You are invited to attend a consultation taking place in San Francisco that will assist the United Nations Human Rights Council to determine the extent to which the United States complies with legally-binding obligations under human rights treaties that it has signed and ratified, as well as under the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The San Francisco listening sessions or consultations will be held on
Friday, March 26, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the McLaren Conference Center at the University of San Francisco.

A panel on disability and human rights, led by Mary Lou Breslin of the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), will take place from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m..

This panel will focus on the experiences of the disability community in the San Francisco/Northern California area concerning healthcare, mental health issues, and community living/deinstitutionalization.

For more details, or if you plan to attend, you must register for this free event at: http://uprconsultationsf.eventbrite.com/

The process of this examination is called "UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW" or "UPR", in which the human rights status of every UN member state is reviewed every four years. During November 2010, the United States will undertake its first review since the process was created.

As part of the UPR process, the Department of State (DOS) is required to conduct consultations with stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, civil society groups and those facing rights violations, in order to provide input regarding human rights in the United States. DOS selected several cities in the US where consultations are being conducted, including San Francisco. Representatives of the U.S. Department of State and other federal agencies will be in attendance to collect information that will inform their report for the UPR.

The meetings will be recorded, and a written report will be prepared and posted on the U.S. Department of State website. This summary may be used as part of the U.S. government's submission to the Human Rights Council.

Organizations are also welcome to submit a 5-page report directly to the UN before April 19, 2010.

On the morning of Thursday, March 25, 201, another half-day consultation is scheduled in Berkeley, and will focus on health, education, and state accountability, followed by an open comment period.