Report back from the USHRN Delegation to the 3rd World Forum on Human Rights.
By Renny Cushing Click here for more reports...

Carmelo Campus Cruz, the Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Coalition to Abolish Death
Penalty. 3rd World Forum on Human Rights see video

First, thanks to Janvieve Williams for her leadership of the delegation, and to the US Human Rights Network for their support.

The Third World Forum began with the General Assembly of the World Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, a gathering of an organization composed of over 75 groups throughout the world dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty. Although USHRN member organizations are affiliated with the WCADP, this marked the first time USHRN had an "official" presence and participation.

Since the last General Assembly a year ago there have been a number of advances in the global struggle to end the death penalty, with a number of nations moving away from the death penalty. In December the UN General Assembly voted 104 in favor 54 against a global moratorium on executions as a step toward abolition of the death penalty. New networks in the Arab World, the African Great Lakes region, and Asia have been established to regional efforts to end the death penalty.

WCADP initiated and organized events around World Abolition Day, October 10. This year, with the hosting of the Olympic in China, a focus of the global movement is on Asia. This also is the 60th Anniversary of the UNDHR, and abolitionist will use the occasion to engage in discussions of how the death penalty violates Article 3 (Right to Life) and Article 5 (Right to be free from torture)of the Declaration.

The General assembly included a discussion on the possibility of engaging the international business community on the issue of human rights and the death penalty, and the establishment of a Caribbean Abolitionist Network. This proposal was brought forward by the Puerto Rican Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. The use of the death penalty by the US Federal Government in Puerto Rico raises, in addition to all the other concerns about capital punishment, issues related to colonialism and self determination.

I was also moved by the opening plenary, in particular the signing ceremony of Cities Against Racism. The theme of the conference, to make the frame of human rights actualized at the community level, is really the work of the USHRN. I am struck by the number of people who were glad to have a US presence at the conference, and to learn of the work of the USHRN. There have been some requests from representatives from different countries in regards to more information on the model of the US Human Rights Network. There is an organization in France, Frere’s des Hommes, that is very amazed that an organization such as the USHRN exists, and is now interested in exploring closer to the USHRN coordinating center how the creation of a France Human Rights Network could be possible, by using the model of the US Human Rights Network.

Despite the lack of presence from organizations from the Americas, when the 4th forum is organized we will make sure that we have a much more visible presence from US organizations because as we have seen, demonstrating to the world that there is a vigorous internal movement holding the US accountable that ensures that people impacted by US practices know that there is a real solidarity movement in the US ready to stand for human rights and social justice.