Human Rights Affinity Group

• UNA Human Rights Affinity Group
• Has a UN Association
• UN member

The UNA-USA Human Rights Affinity Group is a group within the United Nations Association of the USA that educates, advocates for, and mobilizes members and the public on human rights. Its work is grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. In UNA-USA’s own words, the group leads “a national discussion and dialogue about bringing human rights home — where human rights matter most.”

Part of a global movement

The Affinity Group does not work alone. UNA-USA is the United States member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), a network of 100+ national UN Associations recognized in 92 UN member states, from Australia to Zimbabwe. The globe above maps that reach: the 193 UN member states, the countries with a UN Association, and the United States, where this group carries the human-rights mission home. It places the Affinity Group’s US work inside a worldwide effort to realize the Universal Declaration.

Countries with a UN Association (WFUNA members)

• Africa: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe
• Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Iran, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates
• Europe: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom
• Americas: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
• Oceania: Australia, New Zealand

WFUNA was founded in Luxembourg in 1946 by 22 UN Associations, including UNA-USA. It represents more than 100 today. Sources: UN Member States, List of countries with United Nations Associations (WFUNA), About WFUNA.

The mission

The group fosters understanding of human-rights principles and supports their realization both globally and locally, with explicit emphasis on US adherence to international human-rights standards and on the UPR mechanism for US accountability. Its banner motif is straightforward: We Stand For Human Rights.

Its core work includes:

• Grassroots learning: workshops, discussions, and community events.
• Commemorating International Human Rights Day (December 10) and related UN campaigns.
• Advocating civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, including within the US.
• Supporting UN human-rights bodies such as the Human Rights Council and treaty bodies.
• Engaging diverse and impacted communities as new members and partners.

Our agenda

As co-chair, Ruby Guillen is co-authoring UNA-USA’s National Human Rights Agenda, a two-year strategic plan built on three priorities the group carries to the United Nations:

• Child welfare. The group advances the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to prevent severe child abuse and neglect, anchored by California’s Child Death Review Team Toolkit, an evidence-based model for reducing fatal child abuse.
• Mental health. The group champions community-centered and rural mental-health care grounded in lived experience and cultural responsiveness.
• Technology. The group aligns advocacy with the UN Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies to build Digital Public Infrastructure that serves the public good.

Our committees

The group organizes its work into committees, each one tracing back to the Universal Declaration it works to realize:

Committee	Grounded in
Universal Periodic Review & US Human Rights Accountability	The whole Declaration, made binding through the two Covenants (ICCPR/ICESCR); Article 28
National–International Human Rights Day Event	The Declaration’s adoption, 10 December 1948
International Human Rights Day Chapter Toolkit	The Declaration’s adoption, 10 December 1948
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Toolkit	Articles 2 and 7: equality and non-discrimination
Racial Justice	Articles 2 and 7: equality and non-discrimination
Disability Rights	Articles 2, 7, and 25
Pride & LGBTQI+ Rights	Articles 2 and 7

The Racial Justice committee’s current work includes the sign-on letter Standing Together Against Racism and Discrimination and advocacy for a US Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission.

What we’re building

We’re building the Human Rights Clearinghouse, a single, low-friction way to reach a local US human-rights resource, campaign, or event in three clicks or fewer. It comes from frontline experience, where slow access to the right resource is a real cost, and it puts action first and the reading later.

How the Clearinghouse works →

We’re also building a member platform: profiles, connections, a shared feed, and private, end-to-end encrypted messaging. It’s built so the community’s data belongs to the movement itself, not to an outside technology company. That’s the same commitment to independence, carried through to the tools members use every day.

About the member platform →

Who’s building it

The site is led by Human Rights Affinity Group co-chair Ruby Guillen, with her advisor Lady Tee Thompson and Technology Partner Daniel Romo. The partnership pairs the group’s human-rights mission with a commitment to safe, ethical, and equitable technology in service of the public good.