I believe that NIHAC must support this effort.

Beth

Beth E. Rivin, M.D., M.P.H.
Research Associate Professor
Global Health and Justice Project, School of Law
Office: William H. Gates Hall, room 421
Phone: 206-616-3674; Fax: 206-543-5671
www.law.washington.edu/HealthLaw/GHJ


-----Original Message-----
From: Mary Anne Mercer [mailto:mamercer@...]
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 11:19 AM
To: NIHAC
Subject: [nihac] Urgent call for human rights in the US

Greetings,

NIHAC has been active in support of international human rights in various
venues. The message below describes a movement in support of human rights
in the US, which I would like to propose that NIHAC endorse - let me
know your thoughts.

Mary Anne


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 13:22:53 EDT
From: SAULELYDIS@...
To: SAULELYDIS@...
Subject: KWRU: Urgent call from the USA


Dear Friends in the International Community:

We, the movement of the poor in the United States, known as the Poor
People's
Economic Human Rights Campaign, are in an increasingly dangerous struggle
for humna rights under the government of Geroge W. Bush. We need the support
of
the international community! Please support us as we fight for an
alternative
to this nightmare that we, and all of you, are living under Bush.

We ask that:

1) Your organization or movement endorse our March for Our Lives and
Bushville in August (see below). Letters of solidarity would be great and/
or you can
fill out the form at www.marchforourlives.org ("Get Involved" section) and
send it to us.

2) Your organization or movement send representatives to be humanrights
observers in August and/ or accompany us in some other way from where you
are.

Thank you. Please contact us to see how we can work together for "another
world."

Jen Cox
International Relations Coordinator
Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign
______________________________________________________________________

AN URGENT CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS OBSERVERS

From August 23 to August 30, poor and homeless families from across the
United States, led by the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, will
set up
a tent city called BUSHVILLE in the New York City area. On August 30, 2004,
thousands of poor and homeless families and others from across the United
States will peacefully march on opening day of the Republican National
Convention
from New York City's United Nations at 45th and 1st Avenue through downtown
Manhattan to the site of the RNC at Madison Square Garden.

The MARCH FOR OUR LIVES: STOP THE WAR AT HOME will show for the world the
miserable conditions and human rights violations being suffered by people in
the
United States, as both parties have abandoned the poor. We will march
because,
as poverty, hunger, unemployment and homelessness grow throughout this
country, we have been abandoned by our political leaders from both parties,
and we
cannot afford to be silent. We cannot afford to be "disappeared" from the
public eye and the political debates as our families suffer.

We send out an urgent call to the international community to send HUMAN
RIGHTS OBSERVERS to Bushville and to the March for Our Lives: Stop the War
at Home.

NOW MORE THAN EVER, we need the eyes of the international human rights
community to be on the United States, to ensure that we are able to get our
message
out to the nation and to the world about the suffering of the poor in the
richest country in the world.

While the US government continues to make war and hurt people around the
world, it is committing grave human rights violations against its own people
as
well, implementing economic policies that impoverish and kill people across
the
US (homelessness, unemployment, denial of health care, water and heat, food,
education), while at the same time limiting and repressing efforts of the
poor
and others to speak out on the human rights situation in the US. The real
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION are the policies which have left millions
without
housing, food, water, heat, health care and education in our own country and
around the world.

The PPEHRC is organizing Bushville and the March for Our Lives to make
visible the suffering and struggle of the poor in the US. Our lives depend
on our
speaking out and telling our story to the world: yet when we speak out we
are
jailed, threatened, our families are attacked and our children are taken
away by
the government. Our families and lives are at risk either way, but all we
have left is our voice, and so we appeal to the world community at this
dangerous
time in history.

During the week-long Bushville, we will be highlighting the WEAPONS OF MASS
DESTRUCTION which exist in our country, and which are being used to violate
human rights in this country and around the world. At Bushville, we will be
taking international observers on a special "Reality Tour" in which we will
expose
these true WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION to be documented by the international
human rights community.

Please see www.kwru.org or contact Jen Cox at kwru@... for more
information on being an human rights observer at Bushville and the March for
Our Lives
this August in New York City.







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