Human Rights Magazine
How Can There Be Free Speech If It's Only In English? The Debate Over Language Rights
Even though 97 percent of the U.S. population speaks English, some lawmakers are pushing for legislation declaring English the U.S.'s "official language," going so far as to propose barring the use of any other language in certain governmental functions.
The Task Ahead: Reconciling Justice with Politics
The ABA has adopted a resolution calling on jurisdictions that have capital punishment to refrain from its use until greater fairness and due process are assured. Now the IR&R Section needs to work with state and local bars to give life to the resolution. Column by Leslie A. Harris, 1996-97 IR&R Section Chair.
The Death Penalty: Calling on Jurisdictions to Clean Up Their Act
A report on the House of Delegates vote at the ABA's Midyear Meeting in San Antonio, calling on jurisdictions that have capital punishment to refrain from its use until greater fairness and due process are assured. By Gina Chon
Unequal Funding: Teaching Cadillac Kids with Chevy Dollars
A look at state court equity funding cases and what can be do to remedy the inequalities of funding for our nation's schools. By John Waldron
How Can There Be Free Speech If It's Only In English?
Is the move to make English the official language of the U.S. just a harmless piece of legislation or are there ramifications that would prevent any other language from being used in an official capacity? What are the issues involved? By Tena Jamison Lee
Demands and Anxiety: The Effects of the New Immigration Law
Section of Individual Rights & Responsibilities
Massive changes in the immigration laws enacted in 1996 are creating unprecedented demands for the legal community as well as palpable levels of anxiety in immigrant communities from coast to coast. By Carol Leslie Wolchok, director of the ABA Center for Immigration Law and Representation in Washington, D.C.
Everybody Should be Allowed to Love Freedom: Why Asylum is so important
The case of Ovidiu Banu, a gay man from Romania, shows why it's important for the U.S. immigration laws to make room for those seeking asylum. By Gina Chon
Nejib Hosni's Release: An International Legal Campaign
Tunisian lawyer Nejib Hosni was released in late 1996, less than a year into an eight-year prison term. This story traces the human rights campaign that succeeded in securing his release. By Neil Hicks, coordinator of the Middle East and North Africa Program, at the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, based in New York.
Roadblocks to Immigration: What to Expect from Reform
The new immigration legislation signed by President Clinton on September 30, 1996, establishes virtually insurmountable summary procedures for arriving asylum seekers. By Gina Chon
Holding the Powers that Be Accountable to Our Ethics Code to Protect Our Integrity and the Peoples We Serve
An attorney and social scientist finds himself often at odds with foreign governments and U.S. agencies when dealing with anthropological work. He offers language in the form of a letter that might help protect individuals working on human rights projects. By David H. Lempert, associate professor (adjunct) at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
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Published quarterly by ABA Publishing, Human Rights covers a wide range of topics in the human and civil rights arena. While the subscription is free of charge for Section members, individual subscriptions may be purchased for $18 by calling the American Bar Association Service Center at 1-800-285-2221. Additional annual subscriptions for Section members are $3 each.
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