[4] Also in 1992, Posner helped musician/activist Peter Gabriel found WITNESS,[citation needed] an organization that uses video and online technologies to shed light on human rights violations around the world.

Posner and Human Rights First led the advocacy efforts in support of the McCain Amendment which bans U.S. soldiers and officials from engaging in cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

[21][22] In the summer of 2015, Posner was named the Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics & Finance at the Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, an endowed chairmanship position.

[26][27][28] Led by its deputy director, Paul M. Barrett, the center has published a number of in-depth reports on technology policy and social media's impacts on politics in the United States and abroad.

A Call to End Outsourcing," which identifies problems with content moderation practices employed by major social media companies like Facebook and Twitter.

[54][55][56][57][58] For the report, the center's deputy director, Paul Barrett, traveled to the Hawassa Industrial Park in Awassa, Ethiopia, documenting conditions on the ground.

[59] In September 2020, Dorothée Baumann-Pauly, director of Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights and the research director at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, produced a report entitled "Making Mining Safe and Fair: Artisanal Cobalt Extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," published by the World Economic Forum.

[60][61][62] The report recommends "formalizing" cobalt-mining processes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's artisanal and small-scale mines—from which significant quantities of raw materials are sourced for electric vehicles sold in the West—in order to prevent human rights abuses.

In September 2020, the center released a report by one of its fellows, Isabelle Glimcher, entitled "Purchasing Power: How the U.S. Government Can Use Federal Procurement to Uphold Human Rights."

As a non-governmental advocate, I have witnessed and often benefited from the incredible power and moral authority of the United States to lead on these important but often complicated issues.

The U.S. government's potential to provide leadership on human rights democracy and the rule of law is part of what Secretary Clinton has referred to as the smart power.

Posner commented that "this was the first of many instances where I have seen and been part of efforts to harness the political, diplomatic and economic power of the United States Government as a force for good".

And I witnessed it as the Bush Administration, working closely with Congressional leaders like Senators Cardin and Voinovich and Congressman Chris Smith, took a leading role in challenging European anti-Semitism and other racial and religious persecution through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe".

Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox issued the following statement: "Michael has been a brilliant advocate on behalf of protecting the rights and dignity of people the world over.

"Amnesty International looks forward to continuing to work with now-Secretary Posner on crucial issues concerning the global protection of human rights for all people".

[77] The conservative New York Post called the comments "misguided moral equivalence" and "despicable", citing China's treatment of its own Muslim population, the Uyghurs, as well as its policy of sending back refugees who arrive from North Korea, "where certain, agonizing death awaits them".

Spokesman P. J. Crowley disputed the notion Posner was apologizing to China when he was actually "standing up" for America by demonstrating how debate works in a "civil society".

[80] In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee in March 2010, Posner said, "the defense of a free, open and interconnected Internet is in our national and global interests and is important for commerce, for diplomatic and political relations, and for building sustainable democratic societies.

[82] Under Posner's leadership, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor has played a leading role in supporting democratic activists in their use of new technologies, particularly in the Middle East.

Posner led efforts described as "uncharacteristically cool" to fund millions of dollars in technology development meant to aid pro-democracy activists around the world.

[83] In describing a "panic button" designed to allow pro-democracy campaigners wipe out their phones' address books and emit emergency signals to other activists, Posner said, "We're operating like venture capitalists.

Both Secretary Clinton and Posner have placed great emphasis on building partnerships beyond the state, and giving civil society a stronger voice in shaping the political decision-making process.

On March 24, Posner delivered a keynote address, "The Four Freedoms Turn 70: Ensuring Economic, Political, and National Security in the 21st Century", at the American Society of International Law.

Posner's speech re-examined the Four Freedoms, or "moral cornerstones", and discussed the important intersection between political and economic rights, which he said are "inexorably linked".

Posner highlighted the turmoil in the Middle East as evidence that the shaping of U.S. national security must include the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and that only if the two are interlinked will peaceful societies flourish economically, socially, and politically.

[89] Established in 2000 (the United States is a founding member), the Voluntary Principles—an initiative by governments, NGOs, and companies—provides guidance to extractives companies on maintaining the safety and security of their operations within a framework that ensures respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The report offers a comprehensive record of human rights situations of almost 200 countries and territories worldwide, and uses information from nongovernmental and international organizations, U.S. embassies and consulates, and other sources.

In November 2010, Posner traveled to Geneva as one of three co-heads of the 32-person interagency U.S. government delegation submitting the United States' first report through the UPR to the UN Human Rights Council.

[95] Since being sworn in as Assistant Secretary, Posner has engaged on a number of fronts promoting religious freedom, particularly in the Middle East and South Central Asia.

We are convinced that the freedom to profess, practice, and promote one's religion is a basic human right, a social good, a source of stability, and a key component of international security".