Human Rights Brief
A Legal Resource for the International Human Rights CommunitySummer 1994
WCL International Human Rights Law Clinic
by Steven Weston
Recently, a Honduran soldier was seriously threatened after voicing opposition to a branch of that country's intelligence force involved in torture and disappearances. Forced to flee his country, the soldier made his way to the United States where students in the Washington College of Law (WCL) International Human Rights Law Clinic (IHRLC) succeeded in obtaining political asylum for him. Had the man been forcibly repatriated back to Honduras, he would likely have faced a perilous future.
The IHRLC at WCL handles numerous cases concerning human rights issues like this one. It operates under the direction of Professor Richard J. Wilson and is designed to give students first hand experience in litigative and legislative advocacy. Begun in 1990, the IHRLC has become an important addition to the law school's nationally recognized clinical program. The March 21, 1994 issue of U.S. News and World Report ranked WCL's clinical program as fifth in the nation.
According to Professor Wilson, approximately one-half of the cases handled by students in the clinic concern domestic political asylum. The students assist clients in the preparation of asylum applications, accompany them on interviews with asylum officers, and when necessary, appear in court and file appeals with the Board of Immigration Appeals or the federal courts.
Wilson remarked that "students put enormous amounts of energy and time into these cases, probably more than lawyers practicing in the field would put in, in part out of inexperience but also out of devotion to their clients". Solina Solis, a second year law student in the clinic who represented several asylum applicants stated that she gained extensive oral advocacy skills litigating the domestic asylum cases.
Among the many people for whom the IHRLC has won asylum include a visiting Kenyan journalist whose publication was banned before he left Kenya; supporters of the Mujahidin in Afghanistan threatened by members of the former Communist government's armed forces; and a 19 year old Nigerian student who published stories in a school newspaper critical of the government, and who subsequently discovered that the faculty supervisor and student members of the paper had disappeared.
The clinic also represents individuals and organizations alleging human rights violations before international bodies. Currently, several clinic cases are pending before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the regional human rights enforcement system of the Americas. Students recently filed a case with the Commission against the U.S. government for denying representation in Congress to citizens of the District of Columbia. Under current U.S. law, District residents are not permitted to vote in federal elections and have no voting representation in the U.S. House or Senate.
Other bodies in which the IHRLC is active include the Human Rights Committee under the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations, and the U.S. Congress. Students recently requested the U.N. Secretary General and the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Summary or Arbitrary Executions to intervene in the cases of two persons convicted of capital offenses in Utah and Texas. The petitions allege violations of international human rights law including racial discrimination and cruel and unusual punishment. One of the defendants had received the death penalty for a capital crime committed while a minor.
In addition, in cooperation with the International Labor Rights Education and Research Fund, the clinic filed petitions with the U.S. Trade Representative seeking the removal of El Salvador and Pakistan from the list of nations receiving most favored nation status. The petitions seek removal of these countries for their failure to protect internationally recognized worker's rights.
Solis, who is currently representing a Columbian indigenous community that is fighting the installation of a U.S. army radar site on its tribal lands without permission, stated that litigating in the international arena takes both originality and patience. "I learned that you have to be much more creative when you make arguments under international law" she said. "There are no set models. You go to declarations and conventions and make your interpretations."
The IHRLC is currently expanding its focus to include cases that involve issues affecting both human rights and the environment. Students are now preparing a petition in a case involving the invasion and degradation of tribal lands of the Kuna and Embera peoples in Panama.
Although Professor Wilson admits that "most students would say that these are the most time intensive credit-hours they earn in law school," he believes that the clinic affords students valuable practical experience, and that the students generally enjoy the work. Solis agrees. "You put in a lot of time but the experience is invaluable. I wish every law student had the opportunity to gain clinical practice. It's worth it."
The proper citation for this article in the Human Rights Brief Volume 1, Number 2, beginning at page 8 is: 1 No. 2 Hum. Rts. Brief 8 (1994).
