Civil Liberties: A Strategic Approach

Promoting Civil Liberties through advocacy and partnership

UUSC defends and upholds the principle that all people are entitled to basic human rights and civil liberties. We acknowledge that without an informed and engaged population and robust democratic institutions to protect these rights, people are at risk of government abuse. The Civil Liberties Program builds on the strong foundation of human rights programs and relationships that UUSC has developed over the last decades.

Advocacy and Policy

The civil liberties that we defend and the democratic processes that we promote are guaranteed by, and extend beyond, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Arab Charter on Human Rights. In order to defend civil liberties, we must uphold the spirit and letter of the law, through which we protect human rights and exercise democratic processes.

Since September 11, new U.S. laws and policies have been passed that compromise our civil liberties and democratic freedoms and institutions. These measures, passed in the name of homeland security, have had enormous consequences for people in the United States and abroad. UUSC's core focus is to challenge these measures, while safeguarding people's civil liberties and upholding democratic processes. This includes defending freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom from torture and extreme rendition, right to due process of law, and privacy rights. It also includes the advocating the restoration of habeas corpus, and the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act.

Program Partnerships and Grassroots Mobilization

In order to achieve our goals, UUSC develops partnerships that foster an exchange of information among partner organizations, both in the United States and abroad. Through these partnerships, we support grassroots organizations that defend civil liberties and democratic processes, which are being eroded by U.S. domestic and foreign policy. In turn, we create opportunities for our constituents to mobilize and act in support of our partners' advocacy objectives. A crucial part of our work focuses on how civil liberties have been restricted on the basis of gender, ethnicity, immigration status, national origin, race, and religion.

UUSC provides strategic thinking, technical support, and seed grants to organizations doing important work on issues such as freedom of speech, due process of law, and ending torture. These grassroots organizations and civil-society groups are made up of everyday heroes who are committed to the cause of protecting individual freedoms.

We are dedicated to forging strategic alliances with, and among, our partners to build a transformative movement for social change.

To learn more about our program partners, click here.