Human Rights

American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch issued the following statement welcoming the NATO Summit declaration on Ukraine:
“The NATO Summit represents a watershed moment in the fight for democracy and freedom. AJC applauds NATO’s vital and ongoing show of solidarity with Ukraine and its commitment to provide Ukraine with continued military support and security assistance in the face of Russian aggression. The decision by NATO’s secretary general to send a senior representative to Ukraine also sends a strong message."

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday declined to order Israel to cease its defensive military operation against the Hamas terror group. This decision dealt a major blow to South Africa’s outrageous and meritless case against Israel.

Following reports of the involvement of a number of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) employees in the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel – and sixteen UN member states pulling economic support from the agency – the UN commissioned a report, released this week, on the agency’s management and adherence to UN principles.

New York, NY – February 23, 2024 – As the world marks the second anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked attack against, and its reported commission of widespread and systematic human rights violations and war crimes in, Ukraine, American Jewish Committee (AJC) and its Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) reiterate their longstanding call for world governments to act collectively and individually to ensure a robust international response to and deter further grave violations by Russia in Ukraine and beyond.

Marking the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, American Jewish Committee (AJC) was joined today by more than 70 leaders from around the world in calling on the international community to recognize that “universal means universal.” The group comprises former government officials, interreligious leaders, and human rights and democracy advocates.

American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) and the United Nations Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide brought together senior diplomats this week to mark 75 years since the signing of the Genocide Convention, including representatives from Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the event, several of the diplomatic leaders called for greater political will to confront ongoing signs that communities that have previously experienced genocide continue to face hatred and violence, noting rising global antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry.

After Hamas fired rockets and invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,400 hundred people and abducting more than 200, Israel’s response has been under intense scrutiny. Israel’s actions have been informed by the rules of International Humanitarian Law, or the law of armed conflict, which places obligations on parties to war whether they are states like Israel or non-state actors like the terror group Hamas.

Following historic popular protests that rocked Iran, triggered by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, amidst the backdrop of pervasive violence and discrimination against women, the Iranian government remains resolutely committed to denying its people’s human rights.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivered his third address to the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. 

The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights of American Jewish Committee has urged the U.S. and other nations to protect non-Arab groups facing a serious risk of genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and to bring an end to brutal attacks against them.

The American Society of International Law (ASIL) has honored Felice Gaer, Director of American Jewish Committee’s (AJC’s) Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, with the organization’s 2023 Honorary Member Award. The award was presented to Gaer today at ASIL’s annual meeting in recognition of her “critically important contributions” to the development, interpretation, and implementation of international human rights law, including in the areas of prevention of torture, women’s human rights and freedom of religion or belief.

American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch praised today’s landmark vote by UN member states to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women, a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). “We applaud the 29 members of the UN's ECOSOC who declared today that they will no longer allow Iran, a country that relentlessly persecutes women and girls, to serve as a member of the Commission on the Status of Women. Its immediate removal for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term corrects a grave mistake,” said Deutch.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised the UN Human Rights Council’s decision to establish an “independent international fact-finding mission” on Iran that will “thoroughly and independently investigate” human rights violations committed by the regime in its deadly crackdown on escalating protests since September 16. “The Human Rights Council was created precisely for addressing the egregious human rights abuses the Iranian regime is committing with impunity,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “Today’s Council decision reflects the international community’s outrage at the regime’s conduct, its commitment to listen to the brave Iranian people, and its determination to hold accountable those responsible for the pervasive violence.”

“The Human Rights Council has a responsibility to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its brazen, violent crackdown on its own citizens. The international community’s credibility is on the line,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “We salute Germany and Iceland for mobilizing 44 countries, including the 17 Council members required to ask Council President Federico Villegas to convene the special session on Iran.”

American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised Germany and Iceland for taking the lead in requesting a Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council to address the Iranian regime’s deadly crackdown on peaceful protesters. “The Human Rights Council has a responsibility to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its brazen, violent crackdown on its own citizens. The international community’s credibility is on the line,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “We salute Germany and Iceland for mobilizing 44 countries, including the 16 Council members required to ask Council President Federico Villegas to convene the special session on Iran.”

American Jewish Committee (AJC) applauded the UN General Assembly decision to suspend Russia’s membership on the UN Human Rights Council. “Today’s momentous vote to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council is a principled action reflecting the grave concern shared by many governments about the gross, systematic violations of human rights that Russian forces have committed during the invasion of Ukraine,” said Felice Gaer, Director of AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights.

The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted a historic resolution calling for action to combat Holocaust denial and distortion as antisemitism continues to surge globally. What further measures can the UN, governments, and social media companies take to combat Holocaust denial and distortion? Join Irwin Cotler, Canada's Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism, in conversation with Felice Gaer, Director of AJC's Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, to answer these questions and more.

A new report by AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) finds that antisemitic violence has increased in the two years since a landmark UN report on global antisemitism warned governments of its dangers.

The remarkable achievements of Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, were recognized today at the American Jewish Committee (AJC) 2021 Virtual Global Forum in a conversation between him and Felice Gaer, Director of AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI).

President Biden’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide was a groundbreaking event, one that American Jewish Committee had been advocating for over many decades. AJC CEO David Harris explains in his latest oped in The Times of Israel why acknowledging what happened to the Armenian people in 1915 is important, why the Jewish people care so much about historical truth, especially regarding genocide, and why more countries around the world should join those who have called the mass murder of Armenians by its rightful name.

The JBI report, One Year Later: The Historic United Nations Report on Antisemitism as a Human Rights Concern, surveys the landscape of global antisemitism during the 12-month period following the presentation by Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, of his historic report on antisemitism as a human rights concern to the UN General Assembly in October 2019.

Last year an historic United Nations report surveyed and condemned antisemitism worldwide. Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, discusses what progress has been made and what further actions are essential to tackle persistent antisemitism.

“This is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The State Department rightly said this is the largest incarceration of any ethnic minority since the Holocaust,” says Nury Turkel, a leader of the Uyghur community in the United States and a newly appointed member of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

An estimated 1-3 million Uyghurs have been detained in “reeducation camps” in China, escalating decades of repressive policies targeting the Uyghur religious and ethnic minority. Join us for a conversation with U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner Nury Turkel on the plight of the Uyghurs and Turkel’s advocacy efforts on this issue.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) today called on U.S. federal agencies to ensure that any changes to the U.S. asylum system respect the universal right to seek asylum and the prohibition on returning people to places where they face persecution or torture. An official comment by AJC and its Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights calls on U.S. agencies to withdraw a sweeping set of changes they have proposed to implement to the U.S. asylum system.

Authored by Felice Gaer, Director of AJC's Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI), the report details the AJC efforts, led by AJC President Judge Joseph Proskauer and Jacob Blaustein, Chair of AJC’s Executive Committee, to ensure that the preeminent multilateral organization to emerge from the ashes of the Holocaust would have human rights at its core.

AJC offers pieces of literature, journalism, and film to help American Jews understand how our nation got to this point, how to make sure the senseless slaughters of African Americans end, and how American Jews can join the fight. 

Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Founding Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and AJC Project Interchange alumnus joins us for a comprehensive discussion on race relations in the United States.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) strongly supports calls for establishing an inclusive civilian government in Sudan that supports human rights, the rule of law and democratic freedoms for all.

AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) and several other key Jewish organizations have sent a letter to the UN Secretary General welcoming the internal inquiry into UN activities in Myanmar since 2011.

AJC remembers with profound sorrow the brutal murder of over 800,000 Tutsis, moderate Hutus, and others in a 100-day campaign of horrific violence that began 25 years ago this month.

The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) of AJC partnered with the United Nations’ Holocaust Outreach Program to co-sponsor a screening and panel discussion of the film “Who Will Write Our History,” a documentary about the secret archive of first-hand accounts from the Warsaw Ghetto and the extraordinary people who created it, documenting the horrors of the Holocaust.

“The series helps explore the critical roles of special rapporteurs, the rationale and strategy behind their country visits and how to make them more effective,” said JBI Director Felice Gaer. Rapporteurs have been called “the eyes and ears” of the UN human rights system.

AJC welcomes the UN report on genocide committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar and urges the UN Security Council to take concrete action to implement the report’s recommendations.

Felice Gaer, Director of AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI), received an honorary degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) today in recognition of her steadfast advocacy on behalf of international human rights causes.

AJC and its Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) joined 56 other NGOs in a letter to Secretary of State Tillerson and Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin urging U.S. action in response to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma.

It's been over a month since Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico, but the hardships facing the residents are far from over. Today, 85 percent of the island remains without electricity, telecommunications are cut, basic goods are scarce, and the economy is plummeting. Amid the devastation, the Jewish community has emerged as a bastion of support. With a little more than 1,500 members in a general population of 3.4 million, this small but active community has mobilized its own resources and those of Jewish organizations in the United States to help their neighbors in need.

AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, is supporting IsraAID in responding to the devastating floods and landslides that left at least 120 dead and affected over six million people in Nepal.

AJC is partnering with Israeli Flying Aid to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to Syrians who were forced from their homes by the civil war and are living elsewhere in the country.

The sixth anniversary of the outbreak of Syria’s civil war passed this month as routinely as the previous five.

AJC expressed deep concern over the new and sweeping immigration enforcement policies announced this week by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

AJC views with profound concern the Trump Administration’s plans to pose unjustified new obstacles in the path of refugees and asylum seekers. Such actions reinforce anti-Muslim stereotypes and run contrary to international perceptions of a compassionate America.

A historic United Nations report on global antisemitism was published by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, in late 2019. It is the first-ever stand-alone human rights report dedicated solely to antisemitism. The report documents rising antisemitic violence and hate speech around the world, identifying it as a threat to Jews and as “toxic” to democratic societies.