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How are Psychology Associations involved in Human Rights?

One of the aims of the GNPHR was to develop ideas for good practice for psychology associations in the field of human rights. As a steering group we were in touch with some associations already with committees or sections that had a leadership role on psychology and human rights, but we needed to find out what others were doing. We conducted a survey of all psychology associations to enquire what work they were doing in this field. Respondent told us that they indeed did regard psychology and human rights as an important issue and they reported on activity in this area, but few of them had groups within their associations that lead on it.
The Global Network believes that it’s important that there are ways in which an organisation of psychologists can gather together those people with particular expertise so they can advise their association how best to engage with, for example, their National Reporting Mechanism in their country about human rights violations and indeed areas in which they could celebrate psychology’s role in the protection of human rights.

Following the survey, the steering group decided to form  a new network (see below) representing those associations that had established human rights groups, and those that wanted to set ones up, or indeed were just interested in collaborating.  The aim is to share best practice and to help other associations consider how they may best cultivate this work in the future.

Framework for Inspiration

Guidance for psychology organizations on forms of organizational engagement with human rights and psychology

See as online brochure; download as PDF

GNPHR Network of Human Rights and Psychology groups

The GNPHR Network of Human Rights Groups in Psychology Associations is open to representatives of psychology associations that have established a committee, office, or subgroup focused on psychology and human rights.

An initial meeting was held in February, 2022, attended by representatives of the American Psychological Association, The Psychological Association of the Philippines, The Jamaican Psychological Society, The Psychological Society of Ireland and the British Psychological Society and the GNPHR steering committee.

There is a new call for organizations to join to discuss the activities of their human rights groups OR to find support for launching one! See here

Reports from Organizations

Human Rights at the American Psychological Association
Gabe Twose

The American Psychological Association (APA) is a scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States (US), comprising a membership of more than 157,000 clinicians, researchers, educators, practitioners, consultants, and students, including more than 15,000 international members.  This article will review APA’s work to promote and protect human rights.

Strategic plan
Our current strategic plan lays out our mission: To promote the advancement, communication, and application of psychological science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives. Moreover, the strategic plan provides Guiding Principles, including to “respect and promote human rights” and Strategic Objectives, including to “foster the advancement of human rights through the application of psychological science to human rights systems and mechanisms, and the utilization of human rights-based approaches.”

Council Policies
The Council of Representatives is the legislative body of the Association, empowered to create APA policy. Council has passed numerous human rights related policies, including the seminal 2021 Resolution on APA, Psychology, and Human Rights, which, based on the report of the APA Task Force on Human Rights, committed APA to ” align its ethics, governance, and programmatic activities with human rights principles and practice.” At its most recent meeting, in August 2024, Council passed Resolutions on the global human rights of women and girls, an immediate, permanent, and comprehensive ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict, restitution and reparations for the survivors of individual and collective trauma and their descendants, and immigrant health.

Internal procedures
To carry out the Association’s work, APA employs roughly 500 staff, including several who focus specifically on human rights. The Human Rights Team is specifically tasked to provide consultations on how to incorporate human rights into the wide array of work psychologists do at APA and beyond, especially in areas of public interest and population health. They also connect APA with certain external partners so that APA can share psychological science with the programs of partner organizations who are protecting and promoting human rights.

External advocacy
Domestic policy
APA’s advocacy team is responsible for advancing the practice and science of psychology at federal and state levels. Their priorities include expanding access to psychological services, supporting integrated health care, protecting investments in the psychology workforce, research, and education, and promoting health equity and human rights. Recent topics specifically related to human rights include policies impacting access to health care for LGBTQ+ populations, reproductive health, DEI programs in education, and the rights of immigrants. APA advocacy staff work in coalition with a variety of groups to advance the rights of various populations. Recent examples include:

  • Responding to a request for information from the National Institutes of Health on innovative approaches to addressing mental health disparities, referencing law enforcement interactions with communities of color, hate crimes, and immigration status.
  • Submitting comments to the Department of Health and Human Services on protecting privacy related to reproductive health.
  • Supporting an updated rule on sexual harassment and other sex discrimination, which would extend protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity to a broader group of potentially impacted people.
  • Endorsing the Black Maternal health “Momnibus” Act which seeks to address maternal mortality, morbidity, and disparities among communities of color, especially African Americans.
  • Submitting comments to the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health emphasizing the importance of quality mental health care for migrants, especially for older immigrants, women, and children of farmworkers.

United Nations advocacy
APA also advocates at the United Nations, primarily through member-led teams in New York and Geneva, the latter in collaboration with the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations and the Federation of Swiss Psychologists. UN Representatives aim to advance global health, well-being, and human rights. Specific recent initiatives include submitting comments to the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights explaining how professional organizations can advance normative and policy measures to advance the human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and current or potential users of mental health services.

Also at the UN, APA organized a celebration of World Mental Health Day with an event titled Moving from Words to Action: Implementing the General Assembly Resolution (A/77/300) on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (see a video recording on UNWebTV). Co-hosted with the Permanent Missions to the UN of Mexico, Belgium, Romania, and Kuwait, as well as the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and several NGO partners, the event featured comments from UN and civil society actors on mental health as a human right and the importance of the mental health Resolution being applied at national levels by governmental and civil society stakeholders.

Summary
APA explicitly states that human rights are central to the Association’s mission. This article provided select examples of the ways in which the Association advances human rights that complement additional pathways such as publishing human rights-relevant research, promoting psychological ethics, and advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, to name a few. Psychology and human rights are inextricably interlinked, and professional associations have a responsibility to ensure the linkages are acknowledged, cultivated, and utilized to ensure our science and practice are employed to benefit the global community.

Please contact APA’s Senior International Affairs Officer Gabriel Twose (gtwose@apa.org) with any questions.

Link to the Activities of the Network of Human Rights Groups in Psychology Associations