July 23, 2019
The Honorable Michael Pompeo
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
Dear Secretary Pompeo:
We, the undersigned U.S. foreign policy, human rights, civil liberties, social justice, and faith
leaders, experts, scholars, and organizations, write to express our deep concern with the
Department of State’s recently announced Commission on Unalienable Rights. We object to the
Commission’s stated purpose, which we find harmful to the global effort to protect the rights of
all people and a waste of resources; the Commission’s make-up, which lacks ideological
diversity and appears to reflect a clear interest in limiting human rights, including the rights of
women and LGBTQI individuals; and the process by which the Commission came into being and
is being administered, which has sidelined human rights experts in the State Department’s own
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL).
We urge you to immediately disband this body, and to focus your personal attention on the
significant challenges currently facing the protection of human rights globally.
As you said when you launched the Commission and affirmed the importance of the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), “the language of human rights has become the
common vernacular for discussions of human freedom and dignity all around the world, and
these are truly great achievements.” The UDHR begins by declaring that the recognition of the
equal and inalienable rights “of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom,
justice and peace.”
In the United States, the story of the past two and a half centuries is in many ways one of the asof-yet unfinished recognition of these rights for African Americans and other minorities, women,
LGBTQI people, people with disabilities, children, and other marginalized populations, often via
immense struggle against those who would limit rights to a privileged few. Likewise, the story of
the international human rights movement is one of the deepened recognition and protective reach
of rights based on the painstaking work of social movements, scholars, and diplomats, through
international agreements and law.
Given this history, we view with great misgiving a body established by the U.S. government
aimed expressly at circumscribing rights through an artificial sorting of those that are
“unalienable” and those to be now deemed “ad hoc.” These terms simply have no place in human
rights discourse. It is a fundamental tenet of human rights that all rights are universal and equal.1
1 Vienna Declaration, Article 5: “All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated.
The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and

1

 Governments cannot take or discard them as they choose. Like other governments, the U.S.
government is bound to certain obligations codified in widely ratified international treaties. At
best, an exercise seemingly geared toward objecting to this well-established fact presents a waste
of time and energy better spent on actual human rights issues. More ominously, the reference to
“ad hoc” rights resembles language used by autocratic and dictatorial governments, which
frequently speak in terms of a hierarchy of rights.
We are likewise dismayed by the well-documented views of a significant majority of the
Commission’s 10 members. Taken as a whole, the Commission clearly fails to achieve the legal
requirement that a federal advisory committee “be fairly balanced in its membership in terms of
the points of view represented and the functions to be performed.” Almost all of the
Commission’s members have focused their professional lives and scholarship on questions of
religious freedom, and some have sought to elevate it above other fundamental rights. The right
to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is a fundamental right, but one of among 30 such
rights enshrined in the UDHR. No Commissioner focuses nearly as exclusively on any other
issue of pressing concern contained with the UDHR, including the right to asylum, the right to be
free from torture, the right to equal protection against any discrimination, or any of the UDHR’s
enumerated economic, social, and cultural rights, among other topics.
Moreover, the Commission’s chair and members are overwhelmingly clergy or scholars known
for extreme positions opposing LGBTQI and reproductive rights, and some have taken public
stances in support of indefensible human rights violations. The Commission’s chair has stated
that marriage equality undercuts the welfare of children.2 A Commission member has similarly
stated that “the unavoidable message” of same-sex marriage “is a profoundly false and damaging
one.”3 A third Commission member has argued against the use of contraception even when that
use is meant to limit the spread of disease.4 A fourth has described questions of gender identity as
“a matter of mental illness or some other pathology” and “a mark of a heartless culture.”5 A fifth
has suggested that widespread outrage at the Saudi Arabian government’s premeditated murder
and dismemberment of journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi is grounded in U.S. domestic
political considerations.6 A sixth has described the government of the United Arab Emirates as
one “committed to tolerance…committed to civil society,” despite that government’s egregious
and well-documented human rights record at home and abroad.7
These are deeply troubling positions, and it is our firm belief that individuals who hold such
views have no place on a commission tasked with the promotion and protection of universal
rights.

with the same emphasis.” https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/Vienna.aspx
2 https://virtueonline.org/harvard-law-professor-says-same-sex-marriage-about-special-preference
3 https://insidethevatican.com/magazine/people/eugene-jacqueline-rivers-scholar-protestant-minister/
4 https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2016/02/16517/
5 https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/07/15308/
6 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/members-of-new-pompeo-task-force-have-previously-praised-humanrights-abusers
7 Ibid.; https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/07/09/how-united-arab-emirates-contribute-mess-aftermess-middle-east/?utm_term=.8fbe3e7ae676

2

 Finally, we are alarmed by reports and statements reflecting the fact that the Commission was
established without the input of DRL, which is tasked by law with advising the Secretary of
State, through its Assistant Secretary, on matters pertaining to democracy and human rights. We
find the notion that the Commission will focus on “principles” but not “policy” to be a
distinction without a meaningful difference. In this regard, we note that the office charged by you
with supporting the Commission’s work is aptly named “Policy Planning.”
Taxpayer resources should simply not be wasted on this Commission. A body created by this
administration, with the mandate and members you have made public, lacks real credibility. Its
findings will have no weight or ability to redefine human rights.
Rather than continue with this Commission, we urge you to use the resources of your office to
take action on the great many grave human rights issues facing the world today, including those
—like the treatment of asylum seekers and administration rhetoric and policy supportive of some
of the world’s leading human rights violators— you have the power to improve directly.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Signatories
1. Accountability Lab
2. Advocacy for Principled Action in Government
3. The Advocates for Human Rights
4. Advocates for Youth
5. Aemuni
6. Afrolatinos Historical Society
7. Agora International Human Rights Group (Russia)
8. Amazon Watch
9. American Atheists
10. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
11. American Friends Service Committee
12. American Jewish World Service
13. American Psychological Association
14. Amnesty International USA
15. Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
16. As the Spirit Moves Us
17. Bayard Rustin Liberation Initiative
3

 18. Better World Campaign
19. Beyond the Bomb
20. Bridges Faith Initiative
21. Build A Movement 2020
22. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
23. Campaign for Youth Justice
24. Canadian Civil Liberties Association
25. Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Human Rights (CLIHHR)
26. Catholics for Choice
27. Center for American Progress
28. Center for Constitutional Rights
29. Center for Disability Rights Inc.
30. Center for Gender and Refugee Studies
31. Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
32. Center for Justice and Accountability
33. Center for Reproductive Rights
34. Center for Victims of Torture
35. Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) DC
36. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)
37. Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)
38. Coalition for an Ethical Psychology
39. Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
40. Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic
41. Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute
42. Columbia Law School Immigrants' Rights Clinic
43. Corporate Accountability Lab
44. Council for Global Equality
45. CREDO
46. Crude Accountability
47. Dejusticia
48. Detroit Jews for Justice
49. DignityUSA
50. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
4

 51. Environment and Human Rights Advisory
52. Equality Arizona
53. Equality California
54. Equality Maine
55. Equality North Carolina
56. Equality Now
57. Equality Utah
58. Equity Forward
59. Fair Wisconsin
60. Family Violence Appellate Project
61. Feminist Majority Foundation
62. The Feminist Wire
63. Foreign Policy for America
64. Four Freedoms Forum
65. Freedom From Religion Foundation
66. Friends Committee on National Legislation
67. Georgia Peace & Justice Coalition
68. Global Faith & Justice Project
69. Global Fund for Women
70. The Global Interfaith Network for People of All Sexes, Sexual Orientations, Gender
Identities and Expressions
71. Global Justice Center
72. Global Justice Clinic, NYU School of Law
73. Global Justice Institute, Metropolitan Community Churches
74. Global Witness
75. Government Accountability Project
76. Habonim Dror North America
77. Hawai'i Institute for Human Rights
78. Heartland Alliance International
79. Heartland Initiative
80. Hip Hop Caucus
81. Horizons Foundation
82. Human Rights Advocates
5

 83. Human Rights Campaign
84. Human Rights Educators USA
85. Human Rights First
86. Human Rights Law Centre
87. Human Rights Project at the Urban Justice Center
88. The Hunger Project
89. Institute for Asian Democracy
90. Institute for Policy Studies - New Internationalism Project
91. interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth
92. International Action Network for Gender Equity & Law
93. International Center for Advocates Against Discrimination (ICAAD)
94. International Center for Not-for-Profit Law
95. International Center for Rights and Justice
96. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
97. International Women's Health Coalition
98. Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL)
99. Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
100. Jewish World Watch
101. Just Foreign Policy
102. Justice in Motion
103. Kent State Truth Tribunal
104. Kenya Human Rights Commission
105. Lambda Legal
106. Latin America Working Group
107. LatinoJustice PRLDEF
108. Legal Resources Centre
109. Leitner Center for International Law and Justice, Fordham Law School
110. LGBT Bar Association of New York
111. Liberty
112. MADRE
113. Maryland Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
114. Minnesota Peace Project
115. MPact Global Action for Gay Men's Health and Rights
6

 116. Muslims for Progressive Values
117. NARAL Pro-Choice America
118. National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
119. National Advocates for Pregnant Women
120. National Association of Social Workers
121. National Center for Lesbian Rights
122. National Center for Transgender Equality
123. National Council of Churches
124. National Council of Jewish Women
125. National Council on Independent Living
126. National Equality Action Team (NEAT)
127. National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
128. National Lawyers Guild International Committee
129. National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
130. National Trans Bar Association
131. National Women's Political Caucus
132. #NatSecGirlSquad
133. Never Again Coalition
134. Open Society Foundations
135. OutFront Minnesota
136. OutRight Action International
137. Oxfam America
138. PAI
139. PartnersGlobal
140. PEN America
141. People’s Health Movement USA
142. PFLAG National
143. Physicians for Human Rights
144. Planned Parenthood Federation of America
145. Population Connection Action Fund
146. Population Institute
147. Presbyterian Church (USA)
148. Priority Africa Network
7

 149. Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
150. Project South
151. Psychologists for Social Responsibility
152. Rachel Carson Council
153. Reconstructing Judaism
154. Rights and Emocracy of Vermont and New Hampshire
155. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
156. Safeguard Defenders
157. Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center
158. Showing Up for Racial Justice - Montgomery County, Maryland
159. Silver State Equality-Nevada
160. SJSU Human Rights Institute
161. The Solidarity Center
162. Synergía - Initiatives for Human Rights
163. Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International
164. T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
165. Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
166. United Nations Association of the USA
167. University of Miami School of Law, Human Rights Clinic
168. Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights
169. US Human Rights Network
170. V-Day and One Billion Rising
171. Veterans for American Ideals
172. Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
173. Win Without War
174. Winnemem Wintu Tribe
175. Women for Afghan Women
176. Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER)
177. Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
178. Woodhull Freedom Foundation
179. World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Individual Signatories
8

 * Note: those listed below have signed in an individual capacity. Affiliations are listed for
identification purposes only.
Former Senior Government Officials
1. Daniel Baer
US Ambassador to the OSCE, 20132017; Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State for Democracy, Human Rights,
and Labor, 2009-2013
2. Ariana Berengaut
Senior Advisor, National Security
Action; Counselor to the Deputy
Secretary of State, 2015-2017
3. Rob Berschinski
Senior Vice President for Policy,
Human Rights First; Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 2015-2017
4. Eric R. Biel
Associate Deputy Undersecretary of
Labor for International Labor
Affairs, 2012-2017
5. Rebecca Brocato
Special Assistant to the President for
Legislative Affairs, 2016-2017
6. Michael Carpenter
Senior Director, Penn Biden Center
for Diplomacy and Global
Engagement; Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Eurasia,
2015-2017
7. Luis C. deBaca
Senior Fellow, Gilder Lehrman
Center for the Study of Slavery,
9

Resistance, and Abolition Yale
University; Ambassador-at-Large to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in
Persons, 2009-2014
8. Bennett Freeman
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
for Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 1999-2001
9. Michael Fuchs
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
for East Asian and Pacific Affairs,
2013-2016
10. Mary Beth Goodman
Special Assistant to the President &
Senior Director for Development,
National Security Council, 20152017
11. Keith M. Harper
U.S. Ambassador and Permanent
Representative, United Nations
Human Rights Council, 2014-2017
12. Judith Heumann
International Disability Rights
Advocate; Special Advisor on
International Disability Rights for
the State Department, 2010-2016

13. Victoria K. Holt
Managing Director, The Henry L.
Stimson Center; Deputy Assistant

 Secretary of State, International
Organization Affairs, 2009-2017
14. Harold Hongju Koh
Sterling Professor of International
Law, Yale Law School; Assistant
Secretary of State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor, 19982001; Legal Adviser, US Department
of State, 2009-2013
15. Rose Jackson
Chief of Staff, State Department
Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor, 2013-2016
16. Matthew Kaczmarek
White House Liaison
Department of State, 2015-2017

10

Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of
State Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor, 2009-2013
21. Christopher Le Mon
Special Assistant to the President &
National Security Council Senior
Director, 2013-2017; U.S. State
Department Senior Advisor for
Multilateral Affairs and Human
Rights, 2009-2013
22. Jonathan L. Lee
Director for Human Rights and
National Security Issues, National
Security Council Staff, 2013-2017
23. Christopher Lu
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor,
2014-2017

17. Jonathan Katz
Senior Fellow, German Marshall
Fund of the United States; Former
Deputy Assistant Administrator,
Europe and Eurasia Bureau, USAID,
2014-2017

24. Tom Malinowski
Member of Congress (NJ-7);
Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor, 2014-2017

18. Ambassador Ian Kelly (Ret.)
Northwestern University
Ambassador in Residence

25. Mary McGowan Davis
Justice of the Supreme Court of the
State of New York (Retired)

19. David J. Kramer
Senior Fellow, Florida International
University Václav Havel Program
for Human Rights and Diplomacy;
Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor, 2008-2009

26. Sarah E. Mendelson
Distinguished Service Professor of
Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon
University; Ambassador to the UN
Economic and Social Council, 20152017

20. Sarah Labowitz

27. Alberto Mora
Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy
School Carr Center for Human

 Rights Policy; General Counsel of
the Navy, 2001-2006
28. Brian H. Nilsson
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
for Defense Trade Controls, 20152017
29. Matthew G. Olsen
Director
National Counterterrorism Center,
2011-2014
30. Rusty D. Pickens
Senior Advisor for Digital Platforms
U.S. Department of State, 2015-2017
31. Stephen Pomper
Special Assistant to the President and
NSC Senior Director for Multilateral
Affairs and Human Rights, 20132016
32. Michael Posner
Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics
and Finance, New York University
Stern School of Business; Former
Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor, 2009-2013
33. Samantha Power
Professor of Practice, Harvard
Kennedy School and Harvard Law
School; U.S. Permanent
Representative to the United
Nations, 2013-2017

34. Jeffrey Prescott
Executive Director, National
Security Action; Special Assistant to
11

the President and Deputy National
Security Advisor to the Vice
President, 2013-2017
35. Ned Price
Special Assistant to the President,
2016-2017; NSC Spokesperson,
2015-2017
36. Dr. Dafna H. Rand
Vice President for Policy and
Research, Mercy Corps; Deputy
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 2015-2017
37. Susan Rice
National Security Advisor, 20132017; U.S. Permanent
Representative to the United
Nations, 2009-2013
38. Laura Rosenberger
Director of the Alliance for Securing
Democracy, German Marshall Fund;
Chief of Staff to the Deputy National
Security Advisor and Deputy
Secretary of State, 2013-2015
39. Catherine Russell
Ambassador for Global Women's
Issues, 2013-2017
40. Amanda Sloat
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
for Southern Europe and Eastern
Mediterranean Affairs, 2013-2016

41. Douglas Wilson
Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Public Affairs, 2010-2012

 Faith-based Leaders
42. Rev. Patricia Ackerman
Director
Ethics of Reciprocity Project
43. Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein
Avodah
Chicago, Illinois
44. Robert Cooke
Coordinator
St. Rose of Lima Pax Christi group
45. Rabbi Debbie Israel Dubin
Congregation Emeth
Morgan Hill, California
46. Rev. John Edmonds
Episcopal Priest (retired)
Diocese of New York
47. Rabbi Diane Elliot
Wholly Present
California
48. Rev. Joseph K. Grieboski
Priest
Independent Old Catholic Church
49. Neil A. Harmon
Seminarian
Chicago Theological Seminary
50. The Rev. Lauren Kay
The Episcopal Church
Sanford, Maine

51. Rev. Terence Mayo
Public Theology Fellow

12

Vanderbilt Divinity School’s Public
Theology and Racial Justice
Collaborative
52. Shaun-Michael Morse
Worship Director
Table of Hope Metropolitan
Community Church
53. Rev. Elisabeth E.Patz
Associate Pastor
St. Paul’s United Church of Christ
Elgin Illinois
54. Rev. Samuel Paul
Associate Pastor
Board Director, Community
Renewal Society
55. Rev. Dr. Christopher Pierson
Senior Pastor
Gary United Methodist Church in
Wheaton , IL
56. Hussein Rashid
Professor of Religion; Faith Leader
New York City, New York
57. Christophe D. Ringer
Assistant Professor of Theological
Ethics and Society
Chicago Theological Seminary
58. Rabbi Elliott Tepperman
Bnai Keshet
Montclair, New Jersey
59. Marsha A. Thrall
Religious Educator
Unitarian Universalist Church
60. Derek Waldron
Seminarian

 Chicago Theological Seminary
61. Rabbi Deborah Waxman
President
Reconstructing Judaism
62. Rabbi Barbara Zacky
Board Member
IKAR
Scholars and Educators
63. Richard L. Abel
Connell Distinguished Professor of
Law Emeritus
University of California Los Angeles
64. Kayum Ahmed
Adjunct Lecturer in Law
Columbia University Law School
65. Randi Aho
Program Manager
Human Rights Institute at Columbia
Law School
66. Ryan Allen
Associate Professor
University of Minnesota Humphrey
School of Public Affairs
67. Philip Alston
John Norton Pomeroy Professor
New York University School of Law
68. Ashley Binetti Armstrong
Acting Assistant Professor
New York University School of Law

69. Sandra Babcock
Clinical Professor
13

Cornell Law School International
Human Rights Clinic
70. Damián Baca
Professor
University of Arizona
71. Jeffrey Bachman
Professorial Lecturer in Human
Rights
American University School of
International Service
72. Eva S. Balogh
Professor Emeritus of History
Yale University
73. Linda Bell
Emerita Professor of Philosophy;
Director of the Women's Studies
Institute
Georgia State University
74. Joseph Berra
Clinical Project Director
UCLA School of Law
75. Caroline Bettinger-Lopez
Professor of Law
University of Miami School of Law
Human Rights Clinic
76. Carolyn Patty Blum
Clinical Professor of Law Emerita
University of California Berkeley
School of Law
77. Carrie Booth Walling
Associate Professor of Political
Science
Albion College
78. Alison Brysk

 Mellichamp Professor of Global
Governance
University of California Santa
Barbara
79. Lauren Carasik
Clinical Professor of Law
Western New England University
School of Law
80. Monica J. Casper, Ph.D.
Professor and Associate Dean
University of Arizona
81. Carol Castleberry J.D., LL.M.
Assistant Professor of Academic
Success
St. Thomas University School of
Law
82. Michelle Chouinard
Program Coordinator
Columbia University School of
International and Public Affairs
Brian Citro
Assistant Clinical Professor of Law
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
83. Ann Marie Clark
Associate Professor
Purdue University
84. C. Anne Claus
Assistant Professor
American University
85. Sarah Cleveland
Louis Henkin Professor of Human &
Constitutional Rights
Columbia Law School
86. Michael Cohen
14

Professor of International Affairs
The New School
87. Jorge Contesse
Associate Professor of Law
Rutgers Law School
88. Avidan Cover
Professor
Case Western Reserve University
School of Law
89. Mary T. Curtin
Diplomat in Residence
University of Minnesota Humphrey
School of Public Affairs
90. Karen A. D'Angelo
Assistant Professor
University of Illinois Chicago Jane
Addams College of Social Work
91. Tanya L. Domi
Adjunct Professor and Lecturer
Columbia University and Hunter
College
92. Margaret B. Drew
Associate Professor
University of Massachusetts School
of Law Human Rights at Home
Clinic
93. David Evans
Associate Professor of History and
Intercultural Studies
Eastern Mennonite University
94. Christina Ewig
Professor of Public Affairs
University of Minnesota

 95. Chris Fike
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Saginaw Valley State University
96. Martin Flaherty
Leitner Family Professor of
International Human Rights Law
Fordham Law School
97. Natalie Florea Hudson, Ph.D
Director
University of Dayton Human Rights
Studies Program
98. Claudia Flores
Associate Clinical Professor of Law
University of Chicago Law School
International Human Rights Clinic
99. Barbara Frey
Director, Human Rights Program
University of Minnesota
100. Eric A. Friedman
Global Health Justice Scholar
Georgetown University Law Center
O'Neill Institute for National and
Global Health Law
101. Aya Fujimura-Fanselow
Senior Lecturing Fellow &
Supervising Attorney
Duke University School of Law
102. Larry Garber
Adjunct Professor
George Washington University
103. Deborah Garretson
Associate Professor
15

Dartmouth College

104. Teresa Ghilarducci
Professor of Economics
The New School for Social Research
105. Denise Gilman
Director, Immigration Clinic
University of Texas School of Law
106. Stephen E. Gottlieb
Jay and Ruth Caplan Distinguished
Professor of Law Emeritus
Albany Law School
107. Jennifer M. Green
Associate Professor
University of Minnesota Law School
108. Gergana Halpern
Program Manager
Columbia University Institute for the
Study of Human Rights
109. Rebecca Hamilton
Assistant Professor of Law
American University Washington
College of Law
110. Mary Hansel
Instructor
University of California Irvine
School of Law International Justice
Clinic
111. Dina Francesca Haynes
Professor of Law
New England Law
112. Laurence R. Helfer
Professor of Law
Duke University

 113. Francisca James Hernández
Research Associate
University of Arizona Southwest
Institute for Research on Women
114. John Quentin Heywood
Professor
American University
115. Sabrina Howell
Assistant Professor
New York University Stern School of
Business
116. David Howell
Professor of Economics and Public
Policy
The New School
117. Darlene Huang
Senior Associate
Georgetown Law O'Neill Institute
for National & Global Health Law
118. Jayne Huckerby
Clinical Professor of Law
Duke University School of Law
119. Jennifer Hunt
James Cullen Professor of
Economics
Rutgers University
120. Jean Jackson
Professor of Anthropology Emerita
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
121. Mark R. Jacobson

16

John J. McCloy '16 Professor of
American Institutions and
International Diplomacy
Amherst College
122. Elaine Dorough Johnson
Professor Emerita
University of Wisconsin Whitewater
123. Michael Johnston
Charles A. Dana Professor of
Political Science Emeritus, Colgate
University
124. Amy Kaminsky
Professor Emerita
University of Minnesota
125. JoAnn Kamuf Ward
Director, Human Rights in the US
Project
Columbia Law School Human
Rights Institute
126. Dr. Jocelyn Kelly
Fellow and Director of the Women in
War Program
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
127. Helen M. Kinsella
Associate Professor
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
128. Sarah Knuckey
Lieff Cabraser Clinical Professor of
Human Rights
Columbia Law School
129. Jonneke Koomen
Associate Professor of Politics and
Sociology
Willamette University

 130. Harry A. Lando
Distinguished International Professor
University of Minnesota
131. Amy Lehr
Lecturer
University of Virginia School of Law
132. Mark Lipton, Ph.D.
Professor of Management
The New School
133. Catherine Lutz
Thomas J Watson Jr Family
Professor of Anthropology and
International Studies
Brown University
134. Susan Mapp
Professor
Elizabethtown College
135. Dr. Peter J. Matlon
Adunct Professor
Cornell University
136. Nancy A. Matthews
Professor of Justice Studies
Northeastern Illinois University
137. Richard McGahey
Senior Fellow
New School for Social Research
138. Katherine Marino
Assistant Professor of History
UCLA

17

139. Jane McPherson
Assistant Professor & Director of
Global Engagement
University of Georgia School of
Social Work
140. Tara J. Melish
Professor of Law & Director of
Buffalo Human Rights Center, State
University of New York Buffalo
School of Law
141. Scott Melzer
Professor of Sociology
Albion College
142. Hope Metcalf
Lecturer
Yale Law School
143. Steven H. Miles, M.D.
Professor of Medicine, Emeritus
University of Minnesota
144. Binny Miller
Professor of Law and Co-Director,
Criminal Justice Clinic
American University Washington
College of Law
145. Alice M. Miller, J.D.
Co-Director, Global Health Justice
Partnership of the Yale Law and
Public Health Schools
146. Alex Moorehead
Lecturer in Law
Columbia Law School Human
Rights Institute

 Frank C. Newman Lecturer, School
of Law & Visiting Research Scholar,
Haas Institute
University of California Berkeley
147. Benjamin A. Peters
Director of the Global Scholars
Program
University of Michigan
148. V. Spike Peterson
Professor
University of Arizona
149. Catherine Powell
Professor of Law
Fordham University School of Law
150. Joel R. Pruce
Assistant Professor of Human Rights
Studies
University of Dayton
151. Jean Quataert
State University of New York
Distinguished Professor of History
Binghamton University
152. Cheryl Robertson
Professor and Chair, Population
Health and Systems Department
University of Minnesota School of
Nursing
153. Mindy Jane Roseman
Director, Gruber Program for Global
Justice and Women’s Rights and
Director, International Law
Programs
Yale Law School
154. Stephen A. Rosenbaum

18

155. Tom Rosen-Molina
Global Affairs Analyst
University of California Davis
156. Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith
CoDirector, Binational Migration
Institute
Adjunct Faculty, University of
Arizona
157. Mark John Sanchez
Lecturer
Harvard University
158. Mary Bryna Sanger, Ph.D.
Professor of Urban Policy and
Management and Deputy Provost
The New School
159. Margaret Satterthwaite
Professor of Clinical Law; Director,
Global Justice Clinic
New York University School of Law
160. Joachim J. Savelsberg
Professor of Sociology and Law
University of Minnesota
161. Naomi Scheman
Professor Emerita
University of Minnesota
162. Kim Lane Scheppele
Rockefeller Professor of Sociology
and International Affairs

 Princeton University
163. Alex Schwartz
Professor
The New School

164. Debbie Sharnak
Assistant Professor
Rowan University
165. Louise Shelley
Professor
George Mason University
166. Amelia Shindelar
Coordinator, Master of Human
Rights
University of Minnesota

172. Sarah B. Snyder
Associate Professor
American University

173. Stephen Soldz
Professor
Boston Graduate School of
Psychoanalysis
174. Cynthia Soohoo
Professor of Law
City University of New York School
of Law
175. Nidhi Srinivas
Professor
The New School

167. James Silk
Binger Clinical Professor of Human
Rights
Yale Law School

176. Beth Stephens
Distinguished Professor
Rutgers Law School

168. William Simmons
Professor and Director of Human
Rights Practice Programs
University of Arizona

177. Susan Sturm
George M. Jaffin Professor of Law
and Social Responsibility
Columbia Law School

169. Brad Simpson
Associate Professor of History and
Asian Studies
University of Connecticut

178. Beth Van Schaack
Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor of
Human Rights
Stanford Law School

170. Anita Sinha
Assistant Professor of Law
American University Washington
College of Law

179. William A. Toscano
Professor
University of Minnesota School of
Public Health

171. Jackie Smith
Professor of Sociology
University of Pittsburgh

180. David Vine
Professor
American University

19

 181. Tanya Voss
Clinical Professor
The University of Texas at Austin
Steve Hicks School of Social Work

189. Taylor Anvid
Pro Bono Asylum Attorney
Torture Abolition Survivor Support
Coalition

182. Susan Waltz
Professor
University of Michigan Ford School
of Public Policy

190. George Ayala
Executive Director
MPact Global Action for Gay Men's
Health and Rights

183. Deborah M. Weissman
Reef C. Ivey II Distinguished
Professor of Law
University of North Carolina School
of Law

191. Rosario Beck
Associate Director of Philanthropy
ACLU of Arizona

184. Richard J. Wilson
Emeritus Professor of Law
American University Washington
College of Law
185. Michael Winikoff
Communications Director
University of Minnesota
BioTechnology Institute
186. Inga Winkler
Lecturer
Columbia University Institute for the
Study of Human Rights
187. Malia L. Womack
Graduate Teaching Associate
The Ohio State University

192. Max A. Bergmann
Senior Fellow
Center for American Progress
193. Blaine Bookey
Co-Legal Director
Center for Gender & Refugee
Studies
194. Charlotte Clymer
Press Secretary, Rapid Response
Human Rights Campaign
195. Susan Corke
Senior Fellow
German Marshall Fund
196. Malia Du Mont
Member of the Board
World Affairs Council Mid-Hudson
Valley

Advocates and Other Signatories
188. Andrew Albertson
Executive Director
Foreign Policy for America

197. Gregory Feifer
Executive Director
Institute of Current World Affairs
198. Eleanor Goldfield

20

 Creative Activist/Singer/Writer
Art Killing Apathy

207. Rebecca Landy
Director of Engagement
Human Rights Funders Network
(HRFN)

199. Karen A. Greenaway
Attorney; Supervisory Special Agent,
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
1996-2018

208. Ricci Levy
President & CEO
Woodhull Freedom Foundation

200. Raffi Freedman-Gurspan
Senior Associate Director for Public
Engagement and Obama
Administration LGBTQ Liaison,
2016-2017

209. Jason Lewis-Berry
Lead Foreign Affairs Officer
Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization
Operations U.S. State Department,
2008-2013

201. Hadar Harris
Executive Director
Student Press Law Center

210. John Lindsay-Poland
Scholar and project coordinator

202. Sarah Holewinski
Security Fellow
Open Society Foundations
203. Deena R. Hurwitz
International Human Rights Lawyer
and Consultant
Charlottesville, Virginia
204. Kerry Kennedy
Author, Attorney & Activist
New York, NY
205. Glory Kilanko
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Women Watch Afrika, Inc.
206. Rachel Kleinfeld
Co-Founder
Truman National Security Project
21

Global Exchange
211. Delphine Lourtau
Executive Director
Cornell Center on the Death Penalty
Worldwide
212. Daniel R. Mahanty
Director, U.S. Program
Center For Civilians In Conflict
213. Nora Mardirossian
Human Rights Reporting Program
Advisor
Shift
214. Caroline P. Mauldin
Founder
Happy & Bennett
215. Monami Maulik
International Coordinator

 Global Coalition on Migration
216. Barbara E. McKinney
Director; Assistant City Attorney
Bloomington Human Rights
Commission

217. Sarah McMains
Policy Research Fellow, NGO
Working Group on Women, Peace,
and Security
218. Peter Micek
General Counsel
Access Now
219. Peter Montgomery
Senior Fellow
People For the American Way
220. Katrina Mulligan
Managing Director
Center for American Progress
221. Blake Narendra
Special Advisor, Bureau of Arms
Control, Verification, and
Compliance, U.S. Department of
State, 2015-2017
222. Robyn Ochs
Editor
Bi Women Quarterly
223. Dr. Melanie Beth Oliviero
Strategic Adviser
Independent Consultant
224. Ted Piccone
Nonresident Senior Fellow
Brookings Institution
22

225. Jason Pielemeier
Policy Director
Global Network Initiative
226. John Pielemeier
Senior USAID Foreign Service
Officer (Ret.), 1980-1994
227. Mitchell Plitnick
President
ReThinking Foreign Policy
228. Jennifer Prestholdt
Deputy Director
The Advocates for Human Rights
229. Ann Racuya-Robbins
Founder & CEO
World Knowledge Bank
230. Rebecca Riddell
Senior Advisor to the UN Special
Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and
Human Rights
231. Julia Robinson
Member
People's Health Movement
232. Meg Roggensack
Former Senior Advisor, Business and
Human Rights, Human Rights First
233. Eric Rosans
Director
Prevention Project
234. Edna Zula Ruano
Director of Public Affairs in the
Office of the U.S. Global AIDS
Coordinator and Health Diplomacy,
U.S. Department of State, 2016-2017

 235. Jill Savitt
President and CEO
National Center for Civil and Human
Rights

243. Kelsey Suemnicht
Founder
The Foreign Policy Project
244. Jaime Todd-Gher, J.D., LL.M.
Legal Advisor
Amnesty International

236. Jamila Sayouri
President
Adala Association for the Right to a
Fair Trial

245. Charles M. Watts
Founder and President
Empathy Surplus Project

237. Stephanie L. Schmid
Foreign Service Officer, 2011-2018
U.S. Department of State
238. Carey Shenkman
Human Rights Attorney
The Law Office of Carey Shenkman
239. Jolynn Shoemaker
Fellow, Our Secure Future: Women
Make the Difference, One Earth
Future
240. Darrion Smith
UE Eastern Region Vice President
Black Workers For Justice / UE
Local 150 North Carolina Public
Service Workers Union
241. Sandra Castro Solis
Membership & Movement Building
Director
U.S. Human Rights Network
242. David Sullivan
Director of Learning and
Development
Global Network Initiative

23

246. Regina Waugh
Policy Analyst
Los Angeles County Department of
Mental Health
247. Lynne Weil
Senior Advisor to the Undersecretary
of State for Public Diplomacy and
Public Affairs, 2010-2012
248. Marlena Wisniak
Consultant
Investor Alliance for Human Rights
249. Elizabeth Anne Wood
Senior Strategist
Woodhull Freedom Foundation
250. Hilda Yepes Contreras
Board Director
True NorthOrganizing Network
251. Mona Younis, Ph.D.
Consultant
Mona Younis Consulting