Through a combination of policy research and targeted advocacy, Human Rights First is working to ensure that the Obama Administration develops an effective strategy to restore American leadership in human rights in critical spheres.
Human Rights First has arranged high-profile meetings with President Obama and administration officials and has widely distributed a series of strategy papers on a number of pressing human rights issues.
Reestablishing U.S. Leadership on Human Rights & National Security
Accomplishments of the First 100 Days and Next Steps for the Obama Administration
A Panel Discussion – April 21, 2009
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) will join a distinguished group of retired military leaders, interrogators, prosecutors, experts and activists to discuss how President Obama and the new administration have navigated the intersection between national security and human rights during the first 100 days of the new Administration and the challenges that lie ahead.
Special Guests
- Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, U.S. Secretary of State 1997-2001
- The Honorable Chuck Hagel, U.S. Senator 1997-2009
- Elisa Massimino, Human Rights First CEO and Executive Director
Participants
- Kevin DiGregory, Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General
- Sonni Efron, Contributing Editor, LA Times, Senior Fellow, GlobalSecurity.org, and Editor, Sit Rep
- Vice Admiral Lee F. Gunn, USN (Ret.)
- Bahey Eddin Hassan, Director, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
- Steven Kull, Director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA)
- Torin Nelson, interrogator and human intelligence specialist
- Ludmilla Alexeeva, Chair, Moscow Helsinki Group
HRF's Coalition of Military Leaders at the White House
Just days after the inauguration, HRF's coalition of retired senior military leaders met with the President, and stood behind him as he signed the executive orders that call for an end to torture and secret prisons, as well as the closure of Guantánamo within one year.
In December 2008, they also met with high-level administration officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder, to urge swift action on these issues.
Read more about these meetings, including press materials.
HRF Blueprints
Our team of experts has released and widely distributed a series of strategy papers developed to guide the new administration decision-making on a number of critical foreign and domestic policy related issues.
The blueprint series draws on the organization's extensive body of work on a range of issues:
How to Promote Human Rights in Egypt
The blueprint provides recommendations for a comprehensive strategy that would bring basic rights and freedoms to all Egyptians.
Read the press release
Read the blueprint (PDF)
How to Strengthen the Ban on Torture
Following up on President Obama's executive order on "Ensuring Lawful Interrogations" and the establishment of a task force responsible for implementing the order, this blueprint provides guidance on how to reinforce humane treatment standards and make sure we do not repeat mistakes of the past.
Get the Blueprint (PDF)
Take Action - sign a petition calling for a nonpartisan commission
How to Close Guantanamo
Based on Human Rights First’s comprehensive research, legal advocacy, and trial monitoring on Guantanamo, detention policy, and fair trials.
Press release
Get the Blueprint (PDF)
Read more about Prosecuting Terrorism
Read our Guantanamo blog
How to End Torture and Cruel Treatment
Draws on the organization’s extensive work on U.S. detention and interrogation policies since September 11, 2001, including close collaboration with over 50 retired military leaders to advocate against torture.
Press release
Get the Blueprint (PDF)
Join our campaign to end torture
How to End Impunity for Private Security and other Contractors
Offers a practical strategy for putting into place the key components of a comprehensive system of legal accountability for U.S. government contractors abroad.
Press release
Get the Blueprint (PDF)
Read more
How to Repair the U.S. Asylum System
Puts forward a series of concrete recommendations to fix legal obstacles, restrictions on basic due process, and overly-broad counterterrorism measures that have made it increasingly difficult for refugees to gain asylum protection.
Press release
Get the Blueprint (PDF)
How to Promote Human Rights in Russia
Focuses on two areas: supporting independent human rights defenders and increasing efforts to combat racism, xenophobia and violent hate crimes in Russia.
Press release
Get the Blueprint (PDF)
Read our 2008 Hate Crime Survey
How to Stop Arms to Sudan
Sets out a three-stage strategy to halt the flow of arms fueling the crisis in Darfur.
Press release
Get the Blueprint (PDF)
Read more
How to Confront the Iraqi Refugee Crisis
Urges a comprehensive response to the Iraqi refugee crisis as part of the new strategy regarding Iraq and the Middle East.
Press release
Get the Blueprint (PDF)
Join our advocacy efforts