Law Center Partners with ABA To Support Human Rights and Protect Disaster Victims

Law Center staff are working with the American Bar Association’s Commission on Homelessness & Poverty on two exciting projects – drafting an ABA policy resolution in support of the implementation of the human right to housing and disseminating important information about post-disaster recovery efforts.

Beginning last fall, Law Center Policy Director Jeremy Rosen and Human Rights Program Director Eric Tars worked with the Commission to draft an ABA policy resolution on the right to housing. The Commission finalized the language for the resolution in early May, and it will be considered by the ABA House of Delegates at the organization’s annual meeting in August. If the resolution becomes official ABA policy, it will enable the ABA to lobby in support of additional solutions to homelessness, and will serve as a model for state and local governments looking for

Eric Tars at the Right to Adequate Housing in the U.S. Symposium

reassurance that supporting implementation of the human right to housing is in the political mainstream. Commission Staff Director Amy Horton-Newell called the Law Center’s contribution to the resolution integral, saying “The Commission is pleased to be able to help advance the human right to housing here at home. Without hearing from Eric Tars, with his wealth of experience focusing on domestic implementation of international human rights obligations, we would not have fully understood the important role lawyers can play in advancing the human right to housing.”

The Law Center also partnered with the ABA on a recent forum, held in New York City, to examine remaining post-disaster community legal needs after last fall’s Hurricane Sandy. Policy Director Jeremy Rosen helped to plan the meeting and also served as an attendee, providing lessons learned from advocacy after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita along with information about how lawyers can help enforce the educational rights of homeless children and youth after a disaster. Horton-Newell of the ABA said, “The Law Center played a critical role in coordinating the Forum. Jeremy Rosen helped us to bring key advocates to the table, and was able to contribute comments based on his previous advocacy on behalf of disaster victims. We were thrilled to circulate the Law Center’s recent disaster advocacy manual, to assist legal aid attorneys and other advocates in their efforts to ensure that children displaced by disasters are able to enroll and attend school.”