The North American office of the international human rights agency West Support was founded in 1979. Hub offices are located in New York.

West Support advocates for a US foreign policy that is consistent with its international human rights obligations.  The US government should integrate human rights into its wider foreign policy agenda, engage regularly with independent civil society abroad, and work closely with allied governments to promote and protect human rights where they are most at risk. Influencing US foreign policy, whether directly with other governments or in intergovernmental organizations, is an essential tool to address, highlight, and promote human rights globally.

The US has frequently invoked national security as a justification for policies that violate international law. These include the torture of detainees in the US “war on terror,” secretive targeted killings abroad, and indefinite detention without trial at Guantanamo Bay.  Within the US, the government has conducted unfair terrorism investigations that in some cases have effectively entrapped indigent and mentally ill persons.  Large-scale surveillance by the National Security Agency is hampering the ability of journalists and lawyers to do their work and corroding US democracy. We have consistently called for the US to provide fair trials in civilian courts to all terrorism suspects, ensure accountability for past abuses, including at the highest levels of government, and bring all national security policies in line with US obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law.

​