The president of the American Jewish Congress’ national women’s division announced today that the organization will undertake a nationwide campaign during the current Human Rights Year to win U.S. ratification of the anti-genocide convention of the United Nations and other human rights treaties.
Mrs. Charles Snitow, of Scarsdale, declared at a luncheon meeting attended by 500 women that “until the record of the United States equals its pretensions, I consider it false for Americans to refer to themselves as leaders in the field of human rights.” She noted that during the past 20 years, the U.S. Senate has ratified only one U.N. convention on human rights, that dealing with slavery. Nine other international treaties, including conventions protecting the political rights or women and outlawing genocide, forced labor and racial discrimination, have been “pigeonholed” by the Senate and “apparently ignored” by the Executive branch, Mrs. Snitow said. She said that the campaign to win ratification will be conducted in association with other human rights groups. In addition to the anti-genocide pact, the group will press for ratification of the conventions dealing with women’s rights, refugees and discrimination in education and employment.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
