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Originally posted by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights The Honorable Chip Roy, ChairmanThe Honorable Mary Gay Scanlon, Ranking MemberSubcommittee on the Constitution and Limited GovernmentCommittee on the JudiciaryU.S. House of RepresentativesWashington, DC 20515 Dear Chairman Roy and Ranking Member Scanlon: On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the undersigned 257 civil rights, faith, and nonprofit organizations, we write to express our profound concern about tomorrow’s hearing and the dangerous pattern it represents. We stand united in condemning this effort to discredit an institution that has worked tirelessly to serve our communities, protect our rights, and advance opportunity for all. We believe that everyone in this country deserves to be treated with dignity—free from discrimination, with real freedom and opportunity—no matter their race, gender, zip code, or background. This promise, however, is not self-executing. It relies on everyday people and community organizations to stand ready to uphold it when it comes under strain. This hearing is not about any single organization—it is about a broader effort to use government power to silence people. The government is targeting groups that check abuses of power and that ensure that democracy belongs to all of us. This includes civil rights, community-based, humanitarian, and faith-based organizations that speak from deeply held convictions and provide essential services across the country. This precedent should concern every Member of Congress regardless of party. The same tools used to target one set of organizations today can tomorrow be turned against anyone that a future Congress or administration views as hostile to its political agenda. Across nearly every sector of public life, the government is rolling back civil rights protections while unlawfully targeting the organizations that defend and strengthen those rights. Civil rights safeguards are being dismantled in voting, education, housing, employment, healthcare, and more. At the same time, nonprofit organizations, advocates, and watchdogs that challenge discrimination and government overreach are being targeted in an effort to push them out of the public square—eroding both legal protections and democratic oversight. We have witnessed: Threats to designate civil rights and community groups as “domestic terrorists” and revoke their nonprofit status; Grants terminated without justification or due process; Targeted government investigations aimed at discouraging lawful speech and chilling public participation; Public intimidation campaigns designed to isolate and discredit community organizations; Pressure on law firms, media, corporations, faith leaders, and nonprofits to sever long-standing relationships with vulnerable communities for fear of government retaliation; and Civil rights laws weaponized against the very communities they were designed to protect. The tactic is familiar: intimidate independent voices, deflect from the real issues facing the country, and mete out retribution on anyone who dares to challenge those in power. Our nation has seen, across different eras and under administrations of both parties, how governmental power can be misused to suppress dissent—from McCarthy-era investigations to federal surveillance and harassment of civil rights, religious, labor, and anti-war leaders through efforts like the FBI’s COINTELPRO program. At stake is whether people—regardless of their viewpoint—can express themselves without fear of government retaliation. If organizations and people can be targeted for their analysis, advocacy, or disagreement with those in power, then none are safe. If we don’t speak out against these attacks, it will clear the path for the dismantling of freedom of speech and civil rights and the repression of dissent. We urge members of this Committee to reject the abuse of congressional oversight to target organizations for their lawful work. Congress should instead focus on the serious challenges facing the American people. Respectfully submitted, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights 100% Democracy: An Initiative for Universal Voting18 Million Rising50501 The People’s MovementACLU of New JerseyAdvancement ProjectAFL-CIOAfrican American Policy ForumAFT | Education, Health Care, Public ServicesAll Voting is LocalAlliance for JusticeAmerican Association of People with DisabilitiesAmerican Association of University Women (AAUW)American AtheistsAmerican Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Constitution SocietyAmerican Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)American Friends Service CommitteeAmerican Humanist AssociationAmerican OversightAmericans for Democratic Action (ADA)Americans for Financial ReformAmericans United for Separation of Church and StateAmnesty International USAAndrew Goodman FoundationArab American Institute (AAI)Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJCAsian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote)Asian Law AllianceAssociation for Special Children and FamiliesAutistic Self Advocacy NetworkAvodahBazelon Center for Mental Health LawBedrockBend the ArcBend the Arc: Jewish ActionBlack Voters Matter FundBrennan Center for JusticeCAIR-GeorgiaCampaign Legal CenterCenter for American ProgressCenter for Constitutional RightsCenter for Justice and AccountabilityCenter for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)Center for Media and DemocracyCenter for Reproductive RightsCenter for Responsible LendingCenter on Faith and JusticeCenterLinkCharity & Security NetworkCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in WashingtonCivil Rights Movement Archive (CRMA)Clean Elections TexasClearinghouse on Women’s IssuesClimate Defense ProjectCoalition of Black Trade UnionistsCoalition on Human NeedsCommon CauseCommunities United Against Police BrutalityCompassion & ChoicesCongregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. ProvincesConstitutional Accountability CenterCouncil of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA)Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate ActionDeclaration for American DemocracyDefending Rights & DissentDemocracy AllianceDemocracy Defenders ActionDemocracy ForwardDemosDesiree AllianceEdTrustEducation Law CenterEduColorEndangered Species CoalitionEqual Ground Action FundEqual Justice SocietyEqual Rights AdvocatesEquality CaliforniaEverybody Votes CampaignFair CountFair Elections CenterFair Fight ActionFairVoteFamily EqualityFamily Voices NJFeminist MajorityFeminist Majority FoundationFFRF Action FundFree Press ActionFreedom From Religion FoundationFreethought SocietyFriends Committee on National LegislationFunders for JusticeGeorgia Coalition for the Peoples AgendaGeorgia Conservation VotersGet FreeGLAADGLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law)Global Justice CenterGrassroots InternationalGreenpeace USAHaitian Bridge AllianceHispanic FederationHispanics in PhilanthropyHouston Immigration Legal Services CollaborativeHuman Rights CampaignHyams FoundationImpact FundIndivisibleIndivisible Santa FeInstitute for Research & Education on Human RightsInterfaith AllianceInterfaith Center on Corporate ResponsibilityJapanese American Citizens LeagueJewish Community ActionJewish Council for Public AffairsJewish Labor CommitteeJust Future ProjectJustice ConnectionJustice2Jobs SacramentoJuvenile Law CenterKataly FoundationKids Passport to AdventureLabor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA)LatinoJustice PRLDEFLawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under LawLawyers for Good GovernmentLeadership Conference of Women ReligiousLeague of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)League of Women Voters of the United StatesLegal Aid at WorkLegal Defense Fund (LDF)Legal Rights CenterLGBTQ Center OCMALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund)Matthew Shepard FoundationMi Familia VotaMovement Advancement ProjectMovement for Black LivesMovement Strategy CenterMoveOnMuslim AdvocatesMuslim Public Affairs CouncilNational Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good ShepherdNational Association of Social WorkersNational Black Child Development InstituteNational Black Sisters ConferenceNational CAPACDNational Center for Law and Economic JusticeNational Coalition for the HomelessNational Coalition on Black Civic ParticipationNational Committee for Responsive PhilanthropyNational Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients)National Council of Jewish WomenNational Disability Rights Network (NDRN)National Education AssociationNational Employment Law ProjectNational Employment Lawyers AssociationNational Health Law ProgramNational Hispanic Media CoalitionNational Homelessness Law CenterNational Housing Law ProjectNational Institute for Workers’ RightsNational Institute of Reproductive HealthNational Latina Institute for Reproductive JusticeNational LGBTQ Task Force Action FundNational Network of Abortion FundsNational Organization For WomenNational Partnership for Women and FamiliesNational Tongan American SocietyNational Urban LeagueNational Voter CorpsNational Women’s Law CenterNative American Rights FundNBJCNETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social JusticeNew Jersey Institute for Social JusticeNew Jewish NarrativeNew Mexico Environmental Law CenterNew York Jewish AgendaNew York Lawyers for the Public InterestNorth Carolina Asian Americans TogetherNurses for Sexual and Reproductive HealthOCA – Asian Pacific American AdvocatesOCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates Greater Clevelandone-n-tenOnyx ImpactOur Family CoalitionOxfam AmericaPax Christi USAPeople For the American WayPeople Power UnitedPeople’s Parity ProjectPERILPFLAG NationalPittsburgh Human Rights City AlliancePlanned Parenthood Action FundPoverty & Race Research Action CouncilPowerSwitch ActionPregnancy JusticeProject On Government OversightProtect DemocracyPublic CitizenPublic JusticePublic Rights ProjectRace ForwardReproactionReproductive Freedom for AllReproductive Justice Action CollectiveRobert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights CenterSAGESalvation and Social JusticeSanta Clara Law – International Human Rights ClinicSecular Student AllianceSecure Elections NetworkSEIUShriver Center on Poverty LawSilver State EqualitySojournersSouthern Birth Justice NetworkSPAN Parent Advocacy NetworkStand Up AmericaSTAND UP MOBILETeaching for ChangeThe Advocates for Human RightsThe Alliance for Diplomacy and JusticeThe Arc of the United StatesThe Carter CenterThe Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP)The Center for Learner EquityThe Chamberlain NetworkThe Nexus ProjectThe Ocean ProjectThe Redwood Justice FundThe Restaurant Opportunities Center of Pennsylvania (ROC PA)The Secular Coalition for AmericaThe Sikh CoalitionThe Voter Participation CenterThe Workers CircleThurgood Marshall Civil Rights CenterTidesTransAthleteTransgender Law CenterTransparency International U.S.T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human RightsU.S.-Canada Human Rights Cities AllianceUnidosUSUnitarian Universalist Service CommitteeUnited Church of Christ Media Justice MinistryVera Institute of JusticeVoices for ProgressVoto LatinoWar Prevention InitiativeWE ACT for Environmental JusticeWelcoming AmericaWestern States CenterWin Without War

We the undersigned 115 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations are dedicated to the protection and realization of human rights for all people, and we are deeply concerned about the United States Government’s decision to withdraw from the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, an unprecedented step that signals a worrying retreat from our human rights obligations and the global mechanisms of accountability.

Originally published by Democracy Defenders Fund We are a coalition of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations formed to champion causes dear to all Americans. We work in communities across the country to protect our air and water, our right to vote, to worship, and to organize; we fight for consumers, workers, and our children; we advocate for civil and human rights at home and abroad; we have made it safer to drive on our roads, easier to start a business, and healthier to live in our cities. We span the full ideological spectrum. And today, we stand together for our democracy and in solidarity with the nonprofit groups unjustly and illegally targeted by the Trump administration, including in a new September 25 presidential memorandum. We of course unequivocally reject political violence. But we won’t mince words. No president–Democrat or Republican–should have the power to punish nonprofit organizations simply because he disagrees with them. That is not about protecting Americans or defending the public interest. It is about using unchecked power to silence opposition and voices he disagrees with. That is un-American and flies in the face of the Constitution, including the First Amendment bar on targeting organizations for their advocacy. Charities perform crucial functions in every community across our country, including providing healthcare, housing, education, religious services, food and water, and so much more. Like other nonprofits, the organizations threatened by President Trump have a mission to serve the public good and are composed of everyday people fighting for dignity, safety, and opportunity. This attack on nonprofits is not happening in a vacuum, but as a part of a wholesale offensive against organizations and individuals that advocate for ideas or serve communities that the president finds objectionable, and that seek to enforce the rule of law against the federal government. Whether the target is a church, an environmental or good government group, a refugee assistance organization, university, a law firm, or a former or current government official, weaponizing the executive branch to punish their speech or their views is illegal and wrong. It is also an attack on the very notion that government power must serve the people, not those in office. Charitable organizations serve our communities in various ways, playing a central role in public protection, health, accountability, anti-discrimination, and in creating the moral fabric of our nation. That is, of course, precisely why this administration is targeting them. They know that the organizations they are attacking exist to lift up the voices of everyday Americans and shine the spotlight of accountability on those who seek to abuse power. Political violence is unacceptable. But efforts by the president of the United States to defund, discredit, and dismantle nonprofit groups he simply disagrees with are reprehensible and dangerous—a violation of a fundamental freedom in America. This Administration is trying to bully people into silence but speaking out is, and has always been, our collective mission. We stand with those wrongly targeted and with each other. No exceptions.

Our coalition recently developed a joint submission to the UN Human Rights Council before the USA’s upcoming 4th Universal Periodic Review. This submission focused on the significant deterioration of sexual and reproductive rights and justice across the country since the elimination of a federal right to abortion and amid a broader undermining of rights in the USA.

As the United States (“US”) approaches its 4th Universal Periodic Review (“UPR”), individuals’ sexual and reproductive health and rights have significantly deteriorated across the country, particularly with regard to abortion and related healthcare. Following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,1 a growing number of states have implemented complete bans or aggressive restrictions on abortion, resulting in millions without access to care. Many seeking care, particularly in the South, are now forced to travel long(er) distances, seek medication through additional formal and informal means, or continue pregnancies against their will. Simultaneously, states are increasingly hostile to and criminalizing abortion seekers and providers, third parties who help individuals access care, and/or circumstances surrounding pregnancy, with laws that impose harsh penalties including fines, prosecution, and imprisonment.

Health and care workers play an essential role in realizing the human right to health for all people globally. In fact, the right to “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health” enshrined in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights would be meaningless without health and care workers. As noted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, these individuals are “key protectors of the right to health” and should be protected as human rights defenders. The Global Justice Center (GJC) submits the following information for consideration as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health prepares her report to the Human Rights Council, 59th Session, focusing on “health and care workers as key protectors of the right to health.” GJC applauds the Special Rapporteur for identifying the human rights of healthcare workers and their ability to protect the rights of others as strategic priorities.

Link to original letter with list of signatories We come together as international civil society organizations spanning a range of sectors and geographies to oppose the global gag rule (also known as the Mexico City Policy) and call for a permanent end to this harmful policy. This policy prohibits U.S. assistance for critical global challenges to certain organizations if they provide, counsel, refer, or advocate for legal abortion services in their own country, even if these activities are protected by local law, despite being supported solely with non-U.S. funds. Since 1984, the policy has come and gone with changes in the U.S. presidency, leaving the health and lives of millions of people vulnerable to political whims. As a result of this policy, lifesaving health services have been dismantled in communities around the world, many of which already face systematic barriers to care. Clinics have been forced to close, outreach efforts to underserved populations have been eliminated, and people have lost access to contraception and many other essential health services, resulting in more unintended pregnancies, more unsafe abortions, and more deaths. Implementing organizations who comply with the global gag rule face costly, risky, intensive administrative burdens that limit efficient program implementation and partner cooperation. When in effect, the global gag rule restricts the medical information that health care providers can offer, limits free speech, and stifles local advocacy efforts by prohibiting people from participating in public policy debates. Numerous research studies over the course of decades and the direct experiences of organizations working in diverse settings demonstrate that the global gag rule impedes access to a range of health services – including reproductive, maternal and child health care, HIV prevention and treatment, tuberculosis, malaria and even some nutrition programs – by cutting off funding for experienced providers. Even when the global gag rule is rescinded, the policy’s chilling effect persists due to fear that it will be reinstated by a future U.S. president. Even when presidents lift the global gag rule immediately upon taking office, high-quality health partners face long delays in resuming participation in U.S. global health programs. Permanent repeal of the policy is urgently needed to promote sustainable progress in global health and to build and maintain long-term partnerships between the U.S. government, local organizations, and the communities that they serve. We must end this destructive cycle of widespread fear and confusion that disrupts local advocacy efforts and long-standing partnerships, and undercuts the vital work of organizations on the ground. Ending the global gag rule for good would lift the threat of reinstatement and allow U.S.-funded programs to reach their full potential, thus ensuring that the needs and rights of people around the world are fulfilled. We are in solidarity with those opposing the global gag rule and those harmed by it. Together, we call for urgent action to end this policy once and for all and to advance health, human rights, and gender equality across the globe.

Link to original letter with list of signatories To Members of the 119th Congress and the incoming Presidential Administration of Donald J. Trump: The undersigned organizations write to express grave concerns and to unequivocally oppose the use of the sanctions authority of the United States to attack the International Criminal Court (ICC), an independent judicial institution dedicated to combating impunity for the gravest crimes known to humanity. The ICC performs a vital role in international affairs by investigating the worst international crimes that shock the collective conscience of humanity and investigating those accused of committing those crimes. It does so in a manner that protects the due process rights of the accused, the sovereignty of states, including the United States, and the rights of victims. As has been widely observed, supporting the work of the Court is in the interest of the United States, and sanctioning it, conversely, undermines important US interests. The positive role of the ICC has been recognized through previous bipartisan support for investigations into war crimes allegedly perpetrated by Russian officials in the Ukraine conflict (S.Res.531 and H.Res.963), attempts to bring justice for the victims of gross human rights violations in Myanmar, and as a pathway to accountability for perpetrators of atrocities in Sudan. Many of the undersigned spoke out when the previous Trump administration subjected two senior ICC officials to sanctions and travel restrictions. At that time, we cautioned that it was “uniquely dangerous, extreme, and unprecedented to utilize a mechanism designed to penalize criminals, their aiders, and abettors, against an independent judicial institution.” The previous sanctions against the Prosecutor and a member of her team raised serious concerns about the ICC’s ability to fulfill its mandate, including the Prosecutor’s obligation to report to the UN Security Council on the situations in Darfur and Libya, and to participate in the annual meetings of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the ICC’s oversight management and legislative body, where the US participates as an Observer. In 2024, the House of Representatives passed the so-called “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act.” Although the bill’s full scope was ambiguous, the legislative intent was to punish foreign persons who aid, materially assist, or provide financial support for efforts by the ICC to undertake certain investigations and prosecutions. The Biden administration strongly opposed the bill and the previous Senate did not vote on the legislation. As human rights, legal, and faith-based organizations, the foundations of civil society, as well as individuals who have dedicated their careers to these causes, we decry attempts to attack an independent judicial institution and urge the 119th Congress and incoming administration to reconsider this misguided position. Asset freezes and entry restrictions are tools intended to combat individuals and entities constituting a threat to US national security, such as kleptocrats committing grand corruption, gross human rights offenders, and perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity. By applying these measures to a court that 125 countries – and on two occasions, the United Nations Security Council – have entrusted with providing accountability for atrocity crimes, the United States has brought upon itself the stigma of siding with impunity over justice. In fact, Russia sanctioned some of the court’s judges last year, and the United States should not similarly adopt such vindictive tools. Such actions jeopardize the ability of desperate victims across all the court’s investigations to access justice, weaken the credibility of sanction tools in other contexts, and place the United States at odds with its closest allies. The ICC represents and constitutes part of a global system of international justice of which the United States was a chief architect at Nuremberg and beyond. Today, the ICC, alongside other tribunals, regional mechanisms, and national courts, is carrying forward these efforts through investigations and prosecutions that could help realize justice for atrocity victims from Sudan to Myanmar to Ukraine. As a court of last resort, the ICC only can intervene when and where a State has demonstrated unwillingness or inability to hold its nationals to account for crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction. The ICC therefore provides an essential backstop for victims who have no other recourse to justice. The use of sanctions has the potential for wide-reaching impact against this institution dedicated to advancing justice for victims. The proposed sanctions were prompted by the arrest warrants issued on November 21, 2024, for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Practically, sanctioning the court or its officials would halt its work across all situations that are under its purview, including those critically important to the United States, such as the situation in Ukraine and in Sudan. US citizens who represent victims and survivors also could be implicated for their work to help achieve justice for perpetrators of atrocity crimes. The idea that justice can be selectively used to advance geopolitical concerns is a moral affront to all those who are in peril and an abrogation of the universality of human rights. An attack on the ICC in one situation is an attack on the rule of law itself. At an historical moment when the global rule of law is under attack from multiple fronts, institutions like the International Criminal Court are needed more than ever to advance human rights protections and the universal goal of preventing future atrocities and advancing justice for victims. Instead, sanctions send a signal that could embolden authoritarian regimes and others with reason to fear accountability who seek to evade justice. It is essential that the United States answer any allegation of wrongdoing in a manner that does not betray the cause of global justice, abandon international cooperation, or compromise support for human dignity and rights. It would be a terrible irony if a tool designed to penalize gross violators of human rights could instead contribute to their continued impunity. We urge other governments, Members of Congress, and advocates for victims everywhere to raise their voices to oppose attacks on the independence and autonomy of international judicial institutions like the ICC. We invite allies of justice to join us in standing against these destructive measures. 

Idaho’s “Defense of Life Act” (“Act” or “Idaho’s Law”), a near-total abortion ban, restricts access to necessary emergency reproductive healthcare, exacerbating preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and otherwise negatively impacting pregnant people. The law’s narrow exception for life-saving care will not prevent or mitigate these harms and will leave patients without access to emergency reproductive healthcare. The United States has ratified several human rights treaties that require it to guarantee access to safe and legal reproductive health services, in particular in emergencies or acute medical crises governed by the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (“EMTALA”). Under these treaties, the U.S. is required to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to life; freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; non-discrimination; and privacy. Idaho’s draconian abortion law fails to respect these rights and violates the U.S.’s treaty obligations. This violation of the U.S.’s treaty obligations militates in favor of affirming the preliminary injunction issued by the District Court. Causing the U.S. to violate its international obligations will result in irreparable harm and is not in the public interest.