Item 6: Interim Appointment to Human Rights Commission

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SUPPLEl\'[I3:NTAL QUESTIONS 1. What do you see as the role of a Human Rights Commissioner? The problems and issues with which commissioners deal oflen involve very sensitive matters. Commissioners must be principled advocates on behalf of those in the community experiencing marginalization and unjust treatment, whether this treatment is interpersonal or institutional. They must fimction as community role models as they look out for those who may find it difficult to adequately look out tor themselves. H is thus irnperative that commissioners strive, through their ofticial actions and individual deportment, to inspire respect and trust ii-om an segments ofthe Eugene community, Tending to these role obli~ations is crucial to the HRCs mandate to "advise City - - government, {~ducate the community, and respond t.o in(:idents of hi as," 2. 'What three major issues do yon identify as facing the community of Eugene over tll{~ next 20 years? a.Demographic and other forces promise to bring about some shifts in the nature of Eugene's already diverse population, shins that are likewise undt~r way ~~sewh~re in the {;Jnited S~ates. For e~ample,. it ~eeafs li~ely t~lat the proporti?l1 of. Eugene s populatIon that 1S of color wIll cont111ue,.;<:oubstanbal1y mcrease; the agmg of tbe Eugene population will produce a great.er number of depemkmt eiders and more people \vith disabilities; and, prohlems associated with chronic economic insecurity and poverty will be further accentuated if the gap between the mor(~ affluent ami the non-affluent segments of the community continues t.o grow. Issue: What, if any, new initiatives need to be undertaken by the City in order to most effectively encourage respect for and protection of the human rights of people of color, elders, people with disabilities, and the poor? b. Police-community relations have become extremely problematic in Eugene and have especial1y been shaken by police treatment of demonstrators and revelations of sexual and other ofrens{~s by ro!:,l1..le police officers. The internal culture of the Eugene police deparhnent has been critically questiorwd. Turning the police department and residents' perceptions of it around will be a major undertaking. Fashioning an (~fft~ctive citizen cornplaint process, and estahlishing a workable ci vilian review board, is an import.ant first step. Issue: What will ultimately be necessary to bring the police department in line with the highest human rights standards, both internaUy and in its relations with aU segments of the community? c. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights addresses more than civil and political rights. It also ad(~resses fundamental social and economic lmrnan rights, such as the right to a job, a living wage, affordahle housing, sufficient food, and health care. \lv'bik~ resp(~ct for social and econmnic human rights has often informed public policy in other nations, this has not so much been the case for t.he United States. Instead, individuals' "personal responsibiHty" for their own ,;vel1-being has become the political watchword. Increasingly, however, domestk economic justice advocacy groups are using human rights discourse. They are framing economic deprivation as a human rights issue, one to which government at an levels has an obligation to respond. Issu(~: What role should the City play in promoting respect for social and economic human rights, such as the right to a living wage or to affordable housing?