The US Human Rights Network National Coordinating Center created this guide and toolkit in order to support the efforts of individuals and organizations working towards building a human rights culture in the Gulf Coast region, advocating on behalf of those Gulf Coast residents displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita and holding the U.S. government accountable to international human rights law and standards concerning the rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Many documents published in this toolkit were developed by member organizations of the US Human Rights Network engaged in social justice and human rights work in the Gulf Coast region and across the country. We would like to thank Advocates for Environmental Human Rights (AEHR), Safe Streets/Strong Communities (SSSC), the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI), Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), The Human Rights Project of the Urban Justice Center, INCITE! New Orleans, National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund and Oversight Coalition, Katrina Information Network and The Praxis Project for the use of their materials and comments on this publication. The Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement permitted the use of its publications, as well.

We would also like to thank the Ford Foundation and the Academy of Educational Development (AED) National Fellowship Program for providing support to Gulf Coast organizations and organizations in Diaspora communities (Houston and Atlanta) struggling to confront human rights violations in the region in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.