Urban Justice Center - Human Rights Project

The Human Rights Project (HRP) at the Urban Justice Center works to improve the lives of New Yorkers living in poverty. We do this by monitoring and advocating for government compliance with universal human rights standards, especially the human rights to employment, housing, health, food, education and other economic and social rights. HRP began its work in 1999 to fight NYC's aggressive implementation of the Clinton Administration's welfare rollback policies. The City actively discouraged many eligible New Yorkers from seeking public assistance, and thousands went hungry. HRP has fought for the rights of poor New Yorkers, particularly people of color, immigrants and women, by: Exposing policies and practices that create barriers to economic equality and reform • Enlisting and equipping allies to use human rights standards to combat poverty • Motivating those in power to bring economic policies in line with human rights standards, and • Serving as a thought leader in the domestic human rights field.