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

WCL Events

1. THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE,
   Wednesday, March 4, 12pm - 1:30pm, Rm. 602
   

   One of the most important current civil liberties debates is the extent to which the Obama Administration should abandon - or continue to pursue - specific policies and legal arguments advanced by the Bush Administration. On February 9, the new administration announced it would maintain the same position as its predecessors with respect to the state secrets privilege and the extent to which it bars lawsuits arising out of the allegations of "extraordinary rendition."

   Join the Center and an all-star panel of WCL professors on Wednesday, March 4 from 12:15pm - 1:20pm in room 602 to discuss the implications of this decision and what it means for the future of civil liberties. Speakers will include: Professors Amanda Frost, Daniel Metcalfe, and Stephen Vladeck. Lunch will be served. For additional info, please contact humlaw@wcl.american.edu.
   

2. IRAQI REFUGEE CRISIS: PRESENT-DAY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR LASTING SOLUTIONS
   Tuesday, March 17, 9:00am - 5:00pm, Rm. 603
   Two million refugees are living in Jordan, Syria and other neighboring countries and an additional 2.5 million are internally displaced within Iraq.  The program will explain the scope of the crisis and ask the difficult questions: Who is taking responsibility for improving the conditions of the millions of displaced?  What is the role of the United States and the international community?  Can the law help to protect the most vulnerable?  Are there lasting solutions? To register, please go to www.wcl.american.edu/secle/registration.
   
   
3. HUMAN TRAFFICKING, HIV/AIDS, AND THE SEX SECTOR
   Wednesday, March 18, 9am - 2:30pm, Rm. 603
   

   Human trafficking and forced labor are global human rights abuses. Over the past eight years, the United States has supported some excellent programs but it has also adopted an ideologically-driven approach to the sex sector that harms women and their families, increases the vulnerability of people in the sex sector to violence and trafficking, prevents health care workers from accessing sex workers and does nothing to prevent trafficking. Sex workers who do not want to be 'saved' are being subjected to violent raids and rescues and some of them are being arrested, abused and deprived of their livelihood. Anyone receiving U.S. funding must sign a pledge never to discuss the benefits of working non-judgmentally and collaboratively with sex workers to stop trafficking, child prostitution and violence. This conference will bring together international and U.S. experts to share experiences and discuss the ways in which the Obama Administration can create a new U.S. policy on human trafficking that is consistent with international human rights standards and grounded in reality. Presented by the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. To register, please go to www.wcl.american.edu/secle/registration.
   

4. A WORKSHOP ON COMPARATIVE FAMILY LAW: WHAT IS THE GLOBAL FAMILY? FAMILY LAW IN DECOLONIZATION, MODERNIZATION, AND GLOBALIZATION,
   Friday-Saturday, March 20-21, Rm. 603
   

   This two-day workshop will compare systems of family law in Canada, the Unites States, and worldwide. Panelists will explore the impacts of immigration, globalization, and public policy on the family - and vice versa: the impact of the family and family law on immigration, globalization, and public policy. The workshop is part of a series of meetings designed to assess the "exceptional" place of the family and family law in decolonization, modernization, and development. For a full program and to register online, please visit: www.wcl.american.edu/go/cfl2009.

   Presented by the Women and International Law Program and the "Up Against Family Law Exceptionalism" project of Harvard Law School's Program on Law and Social Thought . The Women and the Law Program thanks the government of Canada for their generous support of this program.

Community Events

1. INSTITUTIONALIZED INJUSTICE: THE DANGEROUS WORK OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AND THE STRUGGLE AGAINST IMPUNITY IN LATIN AMERICA,
   Thursday, March 5, 12pm - 1pm, AU Kay Spiritual Life Center Lounge
   Please join us on Thursday, March 5th at 12pm in the AU Kay Spiritual Life Center Lounge to learn about the critical work of human rights defenders in Latin America and the challenge of impunity. The event will include a special presentation by Peace Brigades International-USA (PBI-USA) entitled “Institutionalized Injustice and the Struggle Against Impunity: The Dangerous Work of Human Rights Defenders.” The event will feature PBI special guests: Gloria Gómez (Colombia), National President of ASFADDES (the Association of the Family Members of the Detained and Disappeared), Tita Radilla (Mexico), Vice President and Founder, AFADEM (the Association of the Family Members of the Detained, Disappeared, and Victims of Human Rights Violations) and Wiebke Schramm (Guatemala), PBI Field Volunteer. Sponsored by the Office of the University Chaplain, the Latin America Council, the WCL Women and the Law Program, and the WCL Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. For more information, please e-mail Janelle Nodhturft at: jn8095a@american.edu or visit www.pbiusa.org.
   
   
2. CLEAN HANDS PROJECT PHOTO EXHIBIT OPENING AT TRYST CAFE IN ADAMS MORGAN
   Thursday, March 5, 7pm - 9pm, Tryst Cafe, 2459 18th Street NW Washington, DC, 20009
   Please join us for the opening event of a photo exhibit at Tryst Cafe in Adams Morgan, featuring photographs taken as a part of the Clean Hands Project. Come to enjoy wine, cheese, good music, fun people, and great photos! Meet and talk with the artists involved in this important and timely project! For additional info, please visit http://www.cleanhandsproject.com/.
   
   The Clean House Project provides 13 Nepali activists and journalists, who are part of the Dalit "untouchable" caste, the opportunity to be trained in and then use professional video and photography equipment to tell their story. Often excluded from the privilege of image creation, Dalits have relied on others to tell their stories until now.

Announcements & Professional Development Opportunities

1. WAR CRIMES RESEARCH OFFICE SUMMER 2009 DEAN'S FELLOWS: 20 HOURS/WEEK
   

   The War Crimes Research Office is currently accepting applications from students interested in working with our Office this summer. JD (rising 2L and 3L) and LL.M students are eligible to work on major legal research projects prepared exclusively for international criminal courts and tribunals on issues of critical importance to these institutions. Interested students with a background in public international law, particularly international criminal / humanitarian / human rights law, are especially encouraged to apply, as are those with prior volunteer experience at the WCRO. The time commitment will be a minimum of 20 hours a week. Please submit a resume and a cover letter, along with a short writing sample and a transcript (unofficial is fine) to Susana SaCouto, Director, War Crimes Research Office, by email at warcrimes@wcl.american.edu. The deadline for applications is Friday, March 20 at 5pm. 

   If you have any questions, please feel free to stop by our office at 4301 50th St, NW just one block from WCL, call us at 202-274-4067, or e-mail at warcrimes@wcl.american.edu.
   

2. INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY AT SURVIVOR CORPS
   Survivor Corps is an international non-profit organization created by and for conflict survivors to promote individual recovery, rebuild communities and change policies and practices affecting survivors of conflict. Survivor Corps works across a spectrum of issues that affect the lives of survivors, establishing international standards for survivor and disability rights around the world. It also participates in campaigns to eliminate weapons causing indiscriminate harm to civilians.
   

   Survivor Corps is seeking a law student who would like the opportunity for internship in a diverse and dynamic organization. The intern would support Survivor Corps’ advocacy activities on global and national campaigns and assist in research, writing and development of materials, and in other tasks as needed. The internship is 20-40 hours per week and starts as soon as possible. Applicants should have the following qualifications: current law student, a commitment to human rights, an interest in rights of survivors of conflict, excellent research and analysis skills, excellent communications skills, and the ability to carry out parallel tasks and to work both independently and in a team. Applicants able to make a six month commitment are preferred.
   

   Interested students should send a cover letter and resume to the following street or email address:
   
   Survivor Corps
   Human Resources - Advocacy Intern
   2100 M Street, NW #302
   Washington, DC 20037
   Employment@survivorcorps.org
   Please state that the application is for Advocacy Intern
   

3. JOIN THE FIGHT FOR GULF COAST RECOVERY! CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE!
   In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast. Thousands are still struggling to rebuild their lives. Student Activists for Katrina/Rita Survivors (SAKS), which was formed to raise awareness of this issue and brought Gulf Coast activists to the AU community last semester, would like to encourage individuals to ask Congress to support the reintroduction of the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act. This Act will: A) Rebuild and repair vital infrastructure, including schools, police and fire stations, hospitals, parks, roads, water and sewer systems, workforce housing, and cultural centers; B) Rebuild natural flood protection such as barrier island, marshes, and wetlands; C) Create good green jobs and provides job training; D) Appoint a Gulf Coast Recovery Coordinator to the Office of the President with a charge to speed recovery programs so that people can move home to new opportunity; and E) Fill the funding gaps for home repair and rebuilding so people can afford to move home to recovered neighborhoods. For more information, including how to e-mail your representative, visit the Gulf Coast Civic Works Campaign's website at solvingpoverty.com.

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