Ending Discrimination in 2010

by Leigh Graham · 2009-12-10 14:16:00 UTC
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Today is Human Rights Day, in which the United Nations and human rights activists worldwide take a moment to recognize our on-going struggle for equal human rights. It is also a day for reflection and renewal as we continue to pursue full equality for the poor, vulnerable, displaced, abused, marginalized, people of color, women, ethnic and sexual minorities, the disabled, migrants, and so forth. As we look to 2010, the specific challenge for activists this year is to end discrimination.

For anti-poverty activists, that means recognizing and speaking up for policies and processes that empower those most likely suffering from poverty, especially women, children, the elderly, disabled, African-Americans and Latin@s, and Native Americans. It means documenting and challenging discriminatory policies and outcomes that sentence people to poverty; in her recent tour of the US, the UN's Special Rappateur on adequate housing "warned" the US against violating international human rights treaties by allowing millions of Americans to lose their homes to foreclosure and to live homeless on the streets.

UNHR has tons of materials and information available for you to customize for your own anti-discrimination, anti-poverty activism. Just because December 10th is almost behind us doesn't mean our work is done. In fact, we've got a long, hard year in front of us.

(Visual design from UNHR)

Leigh Graham
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