2 Human Rights in the United States: A Handbook for Legal Aid Attorneys 1 Version 7/21/14 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Handbook was prepared by the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law (the “Center”) through its Local Human Rights Lawyering Project. We are especially grateful to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the Human Rights Clinic and the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School, as well as Professor Carrie Bettinger-Lopez at the University of Miami School of Law, and Professor Martha Davis at Northeastern School of Law, for granting us permission to adapt their previously published works for sections of this Handbook. Lauren E. Bartlett, Project Director of the Local Human Rights Lawyering Project, developed the concept for the Handbook, adapted the previously published works mentioned above, compiled Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.9, 5.10, 5.12 and 5.13 of the Handbook, and supervised the additional research and editing of the Handbook. Other contributors to the research and drafting of the Handbook include: Lynsay Gott, Acting Director of Human Rights USA, Sections 5.1, 5.7. and 5.8; Sarah Paoletti, Director of the Transnational Legal Clinic at University of Pennsylvania School of Law, Section 5.2; Erik Pitchal, former advisory board member for the Project, Section 5.6.; Kevin Cremin, Director of Litigation for Disability and Aging Rights for MFY Legal Services, Inc., Section 5.10; Pamela Brown, Director of the Bi-National Family Violence Project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc., Section 5.11; Professor Martha Davis at Northeastern School of Law, Risa Kaufman, Executive Director of the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, and John Pollock, Coordinator, National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel, Section 5.13. Rachel Schulman and Jackie Zamarrippa, members of the Center’s Student Advisory Board, as well as Ilays Aden, Mary Kim, Samir Aguirre, Rob Dordan, Brittany West, and Aadika Singh, also contributed to research and drafting of the Handbook. Center staff contributed to the Handbook’s design, production and editing, including: Melissa C. del Aguila, Assistant Director; Whitney Hayes, former Program Coordinator; Marc Rambeau, former Communications Fellow; Cecili Thompson Williams, former Assistant Director; and Erica Nordberg, former Dean’s Fellow. Members of the Local Human Rights Lawyering Project’s Advisory Board, as well as Reena Shah, Human Rights Project Director at Maryland Legal Aid, and Nelson Mock, former Human Rights Coordinator at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, provided valuable feedback, guidance and edits for the Handbook. This Handbook was generously supported by the Ford Foundation. Human Rights in the United States: A Handbook for Legal Aid Attorneys 2 Version 7/21/14 ACRONYMS ACHR American Convention on Human Rights ADRAM American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man AFL-CIO Convention on the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations CAT Convention Against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CATOC Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CERD Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination COHRE Centre on Housing Rights & Evictions CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CRPD Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities CTM Confederation of Mexican Workers DEVAW Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women ECHR European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission FLSA Fair Labor Standards Act GCP UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection HUD US Department of Housing and Urban Development IACHR Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCTC UN Draft International Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights ICRMW International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families ICRSR International Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees ILO International Labor Organization Human Rights in the United States: A Handbook for Legal Aid Attorneys 3 Version 7/21/14 ACRONYMS NGO Non-governmental Organization OAS Organization of American State OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration TVPA Torture Victims Protection Act UDHR Universal Declaration on Human Rights UGT General Worker of Spain UNDOC UN Office on Drugs and Crime UPR Universal Periodic Review Human Rights in the United States: A Handbook for Legal Aid Attorneys 4 Version 7/21/14 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Acronyms ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 7 2 Human Rights Law 101 for Legal Aid Attorneys ........................................................................................................ 10 2.1 Introduction to Human Rights ........................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 International Conventions ................................................................................................................................. 10 2.3 “RUDs” – Reservations, Understandings and Declarations ............................................................................... 18 2.4 Customary International Law ............................................................................................................................ 20 2.5 Decisions of International and Foreign Courts .................................................................................................. 21 2.6 General Principles and Guidelines ..................................................................................................................... 22 3 Strategies for Effectively Using International Human Rights in Your Everyday Work .............................................. 23 3.1 How to Perform Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation and Fact-Finding ................................................ 23 3.2 Treaty Monitoring Bodies and Shadow Reports ................................................................................................ 25 3.3 The Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodic Review ......................................................................... 27 3.4 Special Procedures—Special Rapporteurs ......................................................................................................... 27 3.5 How to Bring a Case Before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights .............................................. 28 3.6 Human Rights Principles Applied to Interactions with Clients and Others ........................................................ 31 4 Human Rights Litigation in the U.S. .......................................................................................................................... 37 4.1 International Human Rights Law is Difficult to Enforce Directly in U.S. Courts ................................................. 37 4.2 Human Rights Law Adds Value to Judicial Interpretation in the U.S. with Sample Arguments ......................... 38 4.3 Special Considerations When the Government is Not a Party to the Suit ......................................................... 42 4.4 International Law in State Courts ...................................................................................................................... 42 4.4.1 California ..................................................................................................................................................... 42 4.4.2 Florida ......................................................................................................................................................... 47 4.4.3 Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................... 49 4.4.4 New York .................................................................................................................................................... 50 Human Rights in the United States: A Handbook for Legal Aid Attorneys 5 Version 7/21/14 4.4.5 Texas ........................................................................................................................................................... 52 4.5 Sample Opposition Arguments .......................................................................................................................... 54 5 Specific Legal Issue Areas ......................................................................................................................................... 58 5.1 Freedom from Domestic Violence ..................................................................................................................... 58 5.2 Labor and Employment Rights 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