Human rights standards provide an avenue of response to social injustice when national, state, and local laws and processes fail. The Human Rights Project attempts to situate domestic poverty and discrimination issues within a human rights framework. While international human rights groups abound, we are one of only a handful of organizations in the United States working to analyze domestic social policy in this manner.

Our work represents a unique and creative attempt to push for a higher standard of government accountability than U.S. legislation typically allows. For example, the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a host of international treaties articulate the right to basic necessities such as food, housing, health, and employment. However, U.S. safety net programs and laws do not clearly acknowledge these rights, and often circumvent or disregard them.

We spearhead efforts to document, monitor, and report on economic human rights violations in the United States, and then publicize our findings through publications, community education, and direct action. We provide trainings to other groups seeking to use human rights standards in their work. We actively seek volunteers and collaborators for all of our projects, which include The New York City Human Rights Initiative. For a list of our current projects and for additional information on the Human Rights Project, please visit www.hrpujc.org.

For more information on the New York City Human Rights Initiative, please visit our website at www.nychri.org.