Dear Friends,

Today, December 10th, marks the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, commemorating the first time the international community agreed on a set of common values which affirm that rights are inherent to every single human being without exception.

On this milestone anniversary in the struggle for universal human rights, we invite you to donate to NRCAT’s year-end matching gift campaign, Rising Together for Human Rights. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar as a part of NRCAT’s $40,000 year-end matching gift campaign, enabling NRCAT to continue our interfaith work to equip and mobilize torture survivors and interfaith allies in local, statewide, and national campaigns to end torture.

Today, the human rights standards affirmed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, when applied in policy, act as a moral guardrail for human dignity and a blueprint for concrete action in practice. These common values continue to inspire movements for change, including the growing movement for humane alternatives to solitary confinement in the United States and NRCAT’s ongoing commitment to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center. Your donation today in honor of Human Rights Day will support NRCAT’s interfaith advocacy that is making an impact.

Our struggle to end the torture of solitary confinement has been greatly aided by the United Nations’ “Nelson Mandela Rules” which prohibit the use of solitary confinement beyond 15 consecutive days in all circumstances and call for its abolition for women, children and individuals with mental and physical disabilities. These moral standards for prisons are serving as a compelling blueprint for dozens of state campaigns working to end solitary confinement, with New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut having all codified similar prohibitions into law.

This year in California, the state legislature again passed the California Mandela Act, which would enshrine into law the UN Mandela Rules by banning solitary confinement in California prisons, jails, and private immigrant detention centers. Faith leaders, in solidarity with solitary survivors, remain together on the frontlines of this and many other state campaigns, urging Governors and state legislatures to end the torture of solitary confinement in their states. Your donation today will enable our work for human rights to continue to grow!

With gratitude for you,

The NRCAT Team, Ron, Johnny, T.C., Laura and Michael