U.S. Government and Compliance with the ICCPR

The Center for Constitutional Rights has a strong practice of engaging with international human rights bodies to bring attention to our issues and uplift the experiences of those most impacted by the U.S. government’s failures to protect and uphold human rights. Independent human rights experts regularly review whether governments are in compliance with their human rights obligations. We engage with these experts by drafting shadow reports and other advocacy materials, providing testimony, lobbying, and working in coalition with our partners to use these opportunities to highlight serious human rights violations.

The Center for Constitutional Rights has played a critical role during periodic reviews of the U.S. government by UN treaty bodies, including those that review  the U.S.’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racism (CERD), and during the cumulative Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Additionally, CCR advocates before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the regional rights body for the western hemisphere).


2023 UN Human Rights Committee Review of the United States 

 

In September 2023, together with our partners, the Center for Constitutional Rights submitted six shadow reports to the United Nations Human Rights Committee to contribute to its upcoming review of the United States and the country’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Taken together, the wide-ranging reports - addressing death by incarceration sentences, the continued colonization of U.S. territories, the metastasizing terrorism framework that is silencing social movements, the discriminatory deprivation of clean water to Black communities, the ongoing detention of Muslim men in Guantanamo and the treatment of Black migrants - offer a damning indictment of the U.S. government’s failure to uphold its human rights obligations and call for action by the international community. 

In addition to the shadow reports, under the leadership of the the Global Network of Movement Lawyers at Movement Law Lab, the Center for Constitutional Rights joined global partners in Kashmir, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, and Palestine to to highlight the U.S.’s particular role in propagating policies that have influenced the crackdown on civil society and social movements around the world.

SHADOW REPORTS

GLOBAL LETTER

*Indicates lead drafter of the submission.

The Committee issued highly critical concluding observations on the United States’ compliance with international human rights requirement on November 3, 2023. Together with our partners fighting death by incarceration, we responded.


2014 UN Human Rights Committee Review of the United States 

 

In March 2014, the United States Government was reviewed by the UN Human Rights Committee with regards to its human rights commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This periodic review process took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The review was previously scheduled for October  2013 but was postponed at the time to 2014 due to the US government shutdown.

The Center for Constitutional Rights traveled to the periodic review session and advocated on its issues before Committee members. We successfully drew their attention to compelling human rights in the U.S. As a result of these advocacy efforts, the Committee questioned the government on issues including stop and frisk, racial profiling, surveillance of Muslims, the use of solitary confinement, the death penalty, Guantanamo and  Special Administrative Measures (SAMs). Many of our issues were highlighted in the March review as areas of concern for the Committee.  Click here to read a blog by Nahal Zamani chronicling these efforts.

The Committee issued highly critical concluding observations on the United States’ compliance with international human rights requirement on March 27, 2014. The Center for Constitutional Rights released a short statement in response.

Prior to the March 2014 review, the Center for Constitutional Rights authored shadow reports, contributed to other partner submissions and met with the State Department  in order to draw attention to the United States' failures and missteps in meeting its international rights obligations. A selection of these documents and efforts is shared below:

Update Report

Shadow Report Submissions

In addition to the reports and efforts described above, CCR also contributed to the following efforts spearheaded by partner organizations and allies:

List of Issue Submissions

The Center for Constitutional Rights also contributed to and authored submissions to influence the List of Issues announced by the Committee which it will focus on during its March 2014 review session.

 

Attachments 

Last modified 

November 3, 2023