In July of last year,  Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo established the Commission on Unalienable Rights to fundamentally revisit questions about what constitutes a human right, the effects of rights claims, and the role of human rights in U.S. foreign policy. Its launch quickly drew the attention of human rights advocates nationwide because of its troubling mandate, membership, and risks to women’s, LGBTI, and socioeconomic rights (see here, here, and here). Recently its work has been subject to a lawsuit. While some of the Commission’s concerns—such as how to address governments’ misuse of rights or analyze the efficacy of human rights treaties and institutions—are shared by many in the human rights community, the Commission in its composition, set-up, and five public meetings (see here, and here) has reflected some concerning and often one-sided understandings of how these challenges are best framed, assessed, and solved. As the Commission prepares its final report to Secretary Pompeo, this submission delves deeper into the ten core concerning propositions relied upon by the Commission and identifies eight principles of international human rights law that should instead guide its work. Authored by the Duke Law International Human Rights Clinic, this submission is co-signed by individuals linked to the human rights clinics at over twenty U.S. law schools.