June 2009 Archives

This summer the HRP office is full of interns continuing the work of Child Protection International (CPI) and preparing for their meeting with Dr. Sima Samar, UN Special Rapporteur for Sudan, on Sunday June 21st. The students will present their research on child abductions in Southern Sudan, and will ask Dr. Samar to support CPI's efforts to ensure birth registrations for all Sudanese children so that they have clear identification in the event of an abduction.

Recent intertribal violence in South Sudan has spurred an increase in abductions which has resulted in over 300 children being forcibly taken from their parents since the beginning of March 2009. Many reports indicate that the violence occurring in South Sudan is worse than that of the conflict in Darfur.

On Sunday June 21st, Child Protection International (CPI) has arranged a meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur on Sudan, Sima Samar, to discuss the issue of child abductions in South Sudan.

Sima Samar will be visiting Minnesota to receive the Don and Arvonne Fraser Human Rights Award at the Advocates for Human Rights Awards Dinner the following Tuesday, June 23rd. In addition to acting as the UN Special Rapporteur on Sudan, Dr. Samar is the Chairwoman of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. Dr. Samar has done important work in drawing attention to the numerous human rights abuses committed against the people of Afghanistan, especially against girls and women.

(Amelia Shindelar and Nora Radtke Prepare for the June 21st meeting)

The Midwest Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR) is proud to have Mike Brehm as their summer Upper Midwest Fellow. Mike just finished his first year at the University of Minnesota Law School and hopes to pursue a career in international law.

Mike became interested in the field of human rights after taking one of Professor Weissbrodt's courses in the fall of 2008 and was able to attend the Asylum Law Project's (ALP) trip to Arizona in January of 2009. ALP provides for first year law students to volunteer over their winter or spring breaks to work with non profit organizations to represent immigrant and asylum seekers.

Mike will be attending the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Symposium in Washington D.C. from June 1st -2nd, to begin his work in advocating for the ratification of the CRC. Through research and networking, Mike will be working to involve MCHR in the national movement for the ratification of the CRC.

The Human Rights Program will be moving office on June 15th. We are expanding to make room for all of our interns! We will still be located on the 2nd floor of the Social Sciences Building in rooms 232A, 232 and 235.