State Department Commission on Unalienable Rights

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the creation of the new Commission on Unalienable Rights (CUR) in May 2019. The commission was formally launched in July 2019 with a mandate to advise the Secretary of State on human rights in U.S. foreign policy. Given the Trump administration’s consistent efforts to undermine human rights on the world stage, the commission’s formation was met with concerns that it would co-opt human rights language for its preferred policies. Indeed, the commission under the Trump administration used its position to reprioritize certain human rights, such as religious freedom, at the expense of others, such as reproductive health care and LGBTQ rights. The commission comprises right-wing, anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ hardliners who were all appointed by Pompeo. CUR should be dissolved under the Biden administration.