Constitutional Law

Senate Subcommittee Hold Historic Hearing on U.S. Human Rights Treaty Implementation

By Nahal Zamani, Human Rights Program

Today the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, is holding a hearing entitled "The Law of the Land: U.S. Implementation of Human Rights Treaties."

The ACLU submitted this written statement for the hearing record. In our statement, we noted the importance of the hearing:

The importance of this hearing cannot be overstated, as it is the first oversight hearing on human rights treaty implementation since 1992, when the Senate ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It is our hope that this hearing will be first of many hearings to come to focus on U.S. compliance with human rights treaty obligations and elevate the role of Congress in monitoring and implementing human rights treaties.

Further, effectively implementing our human rights treaty commitments and obligations would send an unequivocal message to the world that the U.S. is ready to reclaim its role as a leader in human rights.

Watch the hearing live.

Full post as published by Blog of Rights on December 16, 2009 (boomark / email).