ECONOMIC HUMAN RIGHTS PETITION
henk - 12.11.2002 12:16
ECONOMIC HUMAN RIGHTS PETITION FILED BEFORE THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR VIOLATIONS AGAINST THE POOR
 http://www.kwru.org/updates/12-11-00.html
http://www.kwru.org/ehrc/bustour/nov10.html
Who is bringing these charges against the United States government?
The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign ("PPEHRC"), along with several of its members - the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, the National Employment Law Project, the Urban Justice Center, and the Center for Constitutional Rights - and several individuals have come together to charge the U.S. government for the economic human rights violations caused by the 1996 Welfare "Reform" Act .
The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign is a national effort in the U.S. led by poor and homeless men, women and children of all races to raise the issue of poverty as a human rights violation. Together the PPEHRC is fighting for our basic human rights as provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: the right to a decent job at a living wage, the right to a suitable home, the right to food, the guarantee of quality education and quality healthcare, and a future for us and our families. From migrant workers in Florida and welfare moms in Boston to public housing tenants in Chicago and downsized workers in Ohio to homeless workers in Atlanta and workfare workers in California, poor people across the United States of America have joined together to fight an escalating war against poverty in our wealthy nation.
Where is PPEHRC charging the government?
These organizations and individuals are charging the U.S. government before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ("the Commission"), an independent body of the Organization of American States ("OAS"). The OAS is the regional counterpart to the United Nations. The peoples of the Americas (through their governments) created the OAS in order to achieve an order of peace and justice, to promote their solidarity, their territorial integrity and their independence. Recognizing that these goals cannot be met without a system that respects and ensures human rights, the OAS Charter created the Commission to oversee the protection of human rights in the region. The Commission is authorized to hear complaints of violations and serves as a consultant to the OAS.
How can charges be brought against the U.S. government in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights?
The Commission has the authority to judge human rights cases coming from any of the member states of the OAS. The Charter of the Organization of American States, which the U.S. ratified on April 23, 1968, gives the Commission this authority. The Charter also requires that all the members abide by the human rights standards found in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (sic) and the Statute and Regulations of the Inter-American Commission.
How is the U.S. obligated to protect social and economic rights?
Both the Charter of the Organization of American States and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (sic) obligates the U.S. to protect social and economic rights. The OAS Charter states that "[t]he Member States agree that equality of opportunity, the elimination of extreme poverty, equitable distribution of wealth and income and the full participation of their peoples in decisions relating to their own development are, among others, basic objectives of integral development." To achieve these basic objectives, the members states agreed "to devote their utmost efforts to accomplishing the following basic goals: equitable distribution of national income; fair wages, employment opportunities, and acceptable working conditions for all; proper nutrition; adequate housing for all sectors of the population; and urban conditions that offer the opportunity for a healthful, productive and full life." The Charter also states that the member states will dedicate every effort to realizing the principle that "[a]ll human beings, without distinction as to race, sex, nationality, creed or social condition, have a right to material well-being and to their spiritual development, under circumstances of liberty, dignity, equality of opportunity and economic security."
The American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (sic) states that every person has the right to the "preservation of his health through sanitary and social measures relating to food, clothing, housing and medical care, to the extent permitted by public and community resources;" that every person "has the right to an education that will prepare him to attain a decent life, to raise his standard of living and to be useful member of society;" that every person "has the right to work under proper conditions ;" and that every person "who works has the right to receive such remuneration as will .. . assure him a standard of living suitable for himself and his family."
The Commission has found that these two documents together, along with other documents that support these rights, protect the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to health, the right to work under reasonable work conditions, the right to education, the right to food, the right to social security and the right to non-discrimination for the peoples of the Americas living in the member States of the OAS - which includes the U.S.
How is PPEHRC charging the government?
PPEHRC filed a petition with the Commission arguing that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Welfare "Reform" Act or "PRWORA"), violates economic human rights by reducing or eliminating basic support for the poorest families in the U.S.
PRWORA repealed the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, which entitled poor or low income people to assistance, and replaced it with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The Act places arbitrary time limits on aid (thereby cutting families off entirely once their "time" runs out), imposes what are often impossible to meet work and other requirements, and sanctions poor people when they are unable to comply with those requirements.
PRWORA imposed all these changes without providing any guarantee of work at a living wage or other alternative means for families who are unable to work to support themselves. Nor did it create the conditions that would enable parents or other caretakers to work. Instead, it provides no guarantee to safe childcare, while sanctioning parents who refuse to leave children in unsafe or unsupervised circumstances.
While PRWORA is only one example of where U.S. law fails to protect economic rights,
PPEHRC chose to use it as the primary focus in this petition because it represents a dramatic example of where the U.S. has pulled back from protecting economic human rights in an arena where the poorest of our people are affected - most of whom are women and their children. Regressing in the protection of economic human rights, as the U.S. did in enacting PRWORA, in the face of a surging economy is a clear violation of the principles of international law.
How does the U.S. government's enactment of PRWORA violate social and economic rights?
Although the U.S. government argues that PRWORA is benefiting the poor by integrating poor people into the workforce, even if through coercive means, people's real life experiences do not bear this out. The situation of the poor, especially mothers and children, has increasingly worsened after the enactment of PRWORA. For example, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study found that the number of people living in households that do not have access to enough food to meet their basic needs increased by 3 million adults and 2 million children from 1997 to 1998. In its 1998 estimate, the USDA found that 12 million children are food insecure. Furthermore, studies throughout the U.S. reveal that many families became homeless after losing their benefits. PROWRA has also affected poor people's access to health care and education. The erosion of economic human rights in light of the U.S's great resources is unsupportable under international and regional law. PRWORA has caused erosion in the area of many key rights, in particular the right to an adequate standard of living.
What work is currently being done on the petition?
The International Women's Human Rights Clinic at CUNY Law School, the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and D.C. based attorney Cecilia Perry are working with organizers to add individual petitioners to the case - the presence of which are necessary to keep processing the case through the Commission. The legal team is also updating the information in the petition, such as statistics and figures of those affected by PRWORA.
What do the organizations and individuals hope to achieve by filing this petition?
This petition and the work of the organizations involved are part of a historical and ongoing movement in the U.S. and throughout the world for the recognition of social and economic rights. A ruling by the Commission regarding the U.S's clear violations legitimates and validates the work of the PPEHRC in the U.S., as well as the work of its partners globally. It provides an official mechanism to condemn these flagrant violations and speak to the issues within the international framework. We hope to generate widespread recognition of the extent of unnecessary suffering in this country and to foster an environment to bring about change.
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