NAS ANNUAL FUND
COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Several hundred scientists, engineers, and health professionals around the world are unjustly imprisoned for nonviolently expressing their opinions.

Many have not had a trial or serve harsh sentences and suffer poor health in deplorable conditions. Other have been tortured or held in solitary confinement.

For 25 years, the Committee on Human Rights has used the influence and prestige of the National Academies to gain the release of such colleagues.

By judiciously using its unique authority, the Committee has established a strong track record and gained the support of some 1,700 Academies members who write appeals and approach influential contacts for help with a case. Over the years, several hundred of our colleagues have been released from prison, some as a direct result of the CHR's efforts, but the need for the Committee's work remains acute.

To strengthen its vital efforts, in 1993 the Committee, along with several other academies, created the International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies.

As Network secretariat, the Committee provides support and case information to affiliated academies (now numbering near 60), and it prepares petitions for submission to UNESCO that are signed by members of academies affiliated with the Network.

For more on the Committee’s resolved cases in Cuba, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, and Vietnam, and its current efforts, go to www.nationalacademies.org/pga (human rights).

To make an Annual Fund gift or Campaign pledge, use our secure on-line form or check out the Making Your Gift section of our website.

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For more information about any of the programs mentioned in these pages -- or about the Annual Fund in general -- please contact us at giving@nationalacademies.org or 202.334.2431.