WASHINGTON, DC – Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, The Heritage Foundation, American Values, Independent Women’s Forum, Forum for Religious Freedom-Europe (FOREF), and many more joined together to send a clear message of support to Secretary of State Pompeo on his announcement of the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights. Click here to read the official letter sent to Secretary Pompeo (pdf version).
August 6, 2019
The Honorable Mike Pompeo
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, DC, 20520
Dear Secretary Pompeo:
So many people advocate today in the name of “human rights” that social goals are often confused with God-given fundamental or unalienable rights, a problem leading to less individual freedom, not more. Clarification of human rights is the first step in an effective strategy to protect human rights around the world. For this reason, we welcome your announcement of the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights which will ground U.S. foreign policy on human rights in America’s founding principles of individual dignity and freedoms, later reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
As America’s founders state in the Declaration of Independence, unalienable rights are based in natural law and include “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Rights like freedom of conscience, speech, and belief are “natural” or “God-given” because they’re inherent to all human beings—we are born with them. These rights are to be protected by the government, not given by the government, as demonstrated in the U.S. Bill of Rights.
In like manner, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) recognizes man’s inherent dignity and that “the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.” Human rights are the foundation of our common dignity, and when we protect this foundation, we then have the freedom to advocate for our goals, ideologies, and political preferences.
However, the foundation of human rights is being watered-down by activists around the world promoting political ideology and identity group goals as “human rights.” Examples of this type of activism include: the right to a clean environment, the right to free university education, the right to internet access, the right of access to abortion as healthcare, and even the right to not be offended (in direct conflict with the clear right to freedom of expression). This dilution undermines fundamental principles, including the fact that all people are equal and have common dignity. While many such activists are busy furthering their policy preferences as “rights,” they ignore clear and expressed human rights like that protected by Article 18 of the UDHR—the right to choose and change one’s faith—which is still heavily suppressed in far too many countries around the world.
Ideological activism presented as “rights” distracts from the fundamental purposes of protecting human rights. This critically undercuts the focus on the real victims of human rights abuse such as—a pregnant Sudanese woman imprisoned for her Christian faith and forced to give birth with her legs in shackles, men in Syria and Iraq being thrown off buildings to their death, a girl being shot in the head for simply wanting to go to school, and the millions of Uyghur Muslims detained, imprisoned, and oppressed because of their faith.
A diluted human rights narrative allows totalitarian and authoritarian governments the guise of promoting social or economic benefits as “human rights,” while simultaneously becoming egregious violators of fundamental human rights themselves as they censor freedom of the press, oppress religious minorities, or imprison political dissidents. The UDHR called for “the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear…”
Fundamental human rights are for all people—regardless of their background, socio-economic status, or beliefs, and we believe the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights can bring focus back to protecting needful victims of human rights abuse. For these reasons everyone—including the most prominent human rights organizations—should get squarely behind this commission.
We applaud you and your staff for your “fresh thinking” approach to U.S. foreign policy. Thank you for committing the time, resources, and effort to protecting the fundamental human rights of all people.
The U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights can do more than clarify and help remedy human rights abuses; it has the potential to reassert the right kind of American leadership on the world stage. We have seen this before: Eleanor Roosevelt led and chaired the Universal Declaration of Human Rights drafting committee. We are grateful for your leadership in creating the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights to continue America’s legacy in defending universal human rights around the world.
The world is better and freer when America leads.
Sincerely,
Penny Nance
CEO and President
Concerned Women for America
Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
Carrie Lukas
President
Independent Women’s Forum
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Former, U.S. Ambassador
United Nations Human Rights Commission
Kay Coles James
President
The Heritage Foundation
Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
Ralph Reed
Founder and Chairman
Faith & Freedom Coalition
Anne Schlafly Cori
Chairman
Eagle Forum
William L. Walton
President
Council for National Policy
Peter Zoehrer
Executive Director
Forum for Religious Freedom-Europe (FOREF)
Mr. Kelly Shackelford, Esq.
President, CEO & Chief Counsel
First Liberty
Mark Tooley
President
Institute on Religion and Democracy
Heather R. Higgins
CEO
Independent Women’s Voice
Wendy Wright
President
Christian Freedom International
Gary Marx
Former E.D.
Faith & Freedom Coalition
Rabbi Pesach Lerner
President
Coalition for Jewish Values
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director
Priests for Life
Art Ally
President
Timothy Partners, Ltd.
John Stemberger
President & General Counsel
Florida Family Policy Council
Frank Wright, Ph.D.
President & CEO
D. James Kennedy Ministries
Catherine Glenn Foster
President and CEO
Americans United for Life
James Bopp, Jr.
General Counsel
James Madison Center for Free Speech
Austin Ruse
President
C-Fam
David Nammo
CEO & Executive Director
Christian Legal Society
Eunie Smith
President
Eagle Forum
Mark Fitzgibbons
President of Corporate Affairs
American Target Advertising, Inc.
Janet Morana
Co-Founder
Silent No More Awareness Campaign
Dran Reese
President
The Salt & Light Council
Steve Berger
Sr. Pastor
Grace Chapel
Marlo Tucker
State Director, California
Concerned Women for America
Ruth Smith
Area Director, California
Concerned Women for America
Terri Johannessen
State Director, Florida
Concerned Women for America
Barbara Ferraro
State Director, Hawaii
Concerned Women for America
Tanya Ditty
State Director, Georgia
Concerned Women for America
Deborah Leininger
State Director, Illinois
Concerned Women for America
Tamara Scott
State Director, Iowa
Concerned Women for America
Barbara Saldivar
State Director, Kansas
Concerned Women for America
Penny Morrell
State Director, Maine
Concerned Women for America
Haven Howard
Area Director, Missouri
Concerned Women for America
Jill Coward
State Director, North Carolina
Concerned Women for America
Linda Thorson
State Director, North Dakota
Concerned Women for America
Linda Schauer
State Director, South Dakota
Concerned Women for America
Kori Peterson
Area Director, Texas
Concerned Women for America
Beverly Roberts
Area Director, Texas
Concerned Women for America
Toni DeLancey
State Director, Virginia
Concerned Women for America
Maureen Richardson
State Director, Washington
Concerned Women for America
cc: Senate Foreign Relations Committee
House Foreign Affairs Committee
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