Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
Human Rights News & Events

WCL Events

1. ROOM/TIME CHANGE!!! - CERD COMMITTEE REVIEW OF US COMPLIANCE WITH THE RACE TREATY,
Thursday, February 21, 3pm - 6pm, 4910 Large Conference Room
The United States will be reviewed by the UN Committee for the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on February 21 and 22.  An unprecedented coalition of over 100 NGOs participated in writing a supplemental shadow report for consideration by the Committee.  Over 80 US NGO representatives will be traveling to Geneva to advocate for better US compliance with CERD.  To raise awareness of the reporting process and some of the key issues noted in the official US report and the coalition shadow report, the Student Advisory Board of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law has planned a week of activities around the CERD meeting, including a poster display in the WCL lobby.  On Thursday, February 21, the Center will simulcast the official proceedings of the CERD Committee and the first part of the review of the United States regarding its compliance with ICERD.  Please join us to watch the proceedings.  Coffee and refreshments will be served.  The week of events are co-sponsored by the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Student Advisory Board, Asian Pacific American Law Students' Association, Black Law Students' Association, Latino/a Law Students' Association, Immigrants' Rights Coalition, and the Poverty Law Society.  For additional information, please contact the Center by emailing humlaw@wcl.american.edu or by calling 202-274-4180.

2. THE NEW U VISA REGULATIONS: UNDERSTANDING THEIR APPLICATION AND BUILDING COLLABORATION,
Thursday, February 21, 9am - 5pm, Rm. 603
After seven years of waiting, Congress finally enacted the U Visa regulations in October of 2007.  Consequently, thousands of recipients of deferred status are anxiously re-submitting applications, while future applicants, advocates, and law enforcement agents work to understand the regulation's practical applications and the implications for past and future recipients.  This all-day program will seek to educate the attendees about the new regulations with a particular eye to the protection of immigrants' rights.  Law enforcement representatives, local and national advocate, professors, and government agencies will be attendance.  Sponsored by the Immigrants' Rights Coalition.  To register for this event please visit, http://www.wcl.american.edu/secle/cle_form.cfm.

 

3. THE REFERENDUM: A PRESENTATION BY AWARD-WINNING CHILEAN AUTHOR AND FORMER DIPLOMAT, ANTONIO SKÁRMETA,
Tuesday, February 26, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm, 6th Floor Student Lounge
Please join us on Tuesday, February 26th for a lecture by award-winning, Chilean Author and former diplomat, Antonio Skármeta. This lecture is based on Mr. Skármeta's comedy on the
1988 Chilean plebiscite: El Plebiscito o Como derrotar a un dictador con poseia (The Plebiscite or How to Defeat a Dictator through Poetry). Mr. Skármeta's 1985 novel Ardiente paciencia inspired the 1994 Academy Award-winning movie, Il Postino (The Postman). Free and open to the public. Registration is required. To register, please go to http://www.wcl.american.edu/secle/cle_form.cfm.

Antonio Skármeta is a Chilean author, born November 7, 1940 in Antofagasta, Chile. His 1985 novel Ardiente paciencia inspired the 1994 Academy Award-winning movie, Il Postino (The Postman). Subsequent editions of the book bore the title "El cartero de Neruda" (The Postman). His fiction has since received dozens of awards and has been translated into nearly 30 languages worldwide. Most recently, Mr. Skármeta won the prestigious 2003 Planeta Prize in Spain for "El baile de la Victoria" (The Dancer and the Thief). Mr. Skármeta studied philosophy and literature both in Chile and at Columbia University in New York. From 1967 to 1973, the year he left Chile (first to Buenos Aires and later to West Berlin), he taught literature at the University of Chile. In 1989, after the collapse of Pinochet's military dictatorship, Mr. Skármeta returned to Chile in order to create political space for freedom. He hosted a television program on literature and the arts, that regularly attracted over one million viewers. Mr. Skármeta frequently teaches classes for the Colorado College both in Santiago and in Colorado Springs. He is the grandson of immigrants from the Dalmatian region of Croatia.


4. BEYOND (STRAIGHT AND GAY) MARRIAGE: A BOOK SIGNING AND RECEPTION WITH PROFESSOR NANCY POLIKOFF,
Wednesday, February 27, 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm, Dean's Suite, 3rd Floor, WCL
Dean Claudio Grossman and the WCL Community cordially invite you to a reception and book signing in honor of the recent publication of Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families Under the Law by Nancy Polikoff Professor of Law, Washington College of Law on Wednesday, February 27, 2008, at 4:30 p.m. Dean’s Suite, Third Floor American University Washington College of Law. To RSVP or for additional information, please email audrey@wcl.american. edu or call 202-274-4163.

Community Events

 

1. PUBLIC INTEREST LAW RETREAT
Friday February 29th to March 2nd, Retreat site in Peterborough, New Hampshire
The Retreat is a gathering of public interest law students, lawyers, and professors from schools across the East Coast (but some Midwest and West Coast, too). There are some workshops, panels and speakers, but significant amount of time is reserved for networking, socializing, one on one conversations, and building a strong network of public interest law friends and connections. The retreat is relaxing, we take breaks to go snow tubing, cross country skiing, or chat around the fire. It's a very inspiring weekend-- it's a self-selected group of people committed to public interest law. The public interest lawyers are there to provide whatever knowledge they can impart to assist participating students' with their career choices... and the ratio between students and practitioners is low. Accommodations are in cabins with bunks. The food is great. The cost is $125 for the entire weekend (includes food, board, and the Retreat) and schools often chip in to cover some of their students' retreat costs. Students can carpool or fly very inexpensively from Philadelphia to Manchester, NH on Southwest Airlines. From Manchester, NH, we can arrange carpools to the Retreat site in Peterborough, NH(Southern NH, near MA and about two hours from Hartford). Materials are available athttp://www.law.yale.edu/news/coverretreat.asp. Form more questions please visit http://www.law.yale.edu/5725.asp or contact Ben Smilowitz at smilowitzlaw@gmail.com or call him at 314-761-7631. To register visit http://www.law.yale.edu/documents/pdf/Intellectual_Life/CoverRetreatRegistration2008.pdf

Announcements & Professional Development Opportunities

 

1. APPLY FOR A REEBOK HUMAN RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP AWARD (Due March 4!)
Make a difference this summer on the frontlines of human rights activism!  The Reebok Human Rights Summer Fellowship offers students a unique opportunity to gain practical experience in the field of human rights.  AIUSA is recruiting students aged 18 - 25 to spend summer 2008 working with organizations connected to Reebok Human Rights award winners or AIUSA.  Postings are in the United States and abroad. Fellows receive funding of up to a maximum of $2,500 to use towards air travel and other expenses.  Applications are available online and due on March 4, 2008.  For more information and an application form visit: www.amnestyusa.org/reebok.

2. WORKING IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: CHALLENGING POVERTY THROUGH LAW, Friday-Saturday, 4-5 April 2008, University of Georgia School of Law
SAVE THE DATE! The University of Georgia School of Law cordially invites you to attend the Third Annual "Working in the Public Interest: Challenging Poverty Through Law" conference on April 4-5, 2008. This two day event features panels and roundtable discussions with speakers drawn from all parts of the country. The conference will be held in Athens, Georgia, at the University of Georgia School of Law, which is approximately 65 miles northeast of Atlanta. We will be offering CLE credits for a small registration fee. We can also arrange free housing for student attendees who would like to stay with other students here in Athens. Registration and other information will soon be available online at www.law.uga.edu/wipi. If you have questions or concerns, please email us at: wipi.publicity.2008@gmail.com.

3. FAIR ELECTION LEGAL NETWORK INTERNSHIP, Apply today!
Seeking reliable, entrepreneurial law student interested in election law to work for the Fair Elections Legal Network (FELN), a nonpartisan network of experienced election lawyers and litigators who work to increase voter participation among traditionally under participating constituencies. Responsibilities include supporting the legal director to identify legal and administrative obstacles impacting voter participation, performing related legal research, identifying pending relevant legal, rulemaking or legislative proceedings, interacting with key voter mobilization and registration organizations and key election officials. Additional responsibilities will include activities associated with ongoing recruitment of experienced election lawyers, and other duties as assigned.  Great opportunity for exposure to substantive election law for someone who is a self-starter and comfortable handling significant responsibility. Must possess strong research, analytic, written and oral communications skills and be able meet deadlines.15 hours/week. Stipend: $225/week. Please send cover letter and resume to kneuman@fairelectionsnetwork.com.

4. ABA JOHN J. CURTIN, JR. JUSTICE FUND 2008 SUMMER LEGAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
The Curtin Justice Fund Legal Internship Program is seeking motivated law student interns to apply for stipends available for the Summer 2008 Program. The applicants should have a position offered, contingent on funding, from a qualified organization. The program will pay $2,500 stipend to 3 law students who spend the summer months working for a bar association or legal services program designed to prevent homelessness or assist homeless or indigent clients or their advocates. All law students are eligible. Applications must be postmarked by March 24, 2008. Applications requirements and additional information available at: http://www.abanet.org/homeless/curtin_application.html. Please contact the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty at (202) 662-1694 or via email at homeless@abanet.org with any questions.

5. EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS ANNOUNCES 6 AMERICORPS ATTORNEY POSITIONS
Recruitment for the 2007-08 Pro Bono Legal Corps (PBLC) is now underway. The PBLC is an Equal Justice AmeriCorps-funded program that places law school graduates at nonprofit and legal aid organizations to develop quality pro bono opportunities that expand legal resources in low-income and underserved communities. AmeriCorps Attorneys serve up to two 11-month terms, starting in August 2008. Positions are located at sites in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Boston, San Francisco, Jacksonville, Helena, and other cities around the country. The Pro Bono Legal Corps is an excellent first step to building a career in public interest law. More information about these positions is available at www.equaljusticeworks.org/programs/pblc/apply.

6. INNOCENCE PROJECT SEEKS SPRING INTERN, Apply Today!
The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project is a small non-profit organization that is dedicated to preventing and correcting wrongful convictions. Our primary focus is investigating and litigating the claims of prisoners who we believe have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. We are seeking a legal intern for the winter/spring semester who can commit 10 to 15 hours per week. The duties of the intern will include: (1) completing initial evaluation of questionnaires and appellate briefs that have been sent by prisoners seeking our help; (2) screening cases that meet our basic criteria, which may include reading trial transcripts, interviewing defendants, and conducting preliminary investigation; and (3) attempting to locate physical evidence in cases where prisoners hope to obtain post-conviction DNA testing. The ideal candidate is an organized, clear writer who is passionate about criminal justice issues and is capable of working in a self-directed manner. Ability to read Spanish is a plus but is not required. Please email a resume, cover letter, short writing sample, and three references to Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director, at innocenceproject@wcl.american.edu. Applicants with questions can email Ms. Armbrust or call at (202) 274-4199.

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