National Security and Human Rights Pooled Fund

The National Security and Human Rights Pooled Fund (the NSHR Pooled Fund) is a project of the Proteus Fund and a part of the National Security and Human Rights Campaign (the Campaign) initiated by the Open Society Institute, Atlantic Philanthropies and other funders, to promote a progressive national security policy that restores human rights and civil liberties.  

 

The NSHR Campaign conducts grantmaking in furtherance of five policy goals that are essential to restoring respect for civil liberties, human rights, and the rule of law to U.S. national security policies: 1. End arbitrary detention and the use of secret prisons, restore due process, eliminate the use of torture and extraordinary rendition of terror suspects, and close the Guantanamo Bay detention center; 2. Reform surveillance laws and policies to restrict warrantless and unchecked surveillance and restore broad privacy protections at the federal, state, and local levels; 3. Ensure that anti-terrorism laws and law enforcement activities do not target freedom of speech, association, or religious expression; 4. Reduce the practice of racial, ethnic, and religious profiling of Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities and build the capacity of AMEMSA organizations to fight abusive national security policies disproportionately directed at them; 5. Decrease government secrecy, restore strong oversight of Executive action taken in the name of national security, and expose and hold U.S. government official and private actors accountable for abuses and violations of the law.

 

The NSHR Pooled Fund’s grantmaking promotes the Campaign goals by:

1. building the capacity of organizations in the national security and human rights field by supporting grassroots advocacy and increasing collaboration among affected constituencies and their allies;

2. building a stronger collaborative communications capacity within the field; and

3. responding to emerging opportunities and threats with rapid response funds.