Statement by Wade Henderson on the U.N.’s Review of U.S. Human Rights Record

Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and a member of the American Delegation to Geneva, released the following statement after the U.S. presentation to the U.N. Human Rights Council today.

“The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights commends the United States delegation for acknowledging critical advances in civil and human rights and reiterating its commitment to an agenda of unfinished business. We are pleased that three of our key legislative achievements were highlighted by the Delegation: the adoption of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.

That other government delegations raised additional issues on The Leadership Conference’s agenda, including immigration reform, LGBT rights, racial profiling, and treaty ratification, particularly ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), further underscores the universality of concern over these issues.  The Leadership Conference believes that the seriousness with which most countries responded to the report underscores the importance of U.S. membership on the Human Rights Council and its willingness to participate in the UPR process. 

The U.S. also emphasized how important its extensive consultation with civil society was in shaping its report.  The Leadership Conference looks forward to continuing this engagement with the Administration on implementing these human rights obligations.”