Leo Nevas Program on Human Rights

The Leo Nevas Program on Human Rights is a UNA initiative that will engage all the organizations’ activities toward mobilizing existing and new resources to help the UN take a more effective role in human rights as well get the US involved more in the UN’s efforts. The program will update Global Classroom’s curriculum on human rights; recognize individuals who are advancing human rights with an annual award; and bring together human rights NGOs to collaborate with UN officials and permanent representatives to the UN on ways to improve the operations of the Human Rights Council and other UN related activities.

The Human Rights Task Force

Read about the Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force and its members.

Human Rights Fellow

Deborah Brown Named First Leo Nevas Human Rights Fellow of UNA-USA

In The News

Pillay Presents Groundbreaking UN Study on Violence, Discrimination Against People Because of Their Sexual Orientation

March 7, 2012

Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to the Panel on ending violence and discrimination against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity at the Human Rights Council 19th Session. Read more.

America’s Human Rights Hot Buttons

January 20, 2012

By Deborah Brown

The United States recently submitted the fourth U.S. periodic report on its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a core international human rights treaty, to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Read more.

The Human Rights Council and Libya: An Historic Precedent and Missed Opportunity

January 19, 2012

By Deborah Brown, RightsViews

Late last year, with little fanfare, the UN General Assembly voted to reinstate Libya’s membership to the Human Rights Council (HRC). Libya was suspended from the body last winter amid the mass killings of protestors and other egregious human rights abuses perpetrated by Muammar Qaddhafi’s regime and credible threats of continued violence. Read more.

Asma Jahangir: Pakistan's Bravest Jurist

January 17, 2012

By Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, The InterDependent

Asma Jahangir launched her first legal battle when she was just 20 years old, without ever going to law school. It was 1972, and the Pakistani government of then-President Zulifkae Ali Bhutto had just detained Jahangir’s father, a member of the political opposition. Read more.

Pakistani Activist Honored With Human Rights Award

November 15, 2011

By Dr. Isobel Coleman, Council on Foreign Relations blog post

Dr. Jahangir, who lives in Lahore, was in New York to receive the prestigious Leo Nevas Human Rights Award from the UN Association of the United States. During her acceptance speech, she humbly demurred, saying that while she has devoted much of her life to airing human rights grievances, especially in Pakistan, she has not done enough to improve the dismal situation of human rights around the world. Read more.

In Washington, the Human Rights Council Endures Scrutiny

November 13, 2011

By A. Edward Elmendorf, PassBlue: Covering the UN blog post

The United Nations Human Rights Council is attracting more attention in Washington by both supporters and critics in the government and beyond. Some of the council’s defenders and naysayers, speaking at various Washington venues last month, ultimately expressed the same goal: to see the rights body improve. Read more.

Pakistani Activist Honored with Human Rights Award

November 10, 2011

By Annie Ali Khan, blog post on Asia Blog

Asma Jahangir, Pakistani human rights activist and outgoing president of Pakistan's Supreme Court Bar Association, was awarded the 2011 United Nations Association of USA (UNA-USA) Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force award November 9 at a special ceremony at the Grand Hyatt in New York. Read more.

Statements

December 10, 2011

Statement of the Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force on the Occasion of Human Rights Day 2011

On the occasion of Human Rights Day, the Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force (LNTF) of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) recalls and reaffirms the hopes that have been raised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 63 years ago by the United Nations General Assembly.  Read the press release.

November 9, 2011

UNA-USA Honors Human Rights Activists

The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force awarded Dr. Asma Jahangir with the 2011 Leo Nevas Human Rights Award and Karen Woodin-Rodriguez with the 2011 Youth Award. Jahangir, former UN Special Rapporteur and prominent human rights lawyer, spoke to a large audience about the challenges she faced as an international monitor on human rights and as an activist promoting domestic reforms and rule of law in Pakistan.  Read the press release.

October 25, 2011

Statement of the Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force to Congress on "The US Government's Relationship with the UN Human Rights Council"

The Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force of UNA-USA has found that active U.S. participation in the UN Human Rights Council has met with real achievements including addressing egregious country situations, establishing investigatory mechanisms, protecting universality of rights, and breaking new ground. The Task Force also identified political shortcomings of the Council that require deepening U.S. engagement in the UN body. The Task Force submitted its statement urging greater support from Congress and the American people to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US Congress prior to a Congressional hearing on October 25 on the relationship of the U.S. with the UN Human Rights Council. A proposed UN Reform bill would require the U.S to cut all funding for the Council and prohibit it from running for reelection. Read the full statement.

June 6, 2011
Leo Nevas Human Rights Award Announced
Author, journalist and human rights advocate Kati Marton was today awarded the 2010 Leo Nevas Human Rights Award at a luncheon of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) in New York City. Read the full statement.

March 2, 2011
Statement of the Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force on the Human Rights Situation in Libya
The Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force of the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) commends the recent actions taken by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN Security Council, and the UN General Assembly to condemn and punish violations of human rights against the Libyan people by the Libyan government. Read the full statement.

Fact Sheets and Resources

Human Rights and the UN: A Conversation with Felice Gaer

UNA-USA Fact Sheet on the United Nations Human Rights Council ( download pdf)

UNA-USA Fact Sheet on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights    ( download pdf) 

UNA-USA Resource Sheet on the United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review ( download pdf)

Past Events

Fighting the Odds To Uphold Human Rights: Domestic and International Challenges

When: Wednesday, November 9, 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Where: The Grand Hyatt, 109 East 42nd Street, New York, NY

UNA-USA and the Leo Nevas Human Rights Task Force will host a discussion on Fighting the Odds to Uphold Human Rights: Domestic and International Challenges. The featured speaker will be 2011 Leo Nevas Human Rights Award Winner Dr. Asma Jahangir. The event will also feature the presentation of the Leo Nevas Human Rights Youth Award to Karen Woodin-Rodriguez.

2011 Awards Luncheon

 Message from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Leo Nevas Human Rights Award Luncheon June 2011 ( download pdf)
 Kati Marton, 2010 Leo Nevas Award Recipient: "Facts Are a Dictator's Worst Enemy; and a Journalist's Best Friend" (from the Huffington Post) 
 Kati Marton: "Lessons I Learned from Richard Holbrooke" (remarks delivered at awards luncheon, as reported by UN Dispatch) 

Occasional Papers

Renewing America's Commitment to International Law, by Lawrence C. Moss ( download pdf)