----------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is the “Human Rights City Project”?

     One of the goals of the City of Eugene Human Rights Commission is that of “ensuring that human rights are a central part of every City program.”  In 2006, the Commission put the “Human Rights City Project” on its bi-annual work plan, an action approved by City Council.  The Project is exploring ways that City government can implement international human rights standards and principles in its overall operations. (See Frequently Asked Questions) 

---------------------------------------------

Excerpt from Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy’s 2008 State of the City Address, delivered on January 7, 2008: (Audio also on Audio page)

“The social justice triumphs and defeats of this last year have increased my resolve to continue working on becoming an official Human Rights City, one that embraces human rights in every decision we make.  If there’s any place in America that can do this, it is certainly here...The challenges are great and so are the possibilities.

I know 2008 will be a very challenging year at every level.  We must continue to build on the momentum we have to address the major issues nationally and locally. We have the talent, the heart and the chutzpah. We are, after all, Eugene.

Thus, my to-do list for 2008 includes the following goals...
    •     Eugene moves toward becoming an official Human Rights City.”

---------------------------------------------------

Eleanor Roosevelt: "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."