Civil Liberties

Civil liberties are human rights

Civil liberties are the universal rights and freedoms that protect individual citizens from abuse by government power. UUSC partners with civil liberties organizations and civil society groups working to defend freedom and rights by strengthening individual liberty and democratic processes in the Global War on Terror. We mobilize our constituency to defend civil liberties and democratic processes in the United States and around the world.

UUSC's Civil Liberties Program focuses on the following areas:

Defending Civil Liberties Internationally

UUSC defends and upholds the principle that all people are entitled to basic human rights and civil liberties, acknowledging that without robust democratic institutions to protect these rights, people are at risk of government abuse. At particular risk are women, low-income persons, people of color, and members of other marginalized groups, who are vulnerable by virtue of their place in society.

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Building Bridges for Civil Liberties

After the terrorist attacks of September 2001, the U.S. government enacted unprecedented laws, like the USA Patriot Act, that compromised our civil liberties under the pretext of advancing national security. Arab and Muslim Americans are among those who have been singled out for higher scrutiny. To create a more just and supportive society, UUSC is building bridges of solidarity between U.S. communities, particularly between UUs and Arab and Muslim Americans.

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Patriotism, Youth, and Young People

Using a rights-based approach, UUSC actively supports our men and women in the U.S. military as they return from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries. As part of our opposition to the war, we lift up their basic human right to speak out, petition Congress, and express dissent against the war.

UUSC has also developed partnerships with Muslim-American organizations working with non-Muslim communities. Muslim-Americans have been unfairly targeted by many post-9/11 policies, suffering racial profiling, illegal surveillance, and restrictions on their due process rights.

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Read more about UUSC's work on Civil Liberties:

• Our strategic approach
• Background: The Cost of Iraq
• UUSC Recommendations to Congress to End Torture and Illegal Detention
• A Guide to Torture and Human Rights

Featured stories about civil liberties