State Department Commission on Unalienable Rights

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the creation of a new Commission on Unalienable Rights in May 2019. The Commission was formally launched in July 2019 with a mandate to advise the Secretary of State on human rights in U.S. foreign policy. Given the Trump administration’s consistent efforts to undermine human rights on the world stage, the Commission’s formation was met with concerns that it would co-opt human rights language for its preferred policies. Among the conservative ideas the Commission is likely to champion are the “natural family” and “traditional values” — while limiting reproductive rights and immigration, among other human rights. The Commission largely comprises right-wing, anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ hardliners who were all appointed by Pompeo.