[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H. Res. 1277 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1277
Recognizing, from Chicago to Palestine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Puerto Rico, that the pain, violence, and oppression the global majority experiences are interconnected, acknowledges that the future must be self-determined, and affirms our humanity and dignity through a renewed mandate for human rights.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 12, 2026
Mrs. Ramirez (for herself, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Vel?zquez, Ms. Tlaib, and Ms. Clarke of New York) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, Armed Services, House Administration, Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, Education and Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing, from Chicago to Palestine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Puerto Rico, that the pain, violence, and oppression the global majority experiences are interconnected, acknowledges that the future must be self-determined, and affirms our humanity and dignity through a renewed mandate for human rights.
Whereas the framework of national security has been co-opted to erode the security of diverse communities in the United States and around the world; Whereas human security is the bedrock of inclusive democratic societies and conflict prevention, and investments in human security are the most effective investments in long-term national security; Whereas the world we create must be rooted in peace, strengthened through democracy and justice, and built on diplomacy and human rights; Whereas, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Whereas, through that document, representatives from across the world affirmed a shared commitment to fundamental human rights, to the dignity and worth of every human person, and to the equal rights of all members of our communities; Whereas, by 2020, all 193 member states of the United Nations had ratified at least 1 of the 9 binding treaties influenced by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with the vast majority ratifying 4 or more; Whereas, across the world, these treaties have equipped the global majority to defend their dignity and rights against those powerful parties and special interests who would seek their subjugation, emboldening the people to call out atrocities, to fight back against dictators, and to demand more, not less, of each other and world leaders; Whereas, inspired by our communities, it is time for a renewed mandate for human rights, which are too often abused or disregarded, in which--
(1) over the last year, across the United States, our neighbors have been disappeared off the streets and placed in processing centers and detention facilities for profit, continuing the United States long history of forcibly disappearing various populations it has scapegoated in response to external conflicts;
(2) detention facilities have systematically separated families, denied vulnerable detainees--including children, the elderly, pregnant and nursing individuals, disabled people, and the chronically ill--essential medical care such as cancer treatment, reproductive care, and gender-affirming care, held children for months in violation of the legal 20-day limit, served moldy and unsuitable food, and subjected people to conditions that amount to torture, including 24/7 lighting to prevent sleep;
(3) the Trump administration's willingness to inflict pain to extract profit domestically and internationally reflects the same willingness of despots, fascists, and authoritarians across the world to wage illegal wars, raze communities, steal lands, unjustly imprison those who dissent, and starve and exploit people across the world;
(4) we must draw a line in the sand, meet the moment, and reject all those who would wield interconnected political and economic power to advance our death and destruction;
(5) cuts to social services, humanitarian aid, expansions in mass detention and mass incarceration, forced migration, displacement and deportations, worker exploitation and slavery, and attacks on dissenters, human rights defenders, and civil society are interconnected evils;
(6) from Chicago to Palestine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Puerto Rico, the global majority are confronting the pain, fear, and violence of unaccountable leaders waging connected campaigns of terror against our neighbors, our families, and our loved ones, casting all those they deem undesirable as the public enemy;
(7) from Chicago to Palestine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Puerto Rico, unaccountable leaders and megacorporations want the people's resources, the people's land, the people's freedoms, and the people's lives to enrich themselves and advance their imperialist, authoritarian agendas across the world;
(8) in the face of imperialist, colonial, and authoritarian agendas across the world, the global majority continues to resist and create systems of mutual care for one another, because every resource, every piece of land, every freedom belongs to the people to ensure that the global majority has every single thing they need to thrive;
(9) the future the global majority fights for is free from being priced out, defrauded, displaced, expelled, or stripped of our land rights, especially in service of private profit, corporate interest, or imperial efforts;
(10) the future the global majority fights for is free from exploitation, trafficking, segregation, deportation, detention, detainment in for-profit prisons, or family separation, and occupation and genocide;
(11) the future in which the global majority can thrive is free from the dominating violence and occupation of peace through strength and instead practices security through community, rooted in mutual aid, human dignity, and economic and social equity across race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, ability, and other backgrounds;
(12) the global majority recognizes human security as a precursor to national security, recognizing that housing security, food security, health security, environmental security, personal security, community security, and political security are the building blocks of conflict prevention for a safer and more secure world;
(13) the future the global majority fights for is free from economic exploitation, slavery, inequality, wage abuse, discrimination, and intimidation; and
(14) the future the global majority fights for is free from medical debt, profit-making off our sickness, price-gouging at the grocery store, pollution, and profit over people and planet;
Whereas the renewed mandate for human rights will use key definitions to affirm its goal, including--
(1) the theory of intersectionality, coined by Kimberle Crenshaw, is defined as various forms of discrimination centered on race, gender, class, disability, sexuality, and other forms of identity do not work independently, but interact to produce particularized forms of social oppression, and centers the approach to development of this human rights framework;
(2) the global majority is defined as people and communities who have been systematically shut out from power, resources, civil participation, self-determination, human rights, and freedoms;
(3) a renewed mandate for human rights is defined as a baseline for how we treat one another, as both state and non-state actors commit overt attacks on the human rights agenda, requires an explicit rejection of racism, colonialism, capitalism, imperialism, White supremacy, and patriarchy, and must be built on mutual recognition of our shared humanity;
(4) racism is defined as racial prejudice, hatred, or discrimination, and recognizes that racism involves one group having the power to carry out systematic discrimination through the institutional policies and practices of the society and by shaping the cultural beliefs and values that support those racist policies and practices;
(5) colonialism is defined as states or population groups that dominate or subjugate other states or population groups while simultaneously exploiting, appropriating, or extracting resources or benefits for themselves;
(6) capitalism is defined as an economic system based on the exploitation of working people;
(7) bodily autonomy is defined as the right to make decisions about your own body, life, and future, without coercion or violence;
(8) imperialism is defined as expanding borders for an unending political goal, where expansion becomes a permanent, self-perpetuating condition;
(9) White supremacy is defined as an ideology that White people and the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of White people are superior to people of color and their ideas, thoughts, and beliefs;
(10) White supremacy, for the purpose of this framework, is also defined as the political or socioeconomic system where White people enjoy structural advantage and rights that other racial and ethnic groups do not, both at a collective and an individual level; and
(11) patriarchy is defined as a social structure or system of community, society, and government in which cishetero men's power and values associated with masculinity are upheld as superior to and often exclusive of the power of women, girls, and queer persons;
Whereas unaccountable leaders and megacorporations sustain systems of oppression inclusive of racism, colonialism, capitalism, imperialism, White supremacy, and patriarchy to exploit and keep the global majority from achieving collective liberation, accessing their rights, and enjoying their freedoms; Whereas the renewed mandate for human rights has general objectives that provide a framework and vision for how we build the world as we know it can be, in which--
(1) the United States reckons with and addresses its role in its blatant violations of human rights, its reckless attacks on global cooperation and diplomacy, and its use of militarism and coercive economic policies to suppress the freedom of people domestically and abroad;
(2) the United States recognizes the inherent dignity and shared humanity of all people as the foundation of collective liberation, justice, and peace in the world;
(3) the global majority realizes and enjoys all human rights and fundamental freedoms;
(4) trust and mutual respect are strengthened and repaired between the United States and our global neighbors to foster peace and security and engage in intentional diplomacy;
(5) civil society and social movements are recognized as critical partners to support and build democratic norms and strengthen democratic institutions through cycles of locally-led community engagement;
(6) all people are able to thrive in their home country or migrate with dignity, by choice and without coercion, through affirmative policy action and an end to collective punishment that overwhelmingly impact civilians, including broad-based economic sanctions and violent conflict;
(7) officials in the public and private sector, and incorporated entities, that commit human rights violations are held accountable for their exploitation of working people, regardless of gender, race, sexuality, nationality, ability, or immigration status;
(8) equity and equality for the global majority are achieved through fidelity to universal human rights and universal accountability for violations of universal human rights;
(9) the global majority has access to intersecting systems of care and a robust social safety net to have their basic needs met through socialized programs and to participate in the economic, social, political, and public life of their communities; and
(10) global society achieves collective liberation;
Whereas the global majority continues to be deprived of their human rights due to various forms of harm that are individual, interpersonal, institutional, systemic, and structural; Whereas systems of oppression and exploitation experienced by working and impoverished people in the United States are parallel systems of oppression and exploitation faced by the working class throughout the global majority; Whereas the right to free movement has been proactively denied, in which--
(1) there have been 123,200,000 individuals forcibly displaced from their homes, a growing number of which are due to man-made disasters, including war, internal conflict, and climate change-induced natural disasters;
(2) displacement rates doubled during the last 10 years;
(3) two-thirds of the total number of displaced persons globally come from just 10 countries, all of which are sites of recent armed conflict and prolonged economic sanctions, including Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen;
(4) gentrification, racism, and forced displacement create material obstacles for the global majority who want to stay in the places they call home from the United States to territories to occupied land;
(5) United States domestic and foreign policy are factors that drive and impact migration around the world;
(6) Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State, and that everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country;
(7) Article 12 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights recognizes that everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose their residence;
(8) the right of citizens to travel across State borders in the United States is recognized as a constitutionally guaranteed right, recognized by multiple court cases and referencing the Fourteenth Amendment and in Article IV of the Constitution;
(9) the freedom of movement of the global majority has been systematically undermined through a relentless campaign of fearmongering and dehumanization of diverse communities by politicians around the world, including in the United States;
(10) the freedom of movement is essential to full enjoyment of the public, economic, political, and social life within any healthy society, but political officials have erected institutional, legal, and physical barriers to the freedom of movement, including checkpoints and discriminatory restrictions on the freedom of movement on the basis of gender and ethnicity; and
(11) the freedom of movement is especially critical for women and LGBTQIA+ community members seeking health care while facing increasing restrictions in their home State, recognizing that, since 2022, nearly 1 in 5 United States abortion patients travel out of State for care, and nearly half of the transgender community have moved or are considering moving to more trans-affirming States;
Whereas democracies across the globe are under attack, in which--
(1) Freedom House has reported that global freedoms have declined for 20 consecutive years, with 54 countries experiencing deterioration in their political rights and civil liberties during 2025;
(2) the United States has experienced both legislative dysfunction and executive dominance that have limited the people's ability to engage in free expression and the political life of the country;
(3) the foreign policy practices of democracies have abandoned long- term commitments to supporting human rights defenders and independent journalists, working within multilateral institutions, supporting international law, and calling out rigged elections;
(4) there are alarming levels of ``democratic backsliding'', where governments are becoming increasingly repressive or corrupt;
(5) disinformation is a growing threat that misleads voters, promotes conspiracy theories, and undermines trust in institutions;
(6) artificial intelligence and social media are tools of mis- and disinformation; and
(7) dark money in politics continues to influence and erode the global majority's power to meaningfully participate in democratic processes;
Whereas the global majority's right to safe, dignified, and affordable housing is being denied, in which--
(1) 318,000,000 people are homeless, while 2,800,000,000 people (over a third of the global population) lack access to adequate housing;
(2) every year, 2,000,000 people are forcibly evicted from their homes;
(3) decades of racial discrimination in the United States by real estate agents, banks, insurers, and the Federal Government have made homeownership difficult to obtain for people of color, and those disadvantages have compounded over time;
(4) demographic disparities persist in unhoused populations, with Black and Indigenous communities, and gender-expansive people, facing higher rates of homelessness than the general population;
(5) racial discrimination and bias have fostered inequality through discriminatory economic, land ownership, and housing policies that have locked Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities out of homes and homeownership and have created racial inequalities;
(6) corporations and developers have priced people out of their homes or have made it nearly impossible for working-class families to purchase homes;
(7) income inequalities, limited housing, and lack of access to livable wages drive homelessness;
(8) people experiencing homelessness are deprived of their right to vote and unable to shape electoral outcomes that foster widespread homelessness as a systemic outcome of limited social spending, thereby weakening a representative democracy;
(9) people experiencing homelessness face a polycrisis of limited access to health care, education, and food as a result of limited economic means and an impermanent address, while simultaneously facing higher rates of violence, including sexual and gender-based violence;
(10) challenges of urbanization, such as rising inequality, contribute to a deterioration of basic human rights in cities; and
(11) across the world, limited housing security fosters political fearmongering and human rights violations of refugee and immigrant populations in urban settings, as politicians blame new populations for housing insecurity faced by local communities instead of addressing limited public investments in housing or corruption by developers;
Whereas our right to safety is actively undermined by the global prison industrial complex, State-sanctioned violence, and disinformation campaigns, in which--
(1) State-led violence that targets civilians has increased threefold since 2020;
(2) State forces are now responsible for 35 percent of global violence directed at civilians, compared to 20 percent in 2020;
(3) the United States has the highest incarceration rate of any independent democracy on Earth, and every single State incarcerates more people per capita than most nations globally;
(4) the United States, China, Brazil, India, the Russian Federation, Turkey, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, and Iran are among the top 10 countries with the highest prison populations;
(5) about 1 percent of the United States adult population is currently behind bars;
(6) the United States spends approximately $182,000,000,000 annually on incarceration;
(7) mass incarceration imposes significant social costs beyond financial expenses, including family disruption, reduced employment opportunities, community destabilization, and increased health risks;
(8) Black Americans make up about 13 percent of the United States population but represent 37 percent of people incarcerated;
(9) Black Americans comprise 48 percent of those serving life, life without parole, or virtual life sentences;
(10) the Native American incarceration rate is 763 per 100,000, more than double the national average of 350 per 100,000;
(11) the arrest rate for Black Americans was 4,223 per 100,000, compared to 2,092 per 100,000 for White Americans in 2020;
(12) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (``ICE'') received $45,000,000,000 to expand immigration detention, including the purchase of warehouses and funding for increased ICE presence across the United States;
(13) anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic hate groups spread disinformation, prejudice, and conspiracy theories and are animated by United States foreign policy in the Middle East, resulting in a dramatic rise of hate crimes, including assault, intimidation, arson, and vandalism;
(14) global executions continue to rise, demonstrated by a record of 1,153 executions in 16 countries in 2023, marking a 31 percent increase from the 883 recorded in 2022;
(15) globally, 1 in 3 women have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their life; and
(16) failures to regulate the technology sector have resulted in alarming rates of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including digital abuse, trolling, stalking, artificial intelligence-generated pornographic images of women and girls, among others;
Whereas the right to health care is being denied by for-profit interests and structural racism, in which--
(1) 2,100,000,000 people faced financial hardship, including 1,600,000,000 people living in poverty or pushed deeper into it due to out- of-pocket health expenses, in 2022;
(2) about 4,600,000,000 people were not fully covered by health insurance in 2023;
(3) there were over 26,000,000 Americans without health insurance, as of 2023;
(4) approximately 1,300,000,000 individuals were pushed or further pushed into poverty due to out-of-pocket medical costs, as of 2023;
(5) immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, pay taxes into Federal health care programs but are legally barred from accessing insurance coverage or benefitting from Affordable Care Act subsidies, except certain ``qualified'' immigrants who are still subject to a five- year waiting period before they may access Medicaid and CHIP, but otherwise may still lack access to health care services due to language barriers, cost barriers, and fear of immigration enforcement actions;
(6) racial, ethnic, and gender prejudice in the United States health care system has resulted in significant health disparities, particularly for Black Americans, who experience lower life expectancy, higher rates of chronic disease, increased maternal mortality rate, and increased mortality rates for diseases like heart disease, cancer, COVID-19, and stroke;
(7) 23 percent of United States adults are underinsured and do not have access to affordable health care, as of 2024;
(8) 10,000,000 working-age Americans have families that spend more than 5 percent of their household income on medical bills for 2 years in a row, and, when paired with costs of insurance, health care takes 14 to 15 percent of their income; and
(9) higher income is correlated with longer life expectancy;
Whereas the right to land is granted to private profit, corporate interests, and imperialist governments but is stripped from our communities, in which--
(1) around 18 percent of the world's land, or 2,400,000,000 hectares, is owned by private individuals and corporations;
(2) States have legal ownership of more than 64 percent of land worldwide;
(3) less than 1 in 5 landholders worldwide are women, and women's rights to inherit the property of their husbands continues to be denied in more than 100 countries, leaving women vulnerable to eviction, homelessness, and at increased risk of food insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence;
(4) 2,500,000,000 Indigenous Peoples and local communities customarily claim and manage over 50 percent of the world's lands, yet they legally own just 10 percent;
(5) Indigenous Peoples' right to self-determination has been continuously violated;
(6) 99 percent of Native Tribes in the United States have lost the land they have historically occupied;
(7) Indigenous Peoples are forcibly relocated to areas that are more prone to climate-related disasters;
(8) Indigenous Peoples have demanded Free, Prior, and Informed Consent on policies impacting Tribal lands and these demands have been recognized in international forums; and
(9) land leases for extraction, agriculture, and commercial development continue to occur, further displacing Indigenous and low-income communities;
Whereas the right to peace is impeded by militarism and unaccountable leaders who profit from the pain of the global majority, in which--
(1) the United States faces an unprecedented crisis of expanding militarism in foreign and domestic policy through the dismantling of human rights, international law, and national and multinational institutions that served as bulwarks against fascist consolidation and champions of diplomatic power to prevent conflict and work toward war as an option of last resort;
(2) the military-first approach of peace through strength endangers democratic movements and human rights defenders working in fragile contexts, erodes existing United States commitments to conflict prevention through diplomacy, trade, and development, and ignores decades of documented best practice in nation-building through locally-led programs, inclusive peace processes, and partnerships;
(3) over 940,000 people, including at least 432,000 civilians, were killed by direct post-9/11 war violence in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan between 2001 and 2023, and an estimated 3,600,000 to 3,800,000 people were killed due to the devastating impact of conflict on economic opportunity, health care systems, infrastructure, and the environment;
(4) over 75,000 people were killed in Gaza, as verified by independent scientific journals, and 56.2 percent of those killed were women, children, and the elderly between October 7, 2023, and early 2025;
(5) United States weapons have been used in violation of United States and international law by the United States and its allies in attacks on hospitals, schools, funeral halls, and markets throughout the Middle East;
(6) United States foreign policy is responsible for mass displacement crises in the Middle East and Latin America, with millions forced to flee their homes due to insecurity from conflict, United States-backed military coups, and economic warfare;
(7) the United States has spent more than $21,000,000,000,000 on wars and homeland security since 2001, despite funding shortages for transportation, education, health care, and housing, creating an affordability crisis that erodes domestic security and opportunity;
(8) a bipartisan consensus of inevitable military and economic competition with China threatens to further erode United States security by building an endless war budget for an arms race and nuclear modernization at the cost of domestic programs;
(9) the international community has systematically failed to include women human rights defenders in transitional peace processes and has underfunded women-led civil society organizations, despite existing commitments to women, peace, and security;
(10) the United States military globally has inflicted trauma and human rights abuses upon women overseas and has systematically failed to recognize survivors or offer avenues for redress;
(11) government forces were directly involved in 74 percent of violent events worldwide in 2025;
(12) countries in the Americas accounted for 40 percent of all military expenditures by countries around the world in 2024;
(13) 56 percent of United States adults support cutting Pentagon spending, citing reinvesting those funds in programs that benefit everyone (pandemic recovery, health care, jobs, housing, and education);
(14) 47 percent of American adults agree that spending $422,000,000,000 annually on defense contracts wastes public funds;
(15) violence globally cost $19,970,000,000,000 in 2025, which encompasses not only the direct impact of conflict and crime but also the expenses involved in preventing, containing, and responding to violence, including the maintenance of international security structures;
(16) improved peacefulness is strongly correlated with economic growth, and reductions in violence allow governments to reallocate resources from security to productive sectors, boosting gross domestic product and returns; and
(17) expanding United States militarism domestically, including deployments of the National Guard, ICE, and troops to assist in immigration enforcement activities at the border, has already resulted in loss of life and significant, recurring violations of rights guaranteed by the Constitution and existing domestic and international law;
Whereas the right to equality is under attack from unaccountable leaders who benefit from creating a public enemy and eroding their rights, in which--
(1) it will take 123 years to reach full gender parity globally;
(2) the wage gap in the United States is further exacerbated by race and ethnicity, with Black and Hispanic women earning only 68 percent and 62 percent, respectively, of Asian women's median weekly wages;
(3) bodily autonomy is a fundamental component of equity and reproductive freedom, yet abortion is banned or at risk of being severely limited in 23 States and 3 territories, which disproportionately harms low- income women, women of color, and rural residents;
(4) 801,000,000 women of reproductive age live under restrictive laws;
(5) governments in 15 countries proposed or enacted laws restricting gender-affirming care, codifying binary sex definitions, rolling back gender recognition, and censoring LGBTQIA+ expression;
(6) the United States withdrawal of support for LGBTQIA+ equality has emboldened anti-gender actors globally;
(7) the expanded Global Gag Rule, introduced by the Trump administration in 2026, further erodes the ability of women, girls, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community to access essential health care, including in humanitarian emergencies;
(8) when women lead peace processes, peace agreements are more likely to be sustainable, with lasting positive outcomes;
(9) approximately 75 percent of individuals with a disability were not in the labor force, compared to only 32 percent of those without a disability in 2024;
(10) individuals in low-income households with disabilities did not receive any or enough legal help for 91 percent of their civil legal problems in 2022; and
(11) women in the workforce continue to earn significantly less than men, with median earnings in quarter 1 of 2025 at $1,096 for women versus $1,307 for men, amounting to a gender earnings ratio of approximately 84 percent;
Whereas the right to history and memory of the global majority is under constant attack due to policies that erase, deny, alter, or ban their stories, histories, and practices, in which--
(1) there have been over 820 attempts to censor library materials and services, targeting 2,452 unique book titles--a historic high that disproportionately affected books by and about LGBTQIA+ people, people of color, and marginalized communities in the United States;
(2) unaccountable leaders that include elected officials, board members, and administrators initiated 72 percent of demands to censor books in schools and public libraries in the United States;
(3) there have been blatant efforts to remove references to critical pieces of history, including slavery and Tribal recognition;
(4) culturally significant and symbolic monuments and murals are consistently under attack, resulting in their removal, like the Black Lives Matter Plaza;
(5) 38 States have passed laws to limit the ability of businesses, universities, and individuals to criticize human rights violations committed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories; and
(6) any policy, action, or agenda by unaccountable leaders and megacorporations that results in the erosion of the right to history and memory must be met with creation;
Whereas the right to work is denied by exploitation, abuse, and discrimination, in which--
(1) extreme poverty persists, affecting 1 in 10 people worldwide;
(2) 8.9 percent of the global population will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030;
(3) women are explicitly banned from working in various industries by state actors around the world;
(4) the unemployment rate for people with a disability was double the rate for those with no disability in 2025;
(5) workers had no or reduced access to justice in 72 percent of countries in 2025, a sharp increase from 65 percent in 2024;
(6) attacks on the rights to free speech and assembly were reported in 45 percent of countries in 2025, an increase from 43 percent in 2024;
(7) the right to strike was violated in 87 percent of countries in 2025;
(8) workers in 3 out of every 4 countries were denied the right to freedom of association and to organize in 2024 and 2025; and
(9) trade union membership continues to decline;
Whereas the right to sustainable communities is denied in service to pollution and profit over people and the planet, in which--
(1) approximately 3,300,000,000 to 3,600,000,000 people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change;
(2) 1,000,000,000 people lived in areas prone to severe riverine flooding, half of them in cities, in 2025;
(3) the United States military is the greatest greenhouse gas polluter in the world;
(4) women are leading rural climate adaptive strategies globally but are excluded from climate adaptation strategies of private businesses and utility companies;
(5) women are socially, culturally, and economically disadvantaged from learning climate change survival tactics, including swimming;
(6) only half of the world's urban population had convenient access to public transportation in 2022;
(7) urban sprawl, air pollution, and limited open public spaces persist in cities;
(8) 2,200,000 Americans live in homes without running water or basic plumbing, also known as ``plumbing poverty'';
(9) in the 100 most populated United States cities, wealthier and Whiter cities have more access to acreage, facilities, and programs, while more diverse, lower-income cities lag behind;
(10) the average person of color resides in a census tract that experiences higher summer daytime Surface Urban Heat Island intensity than that of non-Hispanic White residents in 169 of the 175 largest urbanized areas in the continental United States, as of 2021;
(11) over 65,000 census tracts reveal that communities located in States with larger Black-White disparities experience significantly greater environmental health risks from outdoor air pollution in the United States; and
(12) the State-level racism index accounts for between 4 and 10 percent of the variation in both carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic respiratory health risks at the county and State levels due to exposure to outdoor air toxins in the United States;
Whereas the right to economically thrive is denied by historic, extreme, and destabilizing levels of economic inequality, in which--
(1) the global majority is deprived of economic opportunities that are not exploitative, which is driven by megacorporations;
(2) over half of the global workforce remains in informal employment, with numbers still rising;
(3) continued erosion of compliance with labor rights undermines progress toward decent-work objectives;
(4) more than 1 in 4 countries are subject to sanctions by the United Nations or Western governments, and 29 percent of global gross domestic product is produced in sanctioned countries;
(5) United States sanctions include blocking access to critical humanitarian aid and free movement of peoples to visit families and loved ones;
(6) hundreds of millions of children and women are affected by malnutrition, and dietary diversity remains inadequate for both women and young children;
(7) most countries are off track to meet education targets for access, completion, and learning outcomes;
(8) there are 3,028 billionaires globally who control $16,100,000,000,000; and
(9) the richest 1 percent have more wealth than the bottom 95 percent of the world's population put together;
Whereas we recognize the urgent need for a renewed mandate for human rights in which the global majority has everything they need to thrive--
(1) from Chicago to Palestine to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Puerto Rico, the systematic and structural inequities and challenges the global majority faces are exacerbated by United States intervention and broad-based economic sanctions policies;
(2) despite violent attempts to oppress the global majority, the people continue to create and build forward;
(3) to continue to create communities, systems, and movements rooted in radical love for the people, that defy authoritarian control, and that reflect the people's commitment to justice, equity, and human dignity; and
(4) to build a future that affirms a renewed mandate for human rights;
Whereas this moment demands a renewed mandate for human rights; Whereas the global majority has the right to--
(1) live where community-driven, democratic processes drive land use, and where everyone is guaranteed safe, dignified, and affordable housing;
(2) free movement, to seek asylum and protection, and to migrate and return to the places they call home in the interest of safety, security, and opportunity;
(3) economically thrive, to access the securities and social protections that ensure their health and vitality, to unionize, and to work and rest in ways that are self-determined and affirm our humanity and dignity;
(4) health, safety, and wellbeing, access to comprehensive health care, adequate, affordable, nutritious food, and sustainable communities with clean air and water, and green, climate-resilient infrastructure;
(5) multiracial, multicultural, multigenerational democracy that works for all people, to the freedom of dissent, free speech, and assembly, and to free and fair democratic elections;
(6) live without fear of violence, including gender-based violence, State violence, capital punishment, torture, cruelty, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, and be free from mass incarceration and unjust detention systems;
(7) peace and to live in a global society free from genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes;
(8) expression and equal treatment without discrimination, and must be free to show up in the world as their most authentic selves, and be free from all discrimination based on gender, gender expression, and sexual orientation;
(9) have their history accurately preserved, and to enjoy their cultural practices, including but not limited to storytelling, song, art, language, dress, and dance, free from the fear of violence or persecution;
(10) sustainable communities that prioritize green infrastructure and clean, communal spaces, and are free from environmental racism, infrastructural neglect, and systemic underfunding of public areas; and
(11) a just economy that centers basic needs driven by solidarity and cooperation; and
Whereas our futures are interconnected, and that realization can provide a path to true liberation: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) recognizes the role and responsibility of the United States in enacting policies that impact the global majority; (2) declares that the United States must-- (A) end its inhumane immigration policies, including deportation, immigration detention, militarizing the border, and repealing legal pathways of entry into the country; (B) dismantle the Department of Homeland Security; (C) create a humane, legal pathway to citizenship for anyone who chooses to migrate to the United States; (D) acknowledge and affirm the right to return; (E) reinstate non-discriminatory policies for temporary protected status, work permits, and asylum; (F) give all unincorporated territories, colonies, and occupied territories their sovereignty; (G) adopt a pro-peace agenda globally to advance human security in place of militarism; (H) redirect global direct and indirect funding and material assistance used in the commission of genocide, war crimes, or other crimes against humanity to humane, safe migration around the world; (I) redress the harms of its foreign policies, which include exploitation, resource extraction, and blatant colonialism and imperialism; (J) completely redirect Department of Defense funding toward pro-peace initiatives; (K) redirect all Department of Defense funding spent on militarism to strengthening global partnerships through peace initiatives; (L) end military aid to nations reasonably believed to be committing human rights violations domestically or interfering with the delivery of humanitarian assistance, as codified under existing United States law, including the Foreign Assistance Act and the Leahy Laws; and (M) redirect Department of State funding used for deportation toward humane migration; (3) calls for-- (A) the global majority to have a protected means to self-governance and self-determination, including democratic participation and free and fair elections; (B) the global majority to be able to meaningfully participate in democratic processes, including voting; (C) all policies or actions that suppress or intentionally exclude the vote of the global majority be repealed and voter protections be implemented; (D) policies to be implemented that protect freedom of speech and to dissent; (E) international and campaign finance laws to ensure dark money does not interfere with democratic processes; (F) stronger regulations and policies that combat mis- and disinformation due to the growth of artificial intelligence and social media; (G) the unaffordability crisis to be addressed through an intersectional framework that acknowledges the disproportionate impact on the global majority; (H) policy action that addresses spatial segregation, which excludes many residents from equal access to public services, education, and transportation; (I) policies to be put in place to protect against forced evictions; (J) eligibility to access to public housing to be determined regardless of documentation or status; (K) abolishing systems in order to achieve safety, including-- (i) mass incarceration; (ii) detention; (iii) mass deportation; (iv) the prison industrial complex; (v) torture, slavery, and unusual punishments; and (vi) carceral punishment and State executions; (L) systems that center restorative justice be built; (M) the expansion of care-based violence prevention; (N) the global adoption of universal health care; (O) eliminating barriers to accessing health care, such as documentation statuses; (P) free universal health care; (Q) universal health care that includes access and coverage of reproductive health care and gender affirming care; (R) acknowledging the global majority's land rights; (S) the global majority to have decision making power over land use and ownership at the community level; (T) the creation of community-driven, democratic processes that drive land use in place; (U) the creation of policies and practices that honor and protect human rights, land, and environmental defenders; (V) civil society to be empowered to expand civic spaces for land rights development for the global majority; (W) global society to challenge the cultural hegemony of heteronormativity and patriarchy to achieve equality and authentic expression; (X) legal protections and cultural recognition for all genders, sexual orientations, and abilities; (Y) pay parity amongst the global majority; and (Z) the United States to reinstate its global and domestic support for gender equity and the LGBTQIA+ community; (4) the history and memory of the global majority to be preserved and the erasure of cultural practices to be prevented; (5) policies that protect the preservation of memory through storytelling, song, art, and dance; (6) policies that allow the freedom to speak the language of a given community's choice; (7) the end of discriminatory practices against Indigenous Peoples in the global majority; (8) the global majority to have fair and living wages to achieve the right to dignified work; (9) living, family-sustaining minimum wages; (10) the global majority to have collective bargaining power and the ability to organize and assemble; (11) global policies that empower the global majority to form or join unions to act together; (12) protection against retaliation; (13) policies that empower the global majority to strike; (14) the global majority to have access to dignified retirement through pensions; (15) States to invest in policies that prioritize green infrastructure and clean, communal spaces to achieve the right to sustainable communities; (16) policies that address environmental racism, infrastructural neglect, and the systemic underfunding of public areas; (17) corporate billionaires and megacorporations to be taxed at a fair rate to achieve the right to a just economy; (18) investment in social benefits programs instead of providing relief to unaccountable leaders and megacorporations; (19) global economies to defund billionaires; (20) the United States to take a cooperative posture towards the global economy to move towards economic equity; (21) the creation of a United States Human Rights Commission to monitor and respond to United States violations of human rights domestically and abroad; and (22) the United States House of Representatives to build an affirmative legislative platform that works towards a just global society. <all>
Have questions about this legislation?
Our AI can explain provisions, analyze impacts, and answer questions in plain English.
Already have an account? Sign in
Make your voice heard on this bill.
Upgrade to Plus to generate an AI letter and send it to your House representative.
Get an instant AI-powered breakdown of this bill — what it does, who it affects, and what matters.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in
Hear what historical figures and modern thinkers might say about this legislation.
Founding Fathers
Historical Leaders
Modern Thinkers
See how Jefferson, Churchill, or Einstein would react to this bill.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in