2008 Human Rights Month

Human Rights Month is an annual event that features conferences, workshops, a film festival, and a discussion of recent publications in the human rights sector. Through Human Rights Month, the Academy provides a forum for the education on and discussion of human rights theory. Participants have the opportunity to share first hand experiences, as well as network with fellow practitioners, scholars, and activists in the field. All events are open to the public.

2008 PANELS

THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE CHALLENGES OF PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Human Rights and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy: Hopes and Challenges

Co-Sponsored by: The Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation

Santiago Cantón, Executive Secretary, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Steve Crawshaw, UN Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch, New York
Eric Rosand, Senior Fellow, Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation
Martin Scheinin, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism
Commentator: Robert K. Goldman, Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law

Friday, June 6, 2008

UN Special Procedures: a Conversation with the Experts on the Future and Impact of these Mechanisms

Santiago Corcuera, UN Rapporteur and Chair, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
Gay McDougall, UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues
Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
Commentator: Claudio Grossman, Dean, American University Washington College of Law

THIRD ANNUAL MEETING ON HUMAN RIGHTS: THE INTER-AMERICAN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Recent Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Weighing the Impact and Scope of its Decisions

Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Principal Specialist, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Antônio Cançado Trindade, Former President, Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Rodrigo Durango Cordero, Attorney, Attorney General's Office, Ecuador
Commentator: Claudia Martin, Co-Director, Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Monday, June 2, 2008

The Procedures of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: a Debate on its Practices and Regulations

Ernesto de la Jara, Founder, Legal Defense Institute, Peru
Francisco Quintana , Associate Director, Center for Justice and International Law
Margarita Rey, Human Rights Advisor, Colombian Mission to the Organization of American States
Commentator: Matias Hernandez, Researcher-in-Residence, Washington College of Law

Friday, May 30, 2008

Current Status of the Inter-American Human Rights System: a Reflection on the "Reform Process"

Carlos Ayala, Former President, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Juan Méndez, President, International Center for Transitional Justice, New York
Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, Co-Director, Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
Commentator: Robert K. Goldman, Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

Thursday, May 29, 2008

The Duty to Prosecute and Punish and the Interaction between Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Douglass Cassel, Director, Center for Civil and Human Rights, University of Notre Dame
Juan Méndez, President, International Center for Transitional Justice, New York
Rodrigo Uprimny, Director, Research Center for Law, Justice and Society (DeJuSticia), Colombia
Johan Vande Lanotte, Professor, Ghent University, and former Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium
Diane Orentlicher, Professor of International Law, Washington College of Law

Wednesday, May 28, 2008:

The Role of Human Rights Supervisory Bodies in Applying Humanitarian Law: Benefits and Drawbacks

Philip Sundel, Deputy Legal Advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross
Robert K. Goldman, Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law
Leo Zwaak, Senior Researcher, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht University
Commentator: Elizabeth Andersen, Executive Director, American Society of International Law

2008 FILM FESTIVAL

Tuesday, June 10: Iraq in Fragments, 2006

Three part documentary about the current issues facing Iraq as seen through the eyes of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.

Wednesday, June 4: God Grew Tired of Us, 2006
The story of three "Lost Boys" from the Sudan and their experience relocating to the US.

Wednesday, May 28: Yesterday, 2004
A South African woman struggles with HIV while trying to secure a successful future for her daughter.