The Boston Principles: An Introduction

Abstract:     
This commentary introduces the Draft Boston Principles on the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of Noncitizens. The Draft Boston Principles are the outcome of "Beyond National Security: Immigrant Communities and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights," an institute held at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts (United States of America) on October 14-15, 2010. Convened by the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) with the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation and the Human Rights Interest Group of the American Society of International Law, the institute brought together leading immigrants' rights attorneys, human rights advocates, and scholars of law, political science, and sociology for an intensive two-day meeting. The Draft Boston Principles draw extensively on existing international human rights and humanitarian standards as well as on the perspectives, observations, and experiences of the participants, and aim both to highlight existing human rights of noncitizens and to support advocacy for the recognition of additional rights. As part of the growing movement to "bring human rights home," the principles can be used by advocates as an organizing tool and can be adopted by state and local governments in the United States.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 13

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