Melissa Torres, US Section representative to the International Board

Testifying before UN diplomats in Geneva on April 8, Melissa Torres and Maria Maraver, director of WILPF International Human Rights Program, reviewed human rights omissions and violations in a pre-session of the UPR.

Issues that WILPF US submitted for review are food contamination & human right to health, ratification of international human rights conventions, labor rights, sexual and reproductive rights and international aid, U.S.-based transnational companies and their impact on human rights, rights of undocumented migrants, arms trade and women’s human rights protection.

The testimony is part of the pre-session for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The pre-session informs the UN missions, diplomats, and review boards of issues that will be addressed during the UPR session in May. The take-away is that the U.S. is currently not being properly held accountable for various acts of human rights omissions or violations.

Other organizations on this panel are Human Rights Watch, Center for Democracy & Technology, The Harvest, Pen America, and the U.S. Human Rights Network.