Item B: Joint Meeting with Human Rights Commission

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Human Rights Commission FY10/11 Work Plan Background The Eugene Human Rights Commission (HRC) and four standing committees of the commission were established by Ordinance 19732 in 1990. The ordinance was updated in 2002. The Human Rights Commission coordinates efforts and has oversight responsibility for the standing committees of the commission. The Human Rights Commission has fifteen members, fourteen appointed by the City Council and one member of the City Council. The four standing committees are the Agenda Committee, Education and Outreach Committee, Accessibility Committee, and Advocate Response Team. The Agenda Committee is composed of the commission’s elected officers. The other committees are comprised of a mixture of commissioners and community members. Each commissioner is a member of at least one standing committee, is an advocate with the Human Rights Support System, and/or serves as the commission’s representative to a stakeholder partner group. The commission’s enabling ordinance, adopted in December of 1990, requires that it develop a work plan for City Council review and approval. Work plans follow a July 1 – June 30 Fiscal Year (FY) schedule. Major accomplishments over the past three years include: ? August 2006 - Human Rights Center Opens – 833 Willamette Street ? October 2006 – Choice in Mental Health Care as a Human Rights Conference – 350 Attendees – 30 Workshops ? November 2007 - Eugene Human Rights Commission presented a symposium on "Bringing Human Rights Home: Implementing International Human Rights in the United States" at the University of Oregon Law Center. Keynote speakers were Chivy Sok, co-director of the Women's Institute for Leadership Development for Human Rights in San Francisco, and Carmen Urbina, Eugene HR Commission Chair. ? December 2008 - over 30 groups and their allies formed a “Community Coalition for th Advancement of Human Rights,” and organized a major event celebrating the 60 anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Twenty-seven different groups tabled and displayed posters depicting how their work supported human rights. From Oregon Toxics Alliance to LGBTQ advocates from Basic Rights Oregon, from the mental health system survivor group MindFreedom International to NextStep Recycling that contributes computers to the poor at home and abroad, from immigrant rights advocates in CAUSA to labor rights group ESSN/Jobs with Justice, these and other groups all created posters demonstrating the link between their work and international human rights—most were making this link for the first time. Over the past 18 months, the Human Rights Commission went through several changes. First, during the fall of 2007, the long-time program manager took another position at the University of Oregon. At the manager’s request, the City Manager reviewed the Human Rights program and staff for a six- month period in the beginning of 2008. Also, during this time several commission members with a long-term history on the commission ended their terms, leaving the new commissioners to complete projects that previous members created. In addition, another major change in staff occurred in the spring of 2008, which left only one full-time staff member, impacting the program’s capacity. February 28, 2009 draft - 3 -