Committee on Human Rights
The Committee on Human Rights (CHR) is a standing membership committee of the United States National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Medicine. It serves as a bridge between the human rights and scientific communities, in recognition of the importance of rights protection for scientific inquiry and the realization of human dignity worldwide.
In progress
Any project, supported or not by a committee, that is currently being worked on or is considered active, and will have an end date.
News and Updates
Donate to the Committee on Human Rights
Update
The Committee on Human Rights welcomes contributions to its core fund as well as suggestions on potential sources of support for its general program funding. Your gift helps scientists, engineers, and health professionals around the world who have been subjected to severe repression for peacefully exercising their basic human rights.
Issues at the Intersection of Engineering and Human Rights
Update
Read a newly released proceedings of a symposium that examined how engineering decisions intersect with human rights, social justice, ethics, equity, and global responsibility.
The CHR advocates in support of colleagues subjected to serious human rights abuses worldwide, with a focus on individuals targeted for their professional activities or the exercise of other internationally protected rights. Individuals assisted by the CHR include those who have been arbitrarily detained, denied justice through grossly unfair trials, stripped of citizenship without due process, and subjected to torture. The CHR undertakes cases where, to the best of its knowledge, individuals have not used or advocated violence.
The CHR's human rights advocacy activities are largely non-public. Efforts include:
• Outreach to U.S., foreign, and international officials
• Mobilization of National Academy members through a case alert system
• Use of international and regional human rights complaint mechanisms
• Country visits and publication of its findings
Due in part to sustained international pressure, including by the CHR and its Correspondents, positive developments are regularly seen in the situations of colleagues subjected to rights abuses. Such positive developments include release from detention, reduced sentences, and dropped criminal charges. Summaries of recent positive developments in CHR cases can be found below.
View our Positive Case Developments.
Colleagues seeking assistance may submit a request to the CHR.
Resources:
• Web Resources for Promoting Human Rights in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
• Confronting Human Rights Abuses: A Guide for Supporting Scientists, Engineers, and Health Professionals Under Threat
The CHR works to raise awareness of pressing global challenges at the intersection of science, technology, health, and human rights. Committee members and staff host and participate in an array of events, including symposia, lectures at Academy meetings, congressional briefings, and panel discussions, that bring together experts to discuss such challenges. Previous events have, for example, explored the relationship between human rights and digital technologies, the role of the scientific community in protecting the rights of displaced persons, and critical issues at the intersection of engineering and human rights.
Providing assistance to colleagues suffering human rights abuse is a key part of the Committee’s mandate. Alongside its advocacy, the CHR connects colleagues under threat, and their families, to:
• Organizations that assist with academic placements and fellowships
• Pro bono legal providers
• Professional colleagues, for the purpose of developing and maintaining links to the international scientific community
• Other support providers
Colleagues seeking assistance may submit a request to the CHR.
Resources:
• Web Resources for Promoting Human Rights in Science, Engineering, and Medicine
• Confronting Human Rights Abuses: A Guide for Supporting Scientists, Engineers, and Health Professionals Under Threat
Description
The Committee on Human Rights (CHR), created in 1976, is a standing membership committee of the United States National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and National Academy of Medicine (NAM), institutions composed of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists, engineers, physicians, and researchers. The CHR serves as a bridge between the human rights and scientific communities, in recognition of the importance of rights protection for scientific inquiry and the realization of human dignity worldwide.
The CHR:
- advocates in support of colleagues subjected to serious human rights abuses worldwide, with a focus on individuals targeted for their professional activities or the exercise of other internationally protected rights
- assists professional colleagues under threat by linking them to pro bono legal and other support services
- raises awareness of issues at the intersection of science, technology, health, and human rights
Supported by a staff of human rights professionals, the CHR is composed of 15 members drawn from the membership of the three Academies. The three international secretaries of the NAS, NAE, and NAM are among these members and serve on the Committee in an ex officio capacity. Nearly 1,400 members of the National Academies are “CHR Correspondents” who frequently make appeals in human rights cases identified by the CHR. For more information, download the CHR Correspondents Brochure.
Since 1993, the CHR has served as Secretariat of the International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies, an international consortium of academies with a shared interest in human rights.
*This activity is not conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and may not represent the views of the institution.
Joining other 'CHR Correspondents', members of the National Academies will additionally receive information on how they can take action in support of professional colleagues under threat worldwide.
The Committee on Human Rights welcomes contributions to its core fund as well as suggestions on potential sources of support for its general program funding. Your gift helps scientists, engineers, and health professionals around the world who have been subjected to severe repression for peacefully exercising their basic human rights. Watch a short video that highlights just a few of the activities our supporters helped make possible in 2024.
Help us support the rights of colleagues and promote human rights in science, engineering, and medicine.
Ways to Give:
Support Us
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Collaborators
Committee
Chair
Vice Chair
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Member
Ex Officio Member
Ex Officio Member
Staff Officer
Membership Committee of
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Medicine
Staff
Pamela Gamble