Paul O’Brien - Executive Director of Amnesty International USA discusses Human Rights in the United States

Someone who is well versed in the current state of human rights in the US is the Irish-born Harvard-trained lawyer, Paul O’Brien. He is the executive director of Amnesty International USA – one of the world’s leading human rights organizations. I recently sat down with Paul O’Brien when he visited Canada in early May 2025. We spoke at the headquarters of Amnesty International Canada in downtown Ottawa. Here’s our conversation.

In a recently released review of the first 100 days of the Trump presidency, the human rights organization, Amnesty international USA, outlines how the Trump administration is pursuing an agenda that seems bent on “eroding human rights protections, fostering fear and undermining the rule of law.”

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” That’s from Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on December 10th, 1948. The principal author of the landmark document was a Canadian. The New Brunswick born McGill University law professor John Peters Humphrey.

Around the world, institutions and individuals dedicated to the defense and protection of human rights are facing increasing attacks. Human rights are under extreme duress in the United States.