Human Rights

Civil rights and human rights have always been intertwined. At the heart of the civil rights movement is the basic human dignity of all people and their right to live in freedom and with justice and equal opportunity.

Items 41 - 43 of 43

Celebrate International Women's Day

March 6, 2009 - Posted by The Leadership Conference

Women in Bangladesh holding signs at a rally

Women in Dhaka, Bangladesh at an International Women's Day rally, organized by Jatiyo Nari Shramik Trade Union Kendra (National Women Workers Trade Union Centre).

March 8 is International Women's Day, a holiday to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.

Though many countries celebrate the holiday differently, the United Nations' theme this year is "women and men united to end violence against women and girls." According to the U.N. Development Fund for Women, violence against women has reached "pandemic proportions," as at least one in every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused at some point in her life.

The International Trade Union Confederation released a report yesterday that found that the global pay gap between men and women rose from 16.5 percent to 22 percent since March 2008.

International Women's Day is an official holiday in several countries around the world including Australia, China, Vietnam, Russia and Kazakhstan, but not in the United States.

The holiday has its roots in the women's labor movement in the U.S. and around the world. The first National Women's Day was held in the U.S. in 1909 to commemorate the 1908 garment workers strike in New York, where 15,000 women workers marched and rallied for better working conditions, equal pay and voting rights.

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First Annual U.N. Day of Social Justice

February 20, 2009 - Posted by The Leadership Conference

Today is the first annual United Nations (U.N.) World Day of Social Justice.

Obama Puts the Brakes on Guantánamo

January 22, 2009 - Posted by The Leadership Conference

Camp Delta at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

Just hours after being sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on January 20, President Barack Obama signed an executive order directing military prosecutors to seek a 120-day delay of all military tribunals at a U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

According to a court document (PDF), Obama will use that time to "undertake a thorough review" of both pending Guantanamo cases and the process for trying enemy combatants. Approximately 245 detainees are currently held at Guantanamo.