The Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law's Kovler Project Against Torture is a one-of-a-kind experiential education opportunity through which students, under faculty guidance, make key contributions to the sessions of the United Nations Committee against Torture (UN CAT). Kovler Student Scholars engage in a “deep dive” on the prohibition of torture in international law and on the professional skills and considerations instrumental to effective lawyering in international settings. Each November, students travel with Project faculty to Geneva to provide on-site legal support to the Committee chairperson and country rapporteurs during the first week of the Committee sessions.
Kovler students will be undertaking classes related to the Convention Against Torture and engage with substantive issues ahead of working with the Convention in Geneva.
The main activities undertaken by students in the Kovler Project include:
Monitoring the implementation of the Convention in the relevant countries.
Assisting in the review of the measures taken by States since their previous or initial report.
Identifying problems and shortcomings in the States' practices.
Assessing future needs and goals for better implementation of the Convention.
Drafting questions for the countries' annual reports at the Committee Against Torture.
Participating in a simulation exercise with former members of the Commission.
Travel to Geneva to witness Committee sessions and meet with members of the Committee and other relevant actors. (e.g. academics, other UN Members, WCL alumni, etc.)
During their visit to Geneva, Kovler students have the chance to explore networking and career opportunities in organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as the International Commission of Jurists.
Applications for the Fall 2024 Kovler Project have now closed. Shortlisted students will be contacted by email between the last week of March and the first weeks of April. The application process for Fall 2025 will open in January 2025.
February 28th, 2024: Applications for the Fall 2024 Kovler Project Against Torture closed. Shortlisted students will be contacted by email between the last week of March and the first weeks of April.
The application process for Fall 2025 will open in January 2025. Thank you for expressing your interest in the Project!
February 13th, 2024: The Kovler Project team held an informational session with students interested in participating in the Project for Fall 2024. Professor and Dean Emeritus Claudio Grossman provided an interactive Q&A alongside Marta Treviño-Leyva, the program's Assistant Director, and alumni of the programme.
Kovler Project participants are a special group of alumni, students, faculty, and friends. They form a global network committed to strengthening human rights and ending torture worldwide, with experiences in the U.S. and abroad that cut across all sectors.
WCL is the only law school in the U.S. and perhaps the world that considers full implementation of the prohibition against torture and other ill-treatment an essential component of its mission. This reunion presents a unique occasion to address important topics including possibilities for the future and for strengthening this tremendous network.
November 6th – 10th, 2023: Kovler students traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to participate in the 78th session of the Committee against Torture. The Kovler Project practicum, led by Professor and Dean Emeritus Claudio Grossman, includes intensive course work on international law and human rights - including a simulation exercise on the Committee‘s work. Students monitored the implementation of the Convention Against Torture in the following countries: Egypt, Azerbaijan, Burundi, Costa Rica, Denmark and Slovenia. Students were able to collaborate with leading experts, members of the Committee, and representatives from international organizations. Through developing strategies for preventing and responding to incidents of torture from an international perspective, they enhanced their skills and knowledge necessary to become advocates for change.
"As a law student deeply interested in human rights and international law, this program provided me with invaluable insights and hands-on experience. From analyzing current country conditions and providing the Committee with support to effectively conduct its review to opportunities for collaboration and networking, this is a truly unique and worthwhile experience. It is much more than merely an academic program; it's an opportunity to become an effective advocate in the field of human rights.” - Natalie A. Landau, J.D. '24
“Participating in Kovler was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to intimately engage with a UN Treaty Body and learn about the role governments, international bodies, and civil society have to play in combatting torture.”– Michael Karam, J.D. ‘25
February 8, 2022: Kovler students and alumni gathered in person and online for the Annual Kovler Project Against Torture Alumni Dinner. Dean Emeritus Claudio Grossman spoke and led the group in community and networking.
Kovler Project participants are a special group of alumni, students, faculty, and friends. They form a global network committed to strengthening human rights and ending torture worldwide, with experiences in the U.S. and abroad that cut across all sectors.
WCL is the only law school in the U.S. and perhaps the world that considers full implementation of the prohibition against torture and other ill-treatment an essential component of its mission. This reunion presents a unique occasion to address important topics including possibilities for the future and for strengthening this tremendous network.
November 6-12, 2022: Kovler students traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to participate in the 75th session of the Committee against Torture (CAT). The Kovler Project practicum, led by Professor and Dean Emeritus Claudio Grossman, includes intensive course work on international law and human rights - including a simulation exercise on the CAT‘s work. Students observed the Committee’s proceedings, engaged in research and provided briefings on country conditions to rapporteurs. Additionally, students met with government and NGO representatives, international civil servants, and alums working in Geneva.
The Kovler Project Against Torture was established in 2004 by Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus Claudio Grossman (former member and chair of the UN Committee Against Torture). Kovler Student Scholars undertake a practice-oriented deep dive on the prohibition of torture in international law through the Project’s specialized practicum, simulation, and week at the UN Committee against Torture session in Geneva, Switzerland. Students provide the Committee chairperson and country rapporteurs with research on States' compliance with the UN Convention against Torture. Project participants observe the Committee’s proceedings, reflect on advocacy, strategies, and relevant developments, and provide briefings to Committee members. In anticipation of their week-long engagement with the Committee, students participate in an in-depth simulation of a Committee session, representing both NGOs and State parties, while being questioned by a panel comprised of current and past CAT members. Students conduct intensive research on the six countries appearing before the Committee in the November session, and work in teams to produce reports identifying compliance issues with the Convention.
The practicum is purpose-oriented, providing students with fundamental background information, supplemented by the students' own research regarding in-country conditions of the States they are assigned. The practicum's overarching goal is to prepare students to effectively advise the Committee on the compliance of countries. The practicum also prepares students to be effective lawyers in international settings. Students develop and apply numerous professional skills, e.g., advocacy and professionalism in multi-cultural contexts; processing faculty feedback with opportunities for guided reflection; legal analysis, reasoning, and research; professional and ethical responsibilities; handling and synthesizing voluminous materials, including confidential and sensitive information; team work and collaborative drafting.
Founded in 2004 as the UN CAT Project, the Project was endowed in December 2016, in recognition of the Blum-Kovler Foundation’s generous support since 2009. The Foundation’s support has enabled more students to intensively counter torture and promote human rights through legal education. Ms. Kelsey Lee Offield also provided much-appreciated support to the Project in 2016.
Peter Kovler, Chairman of the Board, Blum-Kovler Foundation