Faculty/Staff News
John Cerone, executive director of the War Crimes Research Office at American University’s Washington College of Law (WCL), was appointed to American University’s School of International Service as an adjunct faculty member in May 2002, and taught a course on international human rights law and politics. During the summer of 2002, he was interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and Voice of America Radio on legal and political issues relating to U.S. opposition to the new International Criminal Court. In July 2002, he traveled to East Timor, and undertook an assessment of the UN-created international/national hybrid system created to prosecute perpetrators of grave violations of international law committed in East Timor. In September 2002, he delivered a lecture, “Reasonable Measures in Unreasonable Situations: The Application of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Territories under UN Administration Where the Bulk of Human Rights Violative Activity is Perpetrated by Non-State Actors,” at a conference entitled “The United Nations and Human Rights Protection in Post-Conflict Situations,” sponsored by the Human Rights Law Centre of the University of Nottingham, UK. Mr. Cerone’s recent publications include “The Special Court for Sierra Leone: Establishing a New Approach to International Criminal Justice” in ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law, and “The Human Rights Framework Applicable to Trafficking in Persons and Its Incorporation into UNMIK Regulation 2001/4” in 2001 Yearbook of International Peacekeeping.
Robert K. Goldman, professor of law and co-director of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, traveled to Colombia and Argentina in May and August 2002, respectively, as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) member responsible for cases and friendly settlements in those countries. In July 2002, Professor Goldman testified on a panel before the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation in Lima, Peru regarding unjustly convicted persons under Peru’s anti-terrorist laws. In September 2002, he attended the annual meeting of the board of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights in San José, Costa Rica. In October 2002, Professor Goldman attended the three-week ordinary session of the IACHR in Washington, D.C.
Claudio Grossman, dean, co-director of the Center, and former president of the IACHR, was a guest speaker at the September 2002 Inter-American Defense College seminar on “Global Threats and Hemispheric Security,” regarding corruption in the public and private sector in Latin America. Additionally, Dean Grossman was interviewed by the National Radio of Spain regarding the consequences of September 11, 2001. In August 2002, he was interviewed by the Guatemalan Press regarding the Myrna Mack case, and interviewed by BBC Spanish regarding changes in society, the economy, and security since September 11, 2001. In July 2002, Dean Grossman was interviewed by Hispanic National Radio regarding U.S.-European relations, interviewed by Dutch World Radio regarding Latin American human rights issues, and interviewed by the Chicago Tribune regarding his observation of the Argentinean Jewish Community Center bombing trial. In addition, he was interviewed by CNN en Español regarding the unveiling of President Bush’s Middle East Policy in June 2002, and appeared as a guest on the program “Dominio Público” on Venevisión discussing freedom of expression in Guatemala in May. Dean Grossman presented lectures at the Institute for International Political Studies on the inter-American system for the protection of human rights in May 2002, and participated in a meeting sponsored by the Inter-American Dialogue entitled “Advancing Democracy through Press Freedom in the Americas” in April 2002. In April, he also participated as a representative of the IACHR in a dialogue involving the Nicaraguan government and the Awas Tingni concerning the demarcation of lands of the Awas Tingni in Nicaragua. He also organized a conference in April entitled “Indigenous Peoples: Challenges for the 21st Century,” where he moderated a panel on indigenous women’s rights. Since July 2002, Dean Grossman has served as a board member of the Social Science Foundation, Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver, and in August he was elected executive board member of the Inter-American Institute on Human Rights.
Claudia Martin, visiting associate professor and co-director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, coordinated the fourth summer program of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in May and June 2002. In addition, during the program she co-taught Inter-American Human Rights Law, coordinated activities of Human Rights Month, and participated as a moderator in the panel “Amnesty Laws and the Struggle against Impunity in Argentina: Current Status of Cases that Continue to be Prosecuted in the National Jurisdiction.” In August 2002, Professor Martin lectured on the role of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to students during the XI Edition of the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition in Cairo, Egypt. In addition, she participated in the honor panel that judged the final round of the African competition. In September 2002, Professor Martin coordinated an event in cooperation with the Human Rights Program of Universidad Iberoamericana and the Mexican Bar Association on current developments in human rights law for human rights law professors and members of the legal profession. During that event, Professor Martin lectured on current developments in the case law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Diane Orentlicher, professor of law and co-director of the Center, provided commentary in various media sources on issues relating to the U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court and other war crimes issues during the summer of 2002. Additionally, in May 2002, she was invited to serve on the board of directors of the International Legal Institute of the Open Society Institute. Also in May 2002, Professor Orentlicher served as a panelist in a program on military tribunals at the United States Courthouse hosted by the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court. In June 2002, she participated in a meeting of the International Humanitarian Law Working Group at the United States Institute of Peace entitled, “New Players in the Implementation and Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law: The Evolving Role of the Military.” In August 2002, Professor Orentlicher participated in a panel on “International Criminal Justice Today: Theories and Practices in a Changing World,” sponsored by the American Bar Association Central and East European Law Initiative, as part of the ABA’s annual meeting.
Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, visiting associate professor, co-director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, and director of the Human Rights Legal Education-Partnership Projects in Ecuador and Colombia, co-hosted the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in May and June 2002. In addition to teaching during the Academy session and coordinating all logistical and academic aspects as co-director, he served as a moderator in the panel presentation entitled, “The Current Status of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights,” featuring Philip Alston, Victor Abramovich, and Stephen Hansen. In June and July 2002, Professor Rodríguez-Pinzón advised the Presidential Program on Human Rights of the Government of Colombia on further legal steps to confront the human rights situation in that country, particularly regarding the issue of impunity. In August 2002, he lectured at The American University in Cairo, Egypt, during the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition, presenting a comparative approach to the inter-American, European, African, and UN systems. In September 2002, Professor Rodríguez-Pinzón lectured on “Current Developments in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights” in a training seminar organized by the Mexican Bar Association and the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. The event was part of an ongoing project of the Academy with several Mexican universities focusing on human rights legal education in that country. Also in September 2002, he lectured on the limitations of international human rights law when restructuring the government, at a conference hosted by the Procuraduría General de la Nación of Colombia, the Swedish Government, and UN Human Rights High Commissioner’s Office in Bogotá, Colombia.
Herman Schwartz, professor of law and co-director of the Center, served as a Fulbright senior specialist lecturer on American law, comparative constitutional law, and human rights at South African law schools in Cape Town, Western Cape, Stellenbosch, and Witwatersrand from April 15-30, 2002. Additionally, he was commencement speaker at the University of Buffalo Law School, SUNY, in May 2002. Also in May 2002, he served on the executive committee of the board of directors of the International Legal Institute of the Open Society Institute. In June 2002, he provided an analysis of proposed amendments to the constitution of Georgia for USAID. In September 2002, he provided an analysis of proposed amendments to the constitution of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan for the National Democratic Institute.
Richard Wilson, professor of law, co-director of the Center,
director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic, and director of the WCL
Clinical Program, taught in the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
in June 2002, and at the Oxford University and George Washington University
Summer Joint Program in International Human Rights Law in July 2002. During
the summer of 2002, Professor Wilson published the following articles: “The
United States’ Position on the Death Penalty in the Inter-American Human
Rights System,” in Santa Clara Law Review, “Issues in the
Assignment of Defense Counsel in Domestic and International War Crimes Tribunals:
The Need for a Structural Approach,” in the International Criminal
Law Review, and “Three Law School Clinics in Chile, 1970-2000: Innovation,
Resistance and Conformity in the Global South,” in Clinical Law Review.
He also wrote a book review of Geert-Jan G.J. Knoops’ Defenses in
Contemporary International Criminal Law in the American Journal of International
Law. Professor Wilson filed the brief of the European Union in Atkins
v. Virginia (barring execution of mentally retarded persons), decided by
the U.S. Supreme Court in June. The EU brief was cited in both the majority
and dissenting opinions. In September, Professor Wilson conducted an evaluation
for the Open Society Foundation of Lithuania of three law school legal aid clinical
programs in that country.
The proper citation for this article in the Human Rights Brief Volume 10, Issue 1, beginning at page 32 is: 10 No. 1 Hum. Rts. Brief 32 (2002).
