Blog

Deprivation in the Face of Plenty: A Human Rights Crisis
May 3, 2013
Today the New York Times reported that suicide has increased dramatically among middle-aged people in the United States, with disproportionately more men killing themselves.  The article raised the question whether it was economic distress that was driving our people to kill themselves in... Keep Reading »
A New Day in the Fields and at the UN
May 3, 2013
In the last 15 years, the modern UN Human Rights system has been forging an evolving consensus around the human rights obligations of private actors.   Last year, the UN adopted Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and launched a working group .  That group culminated... Keep Reading »
On Workers Memorial Day - Pledging Action for the Human Rights of Workers
April 28, 2013
“There is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquillizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.” –Martin Luther King Jr. Last week a massive fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas killed 15, injured more... Keep Reading »
The Health Care Domino Effect: Right to Health Campaigns Are Spreading beyond Vermont
April 17, 2013
The closer we get to implementing key elements of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, the more information we receive about the federal reform’s inability to address the failures of market-based health care.  From the profiteering of insurance corporations, private hospitals and... Keep Reading »
CIW Demands Dutch Giant Corporation Respect Rights of Farmworkers
April 17, 2013
On the heels of a powerful march across Florida focused on the Publix supermarket chain, NESRI and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers traveled to the Netherlands to press large food purchaser Royal Ahold, parent company of Giant Food and Stop and Shop, to join the Fair Food Program and guarantee... Keep Reading »
NYC Students, Educators, Mayoral Candidates and Elected Officials Demand End to Racial Disparities in School Discipline
April 15, 2013
Amid Growing Outrage Against Mayor Bloomberg’s Heavy-Handed “Zero Tolerance” Discipline Policies, Students Call on Next Mayor to Implement Positive Alternatives On Monday, April 15th, 2013 at 11 AM, New York City Democratic mayoral candidates John Liu, Bill Thompson, leaders... Keep Reading »
Why We Need a Human Rights Based Tax System
April 15, 2013
Today the highest earners in our country are filing taxes at rates lower than those struggling to pay rent and put food on the table for their families.  This dynamic is reaching disturbing depths as the media announces that corporate profits are at record highs while wages for people are at... Keep Reading »
Check Out My Brooklyn! - A Great New Film About Gentrification
April 11, 2013
The NESRI housing team is excited about an excellent new documentary on gentrification. And, it’s not just us. The audience members at screenings, and the students in classrooms we have spoken with about the film, have been really engaged and think the film is a big hit! The film... Keep Reading »
Defend Our Human Rights Defenders
April 2, 2013
In the course of a single week in late February, three human rights activists in three cities across the country were in court facing criminal offences arising from their human rights work. The NESRI housing team attended all three court hearings. In New York, Michael Premo, a housing rights... Keep Reading »
"You Can't Build Peace with a Piece" Week of Action - Youth of Color Call for No More Police in Schools
March 28, 2013
During the first week of April, youth of color in cities around the country held concerts, rallies, teach-ins and meetings with policy-makers to urge federal and local elected officials and school districts to fund counselors, social workers and community intervention workers instead of placing... Keep Reading »