Mission:

The Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission (HRC) exists to advocate for the human rights of residents in the City of Virginia Beach.

Objectives:

The objectives of the Commission are:

1. To institute, conduct and engage in educational and informational programs for the promotion of mutual understanding and respect among citizens and the fulfillment of human rights.
2. To serve as a forum for discussion of human rights issues, to conduct studies and to propose solutions for the improvement of human relations in the city.
3. To provide assistance to persons who believe their rights have been violated by identifying the appropriate federal, state or local agency to address the complaint and referring such persons to that agency.

Objective 1: Educational Programming

The HRC provides educational opportunities to residents through the following venues:

• Awards Program - This program is held annually to recognize individuals (including youth) and organizations who advocate for the human rights which benefit the residents of Virginia Beach.
• Forums - Each year the Commission hosts a series of forums on a timely topic relevant to a human rights issue. All forums include panel members who have both professional and personal experience with the issue.
• Speaker's Roster - Members of the Commission are available to speak with civic leagues, church congregations and other organizations about human rights issues and the work of the Commission.

Objective 2: Forum for Discussion

The HRC offers opportunities for individuals to discuss human rights issues and possible ways to strength the relationships among the diverse cultures in the city.

Any individual or group can speak before the Commission on human rights issues in the city at a HRC meeting. To do so, persons need to contact the Department of Human Resources no later than one day prior to the meeting. Each person will be given 10 minutes to speak at a meeting.

Objective 3: Providing Assistance to Those Whose Rights May Have Been Violated

The HRC will provide assistance to anyone who believes that his or her rights were violated. The Commission does not have legal authority to act on the claims. The role of the Commission is to assist the person with identifying the appropriate agency (at the local, state and national levels) that can address the claim.

The Commonwealth of Virginia protects individual rights relating to housing, public accommodation, employment, credit and education. In addition, citizens may not be denied rights on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status or disability.