1. Human Rights Day December 10, 2010 Bruce Thao

2. What are human rights?

3. What do human rights mean to me? Is it something I need to be concerned about here in Chicago? What can I do? Questions to Consider

4. Hmong

6. High school – Amnesty UNITY College – Elementary tutor HAWKS Los Ninos Workers’ Rights NH Building Awareness

8. RADION TRAILER

9. HMONG-LAO REFUGEES Huay Nam Khao camp – Deb Dawb  about 5,000  cramped conditions  MSF pulled out  Nong Khai Detention Center  152 men, women and children  all have UNHCR refugee status  2 cells, couple hours walking time per day  international human rights groups media attention/outcry  Site X  about 350 people, 70 families

10. MAIN HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS  Persecution in Laos  Thailand’s denial of access to refugee assessment by UNHCR  Forced deportations- violation of non- refoulement  Laos denial to transparency and monitoring of repatriation process

11. NOW  Last Christmas all deported back to Laos  Severe violation of international human rights law  No transparency in repatriation or resettlement process

12. HMONG-THAI VILLAGERS Emergencies & Disasters Social stigma Relief is always channeled to mainstream Thais first Road Access Some rural areas are not reached Hmong seen as second-class citizens Lack job skills Domestic violence Alcoholism, drugs, glue, pills Poverty Abandoned elderly Children at risk

13. COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT & CRISIS RELIEF PROGRAM ChallengesStructures & SolutionsChallengesStructures & Solutions

14. Street children Outreach and Drug Prevention/Intervention Video

15. What are the issues we are facing here in Chicago? Are they human rights issues? So here we are…

16. What do human rights mean to me? Is it something I need to be concerned about here in Chicago? What can I do? Questions to Consider

17. Organizations: www.amnesty.org www.hrw.org International Bodies: www.ohchr.org www.un.org Volunteering: www.volunteermatch.org www.heartlandalliance.org Other: www.humanrights.uchicago.edu Additional Resources

18. Questions / Comments