Building from a first term riddled with policies that violated human rights, the incoming Trump administration has proposed a dangerous path for the future. Some of the policies championed by President Trump and his surrogates during the campaign could also give new purchase to white supremacy in the United States, a fact that is especially disturbing given the coincidence of this inauguration and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Human rights always apply to everyone, everywhere. They are not to be invoked or ignored depending on whether they further political interests. Everyone in the United States is entitled to the full panoply of these fundamental human rights and freedoms. Many human rights protections are built into US law, the US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. International human rights law also binds the United States in the same way it does every other country.
We expect the US government to ensure all human and civil rights are respected and fully realized.
The courage, leadership, and humanity of Dr. King, and his legacy of fighting for all categories of human rights, including the right to vote, economic and social justice, and racial equality through protest, speech, and movement building, stand in defiance of injustice and are threads of gold woven into the complex fabric of US history.
There are sullied threads as well. Laws and policies codified the oppression and dehumanization of Black and Indigenous people in myriad ways, including stealing Indigenous peoples' land, the persistence of chattel slavery, the creation of Jim Crow segregation laws, the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families to "boarding schools," real estate redlining, the "war on drugs," and through family separation in the criminal legal and immigration systems.
Throughout history, including during Dr. King's lifetime, social movements led by Black people, as well as by Indigenous people, women, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, people with disabilities, religious and ethnic minorities, and people holding many of these identities and others, moved the United States toward a more just reality, despite powerful actors and government officials who opposed their cause.
Ordinary people have always demanded and won respect for their human rights, a reality woven into US history and also embedded in the histories, religions, and traditions of people all around the world. We commit to upholding this legacy of international human rights, and we refuse to give in, even against daunting odds. We intend to monitor and analyze the actions of the new administration, just as we have for past administrations and will in the future.
We will be working to defend rights in the US on many different fronts across the next four years. Below we analyze some issues of immediate concern, based on President Trump's campaign commitments and news reporting about executive orders the administration may seek to implement quickly. These proposed policies directly contradict Dr. King's commitment to racial justice and democratic participation.
Immigrants' Rights
Every government, including the United States, has the duty to respect human rights in developing and enforcing its immigration laws. International human rights standards require the United States to ensure immigrants facing deportation benefit from fair proceedings that take into account key human rights imperatives, such as the right to family unity. The United States is also obligated to ensure freedom from unnecessary and abusive immigration detention. As a party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the United States must refrain from racially discriminatory immigration policies. International law also requires the United States to protect refugees and others from being returned to persecution, torture, or other serious harm.
The Trump administration's promise to carry out a campaign of mass deportations is a threat to violate all of these human rights commitments, especially in light of his presidential campaign's dehumanizing rhetoric. The US government and elected leaders should refrain from adopting rights-abusive immigration policies and harmful, discriminatory rhetoric, and should instead acknowledge and protect the vibrant cultural and economic contributions by immigrants that help everyone in the United States thrive.
Free Speech, Peaceful Protest and Dissent, and Voting Rights
Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United States is obligated to ensure every citizen has the right and opportunity to vote, to express their opinions freely, and to protest peacefully. These rights are also enshrined in the US Constitution and are critical to a strong democracy.
During his campaign, President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy the US military and national guard against people to crack down on vaguely-defined contexts of disorder and crime. This rhetoric was delivered in terms that signaled a desire to crack down on people in the US who might exercise their right to protest. He also frequently referred to his opponents as "the enemy from within" and threatened prosecutions against them. Congress is already advancing legislation that could chill civil society groups who work to hold the government to its obligations. These groups often play a vital role in documenting and exposing abuses of human rights and advocating for change.
Racial Justice
Racial justice is essential to meaningful human rights progress, especially in the United States. Yet President Trump's disdain for racial justice rings loud when he promises to destroy programs that further "diversity, equity, and inclusion."
Instead of eliminating or weaponizing mechanisms intended to advance racial justice and end white supremacy in US society, we strongly urge this administration to address the myriad disparities faced by Black, Indigenous, and other communities by prioritizing policies that promote equity and inclusion. Not only are we morally compelled to eradicate racism, but the United States is obligated under international law to "undertake to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms."
Human rights are only fully realized if they are respected without discrimination. The United States would be stronger if every person had equitable access to basic human needs, such as food, housing, education, and employment. A commitment to racial justice is not merely a political stance; it reflects our shared values of liberty and justice for all, reinforcing the idea that every individual, regardless of their background, deserves equal opportunity to achieve their full potential. A nation that does not care for its people will sputter and fail.
On this Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, we state our commitment to resist infringement on human rights. Dr. King said: "A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true." We will document and expose human rights violations and work to ensure human rights violators-whatever their role, power, or prestige-are held to account.
We will do this in partnership and in unity with millions of people, including those communities most impacted by the rolling back of rights in the United States and around the world. We also challenge the new administration to recognize and uphold the human rights of the people of the United States, as they must be upheld by all states and governments the world over.
Signatories:
Amnesty International USA
Detention Watch Network
Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch
Legal Defense Fund
National Immigration Law Center
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Southern Poverty Law Center
