The Government Reports...
Under the international human rights treaties that the US
has ratified, the government is obligated to report periodically on its
compliance with the treaties. The past two years saw an explosion of
activity as the U.S.
submitted reports to the Committee Against Torture (CAT) and the Human
Rights Committee (HRC). We are presently coordinating a shadow report
to submit to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(CERD) in December 2007. The U.S. will appear before the CERD in March 2008. Further background information and important dates for CERD can be found here:
» Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) Shadow Reporting

...The People Respond.
When
the government issues its reports, it often presents the best possible
picture of its compliance, focusing on laws it has passed rather than
how those laws are actually being implemented, and presenting success
stories while ignoring areas of concern. It is up to individuals and
organizations, such as the members of the US Human Rights Network, to
correct these oversights and highlight for the treaty committees the
true status of human rights in the US.
Shadow reports fill in the gaps of the government's report, and allow
organizations to engage in a dialogue with the committees about their
concerns. The Treaty committee's Concluding Observations on the U.S. can then be used in litigation and public and legislative advocacy back home. A summary of this process can be found here.

Get Involved!
Over 140 organizations coordinated
their shadow reporting efforts before the CAT and HRC. Information
about the process is available here:
» Committee Against Torture (CAT) Shadow Reporting
» Human Rights Committee (HRC) Shadow Reporting

For more information, to get involved, or to add additional items to this site please contact aritchiedc@aol.com