Human Rights Implications of Hurricane Katrina: 6 Months Later

 

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

10:00 am – 5:00 pm, followed by a Reception

American University Washington College of Law

4801 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Room 603, Washington, DC

 

The response to Hurricane Katrina spotlighted issues of class, race and poverty in the United States. Six months later, it was time to assess how the rebuilding and restoration efforts for the millions of people affected by the storm have implicated human rights concerns.  The conference focused on how the response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath has violated a variety of international norms to which the US is legally obligated (including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention Against Torture (CAT), the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the UN Guiding Principles for Internal Displacement, and the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man.)  Panelists also related personal observations of what is left to be done and discussed the future of the communities that have been affected by Hurricane Katrina.

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HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS OF HURRICANE KATRINA

April 11, 2006

9:30 am

Welcome and Introductions

  • Dean Claudio Grossman, American University Washington College of Law
9:45 am

Discussing the Katrina Response in a Human Rights Framework

  • Hadar Harris, Executive Director, AU WCL Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

10:00 am

Video Presentation fo the Current SItuation in the Gulf Region

10:15 am Equal Enjoyment of Rights/Equal Protection
  • Roxanna Altholz, Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley
  • Stephen Bradburry, ACORN of New Orleans
  • John Brittain, Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
  • Sharda Sakaran, National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI)
11:45 am Lunch Buffet

12:00 pm

 Keynote Luncheon Discussion: WCL Student Perspectives of Working in the Gulf
1:15 pm Criminal Justice/Due Process

  • Jenni Gainsborough, Penal Reform International
  • Nsombi Lambright, ACLU of Mississippi
  • Tracie Washington, NAACP Gulf Coast Advocacy Center
3:00 pm Rebuilding Controversies

  • Internally Displaced People: Ajamu Baraka, US Human Rights Network
  • Housing: Maria Foscarinis, National Law Center on HOmelessness and Poverty
  • Voting Rights: Elizabeth Westfall, The Advancement Project
  • Worker's Rights: Melissa Crow, National Immigration Law Center
5:00 pm Reception

 

Sponsored by the Washington College of Law Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law