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September 9, 2009
The Sentencing Project Submits Petition to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on discriminatory effects of felony disenfranchisementThe Sentencing Project, in conjunction with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the American Civil Liberties Union, has submitted a petition for a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concerning the discriminatory effects of felony disenfranchisement policies in the Americas. The Commission is an agency of the Organization of American States. Among its responsibilities is to conduct regular sessions during the year when petitions from member states highlighting particular issues of concern are reviewed and selected for a full thematic hearing. The Commission will solicit analyses and hear from witnesses on specific policies, ultimately determining whether any requirements of the OAS Charter, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, and/or the American Convention on Human Rights have been violated. The report, submitted by The Sentencing Project and partners, examines the practice of felony disenfranchisement in the United States and the nations of the Americas and analyzes the impact on these polices on racial and ethnic minorities. It describes the international momentum in support of reform, both among treaty-monitoring bodies at the United Nations and in jurisprudence in a number of countries, and calls upon the Commission to examine this practice among its member states. If the petition is accepted, the hearing would be held late October. The petition was joined by 31 national supporters, 36 state supporters, and 4 international supporters. |
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