Category: News and Updates

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is turning 30 this year.  The CRC is the most comprehensive human rights treaty on children’s rights and notably the most widely ratified treaty since its introduction 30 years ago. The treaty has been ratified by every country with one notable exception — the United States, which has never even sent it to the Senate for consent and approval. 

While there is no good reason for the United States not to ratify the CRC, there are several reasons why we urgently need it. Ratifying the convention is not just about saving face in the international community — it will require us to confront some hard truths about the exceptionally bad way we treat children in this country, work to bring our laws and practices in line with international law, and ensure that children’s rights are human rights. 

In honor of the upcoming 30th Anniversary of the CRC, HRE USA is galvanizing support to not only work towards the ultimate goal of U.S. ratification of the CRC, but also, to partner with individuals, organizations, institutions, and communities to achieve the short-term goal of the endorsement of the CRC at state, local, and school district levels. Overall we hope the campaign will increase awareness of the importance of the CRC and how the U.S. falls short in fulfilling the rights of the child. 

To get involved and join the working group, please contact Benil Mostafa. 

We are used to thinking of human rights as a matter for states to deal with. Much less investigated is the question of what cities do with them, even though urban communities and municipalities have been discussing human rights for quite some time.

In this volume, Grigolo borrows the concept of `the human rights city’ to invite us to think about a new urban utopia: a place where human rights strive to guide urban life. By turning the question of the meaning and use of human rights in cities into the object of critical investigation, this book tracks the genesis, institutionalization, and implementation of human rights in cities; focusing on New York, San Francisco and Barcelona.

Touching also upon matters such as women’s rights, LGBT rights, and migrant rights, The Human Rights City emphasizes how human rights can serve urban justice but also a neoliberal practice of the city. This book is a useful resource for scholars and students interested in fields such as Sociology of Human Rights, Sociology of Law, Urban Sociology, Political Sociology, and Social Policies.

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