Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 12:30pm – 2:00pm
WASHINGTON, DC—The United States has long prided itself on being a human rights leader. It has often called other countries to account for their abuses. But it has frequently been reticent to submit itself to the same strict standards to which others are held.
Partly that has been a result of American history and the country’s understanding of itself as an "exceptional nation." Partly it has been because rights issues in the United States have traditionally been conceived in terms of civil rights rather than human rights, the latter regarded as applicable largely to others. Regardless of the reason, however, the failure to embrace a human rights framework for understanding issues of domestic policy has had damaging implications for U. S. foreign policy and national security interests and deprived both social change advocates and decision makers of a valuable resource with which to address domestic problems.
This panel will address how an international human rights framework that encompasses both civil and political as well as social and economic rights within the United States can advance American interests around the globe. Thus, in addition to addressing traditional notions of national security, civil liberties, and civil rights, panelists will also address how violations of social and economic rights implicate U.S. national security and how it is in the national interest of the United States to embrace a broader policy approach that emphasizes sustainable security.
Presentation and discussion moderation by:
William F. Schulz, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
Featured panelists:
Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Laura Murphy, D.C. Strategist for the Campaign for a New Domestic Human Rights Agenda and President of Laura W. Murphy, LLC
Shira Saperstein, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress
A light lunch will be served at 12:00.
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Location
Center for American Progress 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005
Map & Directions Nearest Metro: Blue/Orange Line to McPherson Square or Red Line to Metro Center
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