HUMAN RIGHTS

George Washington, in his First Annual Message to Congress, said, "To the security of a free constitution [knowledge] contributes in various ways... by teaching the people themselves to know, and to value their own rights; to discern and provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority...."

The Firm works with organizations to educate government leaders about and raise public awareness of the need to end human rights abuses across the globe. We have worked toward achieving official U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide, raising public awareness about and mobilizing action to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur, and we have promoted legislation that advances a negotiated settlement for Tibet's future.

In addition, the Firm has worked with organizations to promote the implementation of new human rights education programs at the state and local levels in the U.S. to increase learning and retention of knowledge, values and attitudes about fundamental rights and liberties enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

Such a renewed commitment to human rights in the U.S. is needed, for the common American citizen has little knowledge about his or her own rights. A January 2006 study by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found that 22% of Americans could name all five Simpson family members, compared with just one in 1,000 people who could name all five First Amendment freedoms; only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment, but more than half can name at least two members of the cartoon family; more people could name the three "American Idol" judges than identify three First Amendment rights. In addition, according to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress test in civics, only 24% of high school seniors were "proficient" in their knowledge of American government and civics. Study after study since then continues to suggest that historical literacy is at a similarly abysmal level.