involved. (more details below)

University Human Rights Working Group: Do you work at Pittsburgh area universities? We invite faculty, staff, and graduate students to help support human rights learning and praxis on and off campus. subscribe here.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

Calendar

Sunday August 30 12th Annual Human Rights Cookout & Potluck 1:00-4:00PM at Frick Park/ Forbes & Braddock Shelter All are welcome to come meet our human rights community and learn about how we're working to "bring human rights home" to Pittsburgh. Sandwiches provided, bring a side dish or dessert to share if you wish. Co-sponsored with City of Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations, Hill District Consensus Group, Pittsburgh for CEDAW Coalition & others

Pittsburgh Human Right City Alliance General Meeting- Wednesday September 16, 2026 6:00-7:45 at the East Liberty Carnegie Library. Find out about some of the human rights concerns and advocacy happening in our community. Learn about upcoming programming and how you can get involved in bringing human rights home to our community. (lite refreshments provided)

  • Note: CLP is not the host or organizer of this event. CLP does not support, sponsor, or represent this group or event.

Housing Rights Working Group meeting- (Bi-weekly) Next meeting TBA This working group supports community learning and mobilization around housing rights and justice and supports campaigns being organized by the larger city-wide Housing Justice Table coalition. We support the annual Housing Justice Summit and similar events. New volunteers are welcome to join this work!

  • Housing Rights Working Group -Contact for more details pghrights@riseup.net


News
 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.”

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.

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