Most Americans would be surprised to learn that their government has declined to join most other nations in UN treaties addressing inadequate housing, poverty, children's rights, health care, racial discrimination, and migrant workers. Yet this book documents how the U.S. has, for decades, declined to ratify widely accepted treaties on these and many other basic human rights. Providing the first comprehensive topical survey, the contributors build a case and specific agendas for the nation to change course and join the world community as a protector of human rights."With Contributions by and on: "

Authored by Blau, Judith R.; Brunsma, David L.; Moncada, Alberto; Zimmer, Catherine

Introduction, Frances Fox Piven; Chapter 1 Human Vulnerabilities, Bryan S. Turner; Chapter 2 Rights to Housing, Dave Overfelt, David L. Brunsma; Chapter 3 Health as a Human Right, Antonio Ugalde, Núria Homedes; Chapter 4 Labor Rights and Rights of Workers, Vincent J. Roscigno, Andrew Martin; Chapter 5 Rights of the Child, Brian Gran; Chapter 6 Rights of Migrants and Minorities, Cecilia Menjívar, Rubén G. Rumbaut; Chapter 7 Women's Rights, Tola Olu Pearce; Chapter 8 Rights of People with Disabilities, Jean Lynch; Chapter 9 Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Keri E. Iyall Smith; Chapter 10 The Human Right to Sexual and Gender Self-Expression, Gerald F. Lackey; Chapter 11 Language Rights as Human Rights, Golash-Boza Tanya, Douglas Parker; Chapter 12 Cultural Rights, Rodney D. Coates; Chapter 13 Rights to Water, Food, and Development, Jenniffer M. Santos-Hernández, John Barnshaw; Chapter 14 Environmental Rights, Damayanti Banerjee; Chapter 15 Rights of Prisoners, Hattery Angela, Earl Smith; Chapter 16 Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, John Hagan, Wenona Rymond-Richmond; Chapter 17 Rights to Part Icipate in Democracy, Mark Frezzo; Chapter 18 The Social Forum Process and Human Rights, Marina Karides; Chapter 19 Freedom and Security, Judith Blau, Alberto Moncada; postscript Postscript, Jack Donnelly;