The SPLC Action Fund sent a detailed letter to members of Congress on April 22, 2020, highlighting the need for federal action that specifically addresses the needs of people in South.
The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony today from senior Trump administration officials during a hearing on the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which has resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents.
The Southern Poverty Law Center’s mission to protect the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution does not stop in the United States! Like the Constitution, several international human rights treaties contain important obligations to protect, respect and fulfill rights. These obligations are at the core of the SPLC's work and dedication to advocating for equality, civil rights and justice for all.
Click on each of our core areas of work to find the SPLC’s submissions to international human rights bodies.
Although the U.S. played a leading role in establishing the U.N., it has failed to adopt most of the human rights treaties the U.N. oversees. For example, the U.S. signed, but has never ratified, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We work with a wide variety of U.N. mechanisms, including treaty-monitoring committees and human rights experts, to address U.S. failure to adhere to human rights law.
These are the major U.N. treaties the U.S. has ratified:
The SPLC is working to hold the U.S. accountable at the U.N. and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for its failures to comply with its treaty obligations and to persuade the Biden administration to implement those obligations at all levels of government.
Decarceration and Decriminalization
Protecting Democracy
Protecting Voting Rights
Eradicating Poverty
Other Human Rights Issues
News About Our Work
The SPLC’s Intelligence Project is internationally known for its work to expose the activities of white supremacists and other domestic extremist groups. We are also sharing that expertise with international human rights bodies to pressure the U.S. to do more to protect our society and our democracy from their attacks.
• Submission to the U.N. Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (Jackson, Mississippi) — May 15, 2023
• Testimony before the U.N. Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent — May 2, 2023
• Submission to the U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
• SPLC Report to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination — July 15, 2022
• Response to Call for Input to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights — March 25, 2022
• Response to Call for Input to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism — March 10, 2022
Click on any of our other core areas of work to find the SPLC’s submissions to international human rights bodies.
Decarceration and Decriminalization
Protecting Voting Rights
Eradicating Poverty
Other Human Rights Issues
News About Our Work
Free and equal participation in elections and government is the foundational principle of democracy. Democracy in the U.S. is increasingly threatened by authoritarian efforts to suppress voting rights and limit the representation of people of color in government. While legislative bodies and courts are failing in their duty to protect these rights, the SPLC is sounding the alarm to international bodies and seeking their intervention.
Click on any of our other core areas of work to find the SPLC’s submissions to international human rights bodies.
Decarceration and Decriminalization
Protecting Democracy
Eradicating Poverty
Other Human Rights
News About Our Work
