by Brian Erickson
on November 20, 2009
On Friday, November 13th, some influential thinkers from both
the United States and Mexico gathered at the Woodrow Wilson Center
Mexico Institute to discuss how our two nations must begin Rethinking
the U.S.-Mexico Border.
The current model, as described by former Deputy Foreign Secretary of the Government of Mexico Andrés Rozental, is a system characterized by “irritation, inefficiency, illegality, and now, violence.” Moving forward, he stated, we need “cooperative solutions to shared problems.”
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by Brian Erickson
on November 13, 2009
Across the world, individuals this week celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. While this anniversary reminds us of the historical significance walls have served as barriers to the flow of goods, ideas, and people, many individuals forget the current realities of a similar wall being constructed along our southern border.
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by Brian Erickson
on November 17, 2009
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by Vanessa Kritzer
on October 21, 2009
 As a newcomer to the LAWG team, and inside the beltway advocacy, I have
been surprised over the last few months to learn what it actually takes
to achieve the change we want. Before I started, I assumed that if we
could simply bring the facts about real people who are suffering as a
result of U.S. policies in countries like Mexico and Colombia, we could
make it happen. But it turns out that there's so much more that goes on
in DC every day than I could have anticipated.
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by Vanessa Kritzer
on November 17, 2009
We have a real challenge with the Obama Administration. President Obama gets that we need to work together with the rest of the world. That’s great. But his administration hasn’t found its voice on human rights and backed up its words with action. They think that by mentioning more about human rights than the Bush Administration did, it is enough. So far, they haven’t been willing to actually change U.S. policy to support victims of violence in places like Mexico and Colombia, even though they must do so if they want to become part of the solution, not the problem.
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by Lisa Haugaard, Vanessa Kritzer, and Jenny Johnson
on October 09, 2009
They don't get it... yet.
Although we now have new leadership in Washington, they still don't
understand what they need to do to stand up for human rights. They
think that by saying more about the importance of human rights and
democracy than the Bush Administration did, they are making progress.
But we know that until they actually change U.S. policies to support
victims of violence in places like Mexico and Colombia, they will
continue to be a part of the problem, not the solution.
Now, if we can get them to hear what we hear from people in Mexico and
Colombia and know what we know, they might change their tune.
So, this month we are launching a "Human Rights NOW" campaign, which will use innovative tactics to get them to make human rights come first in U.S. policy.
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Action Center
