Whitney Taylor, the recipient of the Sullivan Ballou Award, is certainly an exceptional emerging human rights activist, whose dedication is beyond admirable. In her many human rights classes, her travels, her experience in assisting and conducting human rights research, and her work with the Human Rights Program, Whitney has exhibited incredible energy, dedication, and intellect that never fails to inspire and mobilize those around her. Whitney has contributed expertise and intellect in editing and assisting various human rights research projects and publications, and has conducted some of her own human rights research. Whitney has also contributed to the promotion of human rights through her travels to South Africa during the summer of 2011, where she worked to empower individuals as a research intern for the Southern African Media and Gender Institute. While in Cape Town, Whitney worked to bring meaningful change and to give a voice to those who might otherwise not have been heard through facilitating empowerment workshops in women's prisons.

As an employee at the Human Rights Program, Whitney has assisted in successfully carrying out countless human rights events, which have served to raise awareness on many different critical human rights issues. Without a doubt, these events have inspired many students to become more involved in the promotion and protection of human rights--inspiration made possible through Whitney. Whitney's contribution to the human rights program has enhanced the program's ability to reach out to the student body and to provide these students with diverse opportunities in human rights advocacy. Acting as an extension of the program, Whitney has incorporated many new students into the human rights field and has served as a stellar example for these students to follow. According to the nomination letter submitted on her behalf, Whitney "has an unfailing aptitude for influencing lives in a positive way" and "never turns down an opportunity to help others, often dropping what she is doing in order to lend a hand or volunteer". We think Whitney is a most deserving recipient of the Sullivan Ballou Award, and are honored to announce her as such.

Katie Menke, recipient of the Inna Meiman Award, has devoted herself to human rights scholarship. Her summa thesis examines the work of a Salvadorian organization, Pro-Busqueda, to reunite families with children who were kidnapped during the country's civil war. In addition to her academic attention to issues of human rights and social justice, Katie has given freely and extensively of herself to advocating on behalf of human rights, particularly in relation to youth, homelessness and inequality. This past winter, Katie took the initiative to spread information about resources for the homeless in Minneapolis, including a program established by St. Stephen's Outreach that would provide free transportation to shelters for homeless individuals. The call center at St. Stephen's quickly became overloaded, rendering the transportation services inaccessible. Confronted with a situation in which she tried to help but was stymied for reasons out of her control, Katie thought creatively about what she could possibly do to improve the situation. In this case, that was buying and distributing hats, gloves, and socks to the homeless people she encountered and simply spending time with them throughout the day. Few people give of their time so readily.

During the fall/winter of 2010-11, Katie volunteered with the Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (CTUL), working throughout the Twin Cities specifically on their retail cleaning campaign, which focused on bringing attention the poor working conditions of retail cleaners. The extraordinary part of this example is that, months later, Katie followed up on her experience volunteering with CTUL. She independently organized a group of students to engage in a flash mob at Cub and pass out information about the unethical working conditions faced by cleaners who worked for Cub. Katie's creativity, enthusiasm and compassion are hard to beat, and through these characteristics she serves as an inspiration to all those around her. According to her nomination letter, Katie "is incredibly generous with her time and energy, and fundamentally devoted to the spirit of human rights. Every day, Katie brightens the lives of those around her, doing whatever she can with a positive and joyful attitude." It is moving to see such a bright and heartfelt individual devoting herself to the service of others, and the Human Rights Program and Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies could not be more pleased to celebrate her achievements with her.

Both Whitney and Katie are highly deserving of this award and recognition for their work in the human rights field. We congratulate these two passionate activists, wishing them all the best as they continue their work of advancing human rights.

The Awards
The Inna Meiman Award is given in recognition of the friendship between Inna Meiman, a Soviet era Jewish refusenik who was repeatedly denied a visa to seek medical treatment, and Lisa Paul, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, who fought tirelessly on her behalf, including a 25-day hunger strike that galvanized a movement for Inna's freedom. The friendship between Paul and Meiman is memorialized in the book, Swimming in the Daylight: An American Student, a Soviet-Jewish Dissident, and the Gift of Hope.

The Sullivan Ballou Award is named after Major Sullivan Ballou, an Army soldier killed at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861. Ballou became the inspiration for this award because of the heartfelt commitment he expressed in a letter to his wife before the battle. The award carries on Ballou's spirit by honoring a student who acts from the heart and devotes heartfelt energy to those around them.

The celebration is hosted by the Human Rights Program in the Institute for Global Studies and the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota.

Bell will spend three weeks in Cambodia this summer at the Somaly Mam Foundation, where she swill offer creative writing lessons to the girls and women who were rescued from forced prostitution. While in Phnom Penh, she will learn about the working currently undertaken to combat human trafficking in Cambodia and the efforts survivors of trafficking have made to empower themselves and regain their dignity. Upon returning to Minnesota in the fall, Bell will organize a human rights literary event, during which she will share her experiences in Cambodia and seek to raise money for the Somaly Mam Foundation.

"This project is just the beginning of that journey for me," said Bell. "It is a journey of personal and professional exploration. It is a journey that I likely will spend my entire life pursuing. Not only do I want to bring greater awareness of this issue to the broader audience, I want, in the long run, to use the research, awareness, and stories I get to compile into a book-length collection of true stories of unheard heroes, the survivors of modern-day slavery."

Written by Whitney Taylor.

The He(art) Show once again succeeded in showing us how art can be used as a deeply effective means of human rights advocacy. Through the many performances and diverse visual art pieces, the He(art) Show demonstrated how art has an incredible capacity to open up a progressive and inclusive dialogue within a community, and to act as an avenue for positive change. Art also is a means of empowerment, giving courage and a voice to the vulnerable and voiceless. The deeply personal dimension of art gives it the ability to describe the human experience in a way words cannot accomplish, transcending and dissolving societal barriers. The He(art) Show was an inspiring and deeply moving experience for all who attended. A sincere thanks goes out to all who helped in organizing and executing this wonderful event, especially to Ashley Probst and Ashley Monk. We all look forward to attending again next year!

Written by Anna Meteyer.

Upon his release from 258 days of incommunicado detainment by the army, Mr. Basnet worked to save twenty-nine disappeared civilians who had been illegally and secretly detained with him. His unfathomable courage, his incredible commitment to human rights, and his deep loyalty to humanity propelled Mr. Basnet to continue his human rights activism even following his subjection to extreme violations. He persisted in providing eyewitness testimony and helping to direct an invaluable documentary that exposes to the world the terrible atrocities suffered by Nepalese citizens during and following the civil conflict there. The documentary will act as an archive that the brutalities of the war will not be forgotten and that this history will not be repeated. In 2005, after receiving multiple death threats, Mr. Basnet went into exile in India for eighteen months, where he continued to support Nepal's democratic movement.

In his talk, Mr. Basnet described both his past experiences during the conflict and his current work to bring true peace to Nepalese society. Following the atrocities of the civil war, a dominant atmosphere of impunity threatens Nepalese activists' efforts to bring justice and healing to the nation. Violence against women, disregard for press freedom and freedom of expression, and the absence of rule of law persist in the country, and human rights advocates continue to face severe danger. Despite these challenges, Mr. Basnet contains a persevering hope in his country and in humanity as a whole. His enduring love and devotion to humankind following his own first-hand experience of unfathomable cruelty is stunning and humbling. We are immensely grateful to Mr. Basnet for making the journey to Minnesota to share his heartbreaking story, his inspiring will to bring positive change, and his profound hope with us; his words certainly moved all of those who attended.

Mr. Basnet came to speak at the U of M with the help of Peace Brigades International (PBI), an organization that strives to create a symbolic, non-violent, non-partisan barrier between human rights activists and dangerous oppositional forces that threaten them with serious harm. Through their interaction with Mr. Basnet, PBI has worked tirelessly to keep him safe and to facilitate his efforts as an advocate.

Written by Anna Meteyer.

The two-day conference featured 31 students, who each gave short presentations of their research and participated in a panel discussion moderated by a faculty member from Global Studies or Spanish and Portuguese Studies. The panel discussions allowed presenters to discuss with others overarching themes and reflect on how to expand their own work. A highlight of the conference was keynote speaker Karina Ansolabehere, a visiting professor in the Institute for Global Studies. A leading voice in the academic study of human rights and democracy in Latin America, Ansolabehere spoke about future challenges for human rights in Mexico. The first annual conference was a success, and preparations are being made to hold another undergraduate conference in the spring of 2014.

Written by Wren Bentley and Whitney Taylor.

SAB members will...
• Develop student-led initiatives on current human rights issues.
• Work as partners with the program's director and staff in providing support for existing HRP projects.
• Serve as HRP ambassadors among U of M students.

Who is eligible?
• Must be a full-time undergraduate during the academic year for which you are applying.
• Students from ALL undergraduate majors are encouraged to apply.
• Everyone, from first-semester freshmen to seniors, is welcome to apply.

What are the desired qualifications?
• Commitment to the HRP mission to provide the University with opportunities related to human rights in the classroom, through research, and through direct actions, such as projects, internships, and fellowships.
• Prior organizing, advocacy, activism, and leadership skills.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Able to make time for weekly meetings and occasional events

Why get involved?
• Hone tangible skills for effective advocacy in the field of human rights.
• Engage and network with human rights faculty and staff within the Program and the broader University, as well as with fellow students with a keen interest in human rights.
• Contribute to the HRP through action, advocacy, and leadership.
• Space and support to think and act creatively in human rights activities at the University.

How do I apply?
• Submit a CV/resume AND a brief cover letter detailing why you would like to be a part of the SAB and the leadership qualities, skills and ideas you would bring to the board.
• Applications due on Friday, April 12, 2013 to Claire Leslie via email at hrp@umn.edu or via hard copy to 214 Social Sciences.

Questions?
• Contact Claire Leslie at hrp@umn.edu or 612.624.8543

Inna Meiman Award
This award will be given in recognition of the friendship between Inna Meiman, a Soviet era Jewish refusenik who was repeatedly denied a visa to seek medical treatment, and Lisa Paul, a graduate of the University of Minnesota who fought tirelessly on her behalf, including a 25-day hunger strike that galvanized a movement for Inna's freedom. The friendship between Lisa Paul and Inna Meiman is memorialized in the book, Swimming in the Daylight: An American Student, a Soviet-Jewish Dissident, and the Gift of Hope. The award is intended to recognize a University of Minnesota student who embodies a commitment to human rights. The Awardee will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

Sullivan Ballou Award
The Sullivan Ballou Award is supported by the Sullivan Ballou Fund and is named after Major Sullivan Ballou, an Army soldier killed at the First Battle of Bull Run in the U.S. Civil War. The award honors Major Ballou's memory by recognizing a student who devotes heartfelt energy to promote human rights. The Sullivan Ballou Fund gives $1000 awards to celebrate and affirm people acting from the heart. They provide compassion, services, or advocacy to their local communities, the poor, homeless, children, victims of violence and mistreatment or the disabled. Some give of themselves to those around them through their art, their music, their words, or their presence.

Nomination Information
Eligibility
The awards are open to all full-time undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota.

Criteria
The student has demonstrated a personal commitment to the promotion and protection of international human rights through significant work on a human rights cause during their time as an undergraduate;

Through their efforts, the student has raised the visibility of a particular human rights issue among the University community or the broader public;

The student has made a positive difference in the life of others, and has given voice to those who might otherwise not be heard.

Nominations
Nominators should submit a letter of 750 words or less describing the human rights activities undertaken by the nominee during his or her time as a student at the University of Minnesota and a CV of the student being nominated;

Students may be nominated by faculty, staff or other students at the University of Minnesota.

Self nominations must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from faculty, staff, and students who can attest to the achievements.

Address and Deadline

Letters should be submitted by email to the Human Rights Program, hrp@umn.edu, or delivered to the Human Rights

The nomination deadline is Friday, April 12, 2013 at 5:00 p.m.

Ceremony
The Sullivan Ballou and Inna Meiman Award winners will be recognized publically at an event on May 3, 2013.

First, examining the actual operations of the tribunal, Whitney found that the court had undertaken several measures to ensure the impartiality of its sentencing. The court strove largely met international fair trial standards relating to charges, evidence, due process rights, sentencing, and evenhandedness, and although its performance left room for improvement, there was no correlation between ethnicity and sentencing. Despite this, Whitney found that negative public opinion in Serbia was largely founded on the assumption that the court had unjustly targeted Serbs in its punitive measures and in sentencing.

In her research, Whitney pursued the causes of such negative opinion in Serbia, considering the role of the media, society's general lack of trust for information on the ICTY, and the quality of information being spread through human rights organizations and through the efforts of the tribunal itself. Whitney found that a lack of information on the ICTY was not the cause of negative perception in Serbian society, but proposed instead that several barriers existed that obstructed an accurate translation of court proceedings to the Serbian public. These barriers included the juridical logic behind sentences and the physical distance of the tribunal from the societies it hoped to affect. Whitney suggests that these obstacles were then exaggerated by beliefs entrenched in Serbian national identity and by already held political-historical perceptions, which amplified Serbians' negative feelings toward the legitimacy of the ICTY. A lively discussion followed the presentation, as many distinguished faculty in the human rights field offered insightful feedback and praise on Whitney's research, and posed thoughtful questions.

Written by Anna Meteyer.

Image source: Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

The DADT policy prevented openly gay and lesbian individuals from serving in the United States military. They had to keep it a secret or risk discharge. Brown noted that this policy "locked the U.S. in the dark ages." This backwards thinking forced well-meaning officers to choose between following the law and looking the other way when it came to LGB in their troops. As DADT was a tough and controversial subject, Congress was reluctant to move toward changing the policy.

Brown spent 24 years working with the United States Air Force, and, in 2008 he was assigned to the Office of Secretary Defenses Personnel. Brown is a happily married man, whose wife also served in the US military. He said he had always been "not anti-gay," and when DADT first came out, he thought it was plausible and valid when it came to military and social science. But soon he realized that being "not anti-gay" was not enough. Brown remembers a turning point in his views on DADT, when he was stationed in Korea. A fellow colleague of his came to him one day and told him that he was gay, and that he did not want to continue working for the military anymore because of the pressures of DADT. His colleague asked to be discharged, and Brown granted him this, but was upset that the military had lost a talented employee over such a case. "This began my self discovery that being 'not anti-gay' was not enough," Brown said.

Brown recalled that prior to the change in administrations in 2009, "Nobody wanted to touch this issue, they feared it would put their jobs on the line." Brown then decided to take on the issue himself. He decided to work for the repeal of DADT in part because he felt the military was narrowing their chances of getting talented, dedicated people to work for them. One of his jobs while working as senior personnel administrator was to attract and retain talented people for the military. DADT excluded a segment of the population, which other competitors without anti-gay policies could take advantage of.

The struggle to show that DADT was a harmful policy that needed to be repealed took two and a half years. Brown believes in a "right is right" approach, and he knew that repealing the policy was the right thing to do politically and ethically, but was still unsure if it was the right thing to do military-wise. During his first year of working on the repeal, he was the one and only person taking on the task. Brown often felt like he had bitten off more than he could chew. The military thought his views were "too pro-gay," and the gay community thought his views were "too pro-military." However, by 2010, the momentum started and Brown felt like his appeal had a chance. More people worked on the repeal alongside Brown, and, in 2011, DADT was dismantled.

Now that DADT has been dismantled, openly LGB individuals can serve in the U.S. military. Brown says that in terms of recruiting more LGB to the military, "It will take time for them to trust the military again. But I one day hope that the US military will be posted in the New York Times as gay friendly workplace."

Written by Wren Bentley

The session represented the first time the Nobel Peace Prize Forum had hosted a panel that was guided entirely by the audience, whose interests ranged from the professors' thoughts on the ideas presented earlier by Muhammad Yunus, to issues of corruption in countries receiving foreign aid, to international responses to disasters, crises, and pressures, such as those related to the current tensions involving North Korea.

When asked what is necessary for development projects to be effective, Professor Atwood cited a theme that has become more and more apparent through research and evaluation: the countries receiving funds for development, especially post-crisis, must feel that they possess full ownership of the efforts; if the recipients do not feel like they have a "stake in the game," the relevant development projects will not maintain enough interest and, therefore, will eventually fall short of their intended outcome. Both Atwood and Dean Schwartz also strongly stated their disapproval of "tied aid," or development funding that can only be employed in compliance with specific conditions and stipulations. This, according to Atwood, was a significant obstacle to the aforementioned sense of ownership that makes for successful development projects.

Schwartz and Atwood also spent much of their time dispelling skepticism as to the efficacy of development programs, often referring to specific examples from their experiences in USAID and the State Department. There are significant accountability mechanisms in place that track the use of development funding, assured the dean, and, although there is room for improvement in this area, foreign development aid is an important tool in efforts of poverty alleviation, crisis resolution, and peacemaking. Both professors asserted that providing peacetime development monies is significantly more effective and efficient than recovery funding provided after disasters and other crises. According to Atwood, the distinction between humanitarian and development aid is an important one: humanitarian provisions help people, while development financing helps people to help themselves. The timeline for aid following international emergencies, such as wars or natural catastrophes like the 2011 tsunami that had severe ramifications in Japan and throughout the Pacific, follows a progression from humanitarian aid immediately after the crisis to later, preventative development aid, added Schwartz.

The final question of the discussion best captured the sentiment of the Forum: "How do we change the world?" Encouraged by the large number of students in attendance, Eric P. Schwartz stressed the significance of embracing educational opportunities and tempering them with worldly experience. The dean exhorted students to seek out and advocate for those issues for which they are most passionate. Professor Atwood highlighted the power of creative diplomacy in foreign affairs to secure and maintain international peace.

Written by Aidan Breen

Robust world citizenship requires the ability to think critically, to transcend local loyalties, and to imagine sympathetically the lives of others. Education with a view toward economic ends hinges on an approach that undermines all three capabilities necessary for world citizenship. The view that education should exist as a means to promote economic growth has become pervasive around the world, which has resulted in the systematic destruction of arts and humanities programs.

Nussbaum offers an alternative to education for economic profitability: education for human development. Education for human development directly addresses the major impediments to democratic citizenship on an individual level. Rather than deference to authority and local situation, education for human development encourages the growth of democratic values. Nussbaum articulated three core components of this alterative approach.

First, this paradigm of education develops the capacity for individuals to think critically about their own reasoning and the reasoning of others, which fosters deliberative dialogue across perceived categories of difference. The ability to imagine alternative arguments, in particular, facilitates social inclusion. Critical thinking underpins liberal education pedagogy, but is largely absent from technical training.

Second, the human development approach to education allows students to situate themselves in the global political and historical reality. Nussbaum pointed out that to know is not to guarantee democratic or inclusive behavior, but to remain ignorant is almost to guarantee anti-democratic and exclusionary behavior. An education focused on widening awareness and promoting democratic engagement would offer exposure to world history and alternative historical narratives, depth of knowledge in at least one unfamiliar tradition, and significant training in at least one foreign language.

Third, Nussbaum's proposal focuses on the growth of the narrative imagination and the cultivation of sympathy. The arts and humanities are uniquely situated to refine the ability to imagine walking in someone else's shoes. Such an approach to education can be catered to particular cultural or personal blind spots. Furthermore, the arts bring together individuals in a nonhierarchical way--something rarely done in society and something that is inherently democratic.

Education for profitability amplifies the weaknesses of democracy, including its susceptibility to greed, haste, groupthink, and selfishness, whereas education for human development, a project that insists on the criticalness of the art and humanities, develops the personal qualities necessary for a robust democratic society. Nussbaum's education for human development offers individuals within nations the chance "to overcome fear and suspicion in favor of democratic debates."

Nussbaum's talk was sponsored by the University of Minnesota's Imagine Fund for the Arts, Humanities, and Design.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

A non-governmental organization, Renace, has collected extensive documentation of the pitfalls of the criminal justice system in Mexico. Renace estimates that only 15% of crimes are reported to authorities, as 80% of the population distrusts the criminal justice system. About 90% of the time, cases are built solely on confessions rather than diverse sources of evidence, in a system in which there is no protection against coerced confessions. 95% of the time, the accused individual is found guilty, a startling high percentage. Around half of those incarcerated are awaiting trial and have not been convicted of any crime. Access to adequate legal counsel continues to be a pervasive problem.

As such, reform was seen as necessary from both a criminal law approach and a human rights perspective. The criminal justice system disproportionately convicts the poor, suffers from an overall lack of professionalism, and is extremely inefficient. Moreover, the institutional structure of the system, particularly with regard to arrest quotas for the police and prosecutorial reliance on confessions, encourages overly harsh treatment and even torture of those arrested. Torture occurs throughout the criminal justice system in Mexico, and following the militarization of the fight against drug cartels, the use of torture increased dramatically.

The 2008 reform actually had two sides: one that addressed some of the shortcomings of the criminal justice system and one that created a state of exception for organized crime. The danger of this state of exception becomes apparent when considering the loose definition of organized crime. Any time a group of three or more people engages in any criminal activity, it counts as organized crime. This means that whether the three people involved had conspired to engage in drug trafficking or to paint graffiti, both count as organized crime. Positive reforms have encouraged the switch from a private, written inquisitorial procedure to one that is more transparent and offers more substantial rights guarantees. The reform implementation process was anticipated to extend into 2016, but it appears reform efforts have stagnated on the federal level, as political will has all but disappeared.

The limited reforms that were actually implemented have not addressed the institutional factors that have rendered the Mexican criminal justice system both ineffective and criminal in and of itself. Those innocent of any crime appear more likely to be arrested, tortured, and imprisoned than those actively participating in organized crime. Legal recourse for those who have been subject to unfair trials or mistreatment in the criminal justice system remains elusive.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

In the past two decades, CADHAC has made great strides in human rights in Mexico through its constant and dedicated work, but despite this, the human rights situation has continued to worsen throughout the country, especially in the last five years. CADHAC hopes that the contributions of leading human rights activists such as Barbara Frey will bring new perspectives and insights to its efforts, as CADHAC pushes forward in its demand for human rights.

To submit work, please email Ashley Monk (monkx021@umn.edu) with:

-Image of the work you're submitting. Please include: Title, Dimensions, Medium, Suggested Price or Not For Sale (If you are submitting new work/work in progress, please send examples of past work)

-Brief artist statement and brief bio (1 paragraph or less for each please!)

For inquiries about becoming a donor, sponsor, or partner, please contact Ashley Probst (probs024@umn.edu)

For more information about the He(art) Show, click here.

The He(art) Show is co-sponsored by the Human Rights Program and World Without Genocide (formerly STAND).

Matt Buechner is the Executive Assistant for a local nonprofit called Twin Cities Diversity in Practice, whose mission is to attract, recruit, advance, and retain attorneys of color in the Twin Cities legal community. Upon graduation, Buechner went to work at a for-profit corporation. But after putting in long hours at a job he wasn't particularly passionate about, he decided to look for a position at a nonprofit. Buechner gave students advice on transitioning from a corporation to a nonprofit, and how to use experience in the for-profit industry to apply for a nonprofit job.

Nora Radtke is the Development Assistant at the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), an international nonprofit dedicated to healing survivors of torture. She had always hoped to work for CVT. The valuable experience she gained through interning at the Human Rights Program at the University helped her get her current position at CVT. Before obtaining her position at CVT, Radtke worked for AmeriCorps. Radtke gave students an insight into what it is like working in the human rights field, and how to take advantage of opportunities on campus to help qualify you for such jobs.

Desiree Guida works on youth programs at Common Bond Communities, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing. Guida also worked for AmeriCorps before starting her current position. Her experience exemplifies how internships can lead to full time jobs.

The alumni gave great tips on getting hired in today's difficult job market. Recent graduates looking to work in the nonprofit field should start by searching for jobs on sites like the Minnesota Council of Nonprofit Job Board. Networking is also important. Buechner says, "Anyone can be a potential employer, so network and keep good contacts." He recommends joining groups like the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, where you can meet others who have recently graduated and are in the same boat when it comes to looking for jobs or holding down an entry level position. Buechner also recommends that all graduates have a LinkedIn profile, and says that some employers won't even look at your resume if they cannot find you on that site.

Radtke explains that having experience in grant writing will give you a "one-up" when applying for nonprofit jobs. She says that going on informational interviews at prospective places of employment, and volunteering at organizations you wish to someday work for are great ways to get noticed and can help you get hired in the future. Gearing your senior research paper towards a specific area of interest in a field that you want to work in can be a way to stand out at an interview and show an organization you are serious and passionate about the work they do. Radtke focused her senior paper on human rights issues, and it helped her with her interview at CVT. She also expresses the importance of respecting and investing in funders, because you may be able to network and acquire a job through them.

Guida tells students they can use their study abroad experience to show that they are independent and able to manage themselves in different settings, skills most employers look for when hiring. She explained that you can also use your second language to network, even if you don't use it in your actual job. It could open doors for you in the future. Guida warns students to keep in mind that entry level jobs, especially in nonprofit, will consist of mundane work tasks they might not enjoy, and that they will have to learn to live on an "entry level budget." If you work hard you will be able to move up into higher, more rewarding positions.

The Global Studies degree enables graduates to apply for a broad range of jobs, and if students take advantage of all the opportunities and resources they have on campus, they should be able to find a position within their area of interest.

Written by Wren Bentley.

Uganda is one of 8 active cases in the International Criminal Court focused on victims' rights. The ICC's involvement in Uganda started in 2003, and in 2010 the ICC started an outreach program aimed at the communities in northern Uganda. Golden questions whether the ICC's outreach program achieved goals that were set during northern Uganda's process of rebuilding after two decades of war between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony, and the government's Uganda Peoples' Defense Force (UPDF). She found the official ICC Outreach Report to show a one dimensional picture of success often contradictory with her own research. The ICC figures indicate that 98% of conflict survivors polled were happy with the presence of ICC in their country.

The 91 interviewees were systematically selected leaders and residents of the three rural villages. She asked these survivors about the process of rebuilding and a few about ICC's involvement in the communities. Golden received both positive and negative feedback on the ICC, and came to a general consensus that most people in Uganda had little or no knowledge of the ICC with women being much more likely to have no knowledge. She found that Lukodi residents had a higher knowledge of the ICC compared to those of Anyadwe and Awach. This could be linked to the fact that Lukodi has had a high level of exposure to the ICC outreach events in 2010, and a high level of delegation visits since a massacre that occurred in 2004.

Positive perceptions of the ICC gathered by Golden had to do with locals believing that the ICC drove the LRA away, bringing peace to Uganda and letting people move back to areas they were forced out of. Some believed the ICC would bring needed punishment for crimes committed and bring justice to victims. The most frequently mentioned positive perception was that the ICC could deter others from committing similar crimes in the future.

Negative perceptions mainly had to do with frustration at the lack of action by the ICC, as no LRA leader has been tried for his crimes. A handful of people talked about the ICC as a "fairy tale;" a beautiful story that will never come true. They feel the ICC hasn't done enough, and that their outreach programs have not been beneficial to the majority of the survivors.

Based on this mix of feedback, Golden assembled her own theories as to why perceptions of the ICC are so varied. Golden states that her first theory about the error in translation between the ICC and the local community is the proliferation of international governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Uganda has seen a postwar influx of international organizations and locals have developed a 'tool kit' to help them make sense of these organizations. The ICC has fallen into the same category as other IGOs and NGOs because they are not integrated into the daily lives of the locals, and some see them as having their own agenda that does not fit with the local situation.

Golden's second theory is that the ICC is disconnected from the suffering. This relates to the view by many locals that the ICC is distant and far removed from the situation. One of Golden's respondents told her that, "Unless they [the ICC] begin to become practical on the ground, they would remain an irrelevant institution and not very helpful even to people who suffer."

The third theory is that there are mismatched cultural schemas. Locals in Uganda often do not understand the way the ICC sees their situation. Although residents of Lukodi have more knowledge of the ICC, the organization frequently does not make sense to them because ICC programs and methods of intervention does not fit with their worldview. Another respondent said, "For them [the ICC], they emphasize justice. Over emphasis on justice does not give room to forgiveness and amnesty. So that is the part of ICC that I cannot understand." A young respondent told Golden, "And to me, the ICC doesn't understand anything."

The last theory has to do with the locals experience with local courts and how it has influenced their view of the ICC. The community is extremely critical of courts, again because they feel they are too far removed from local communities. They believe courts and the ICC are unable to recognize the history of the area, the gray areas of their situation and culture.

Golden's data and fieldwork show that there are problems with the ICC's approach to the situation in northern Uganda. She has been able to come up with theories as to why these problems exist, and why local Ugandans have varied perceptions of the ICC. While Golden doesn't think the ICC reciprocates what the people on the ground want, she acknowledges the difficulty of taking local's feedback and making the changes they ask for.

The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies organizes the Holocaust, Genocide, and Mass Violence Studies Workshop. Click here to see the workshop schedule. If you are interested in participating in the workshop, contact Shannon Golden.

Written by Wren Bentley.

Two of the most enduring findings in criminology are that participation in crime declines with age and that men have higher participation rates than women at every age. The peak age of people who commit crimes is generally late adolescence to the early twenties. This finding holds across diverse types of crimes (from homicide to burglary), societies, and time periods. However, these well-established theories have never been tested for the crime of genocide.

Genocide scholars, including University of Minnesota professor Joachim Savelsberg, have begun to use techniques from criminology of late. Brehm and Uggen imported criminological methods into their study of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Using data gathered from the Gacaca courts, which conducted well over one million trials and constitute the largest database of genocide perpetrators to date. These community-level courts tried three main categories of crimes: 1) planning, organizing, supervising, engaging in sexual violence; 2) murder; and 3) property crimes, including looting and destruction. After reviewing data from the Gacaca courts, Brehm and Uggen will be able determine whether or not the age and sex distributions of involvement in the genocide mirror the general crime age and sex distributions.

Brehm also discussed one subsection of her dissertation on the causes of genocide. A statistic common throughout the literature on the Rwandan genocide notes that 333.3 killings took place per hour. This statistic, though accurate in a sense, masks important dimensions of the genocide. Given the relatively small geographic space and relatively short timeframe of the genocide, much regional and temporal variation in killings existed. Brehm first asks what variation occurred and then hypothesizes reasons for the variation.

Violence appears to have been concentrated more heavily in the more southern areas of the country. There are 145 communes in Rwanda, which are the equivalent of municipalities in the U.S. Deaths per commune range from 71 to 54,700 during the genocide. Brehm has begun to test several hypotheses that help explain this distribution of violence.

Hypotheses accounting for this regional variation include case-specific factors, regional characteristics, population and resource explanations, and historical elements. A fundamental theory in sociology suggests that communities can be organized against crime. In the case of genocide, though, a community might be organized for crime. In other words, community-level factors might encourage or discourage specific crimes.

Over the next two years, Brehm will perform similar examinations on the former Yugoslavia and Sudan as she develops her arguments on the causes and processes of genocide. The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies organizes the Holocaust, Genocide, and Mass Violence Studies Workshop. Click here to see the workshop schedule. If you are interested in participating in the workshop, contact Shannon Golden.

Click here to read Brehm's article "The Crime of Genocide."

Written by Whitney Taylor.

The first one is that, Barbara Frey, Director of the Human Rights Program, is working in Mexico from January to May. She is a visiting scholar at FLACSO-Mexico, a research center in Mexico City, where she has worked closely with human rights faculty. This is possible because Barbara was awarded a scholarship from the Fulbright Foundation. During her visit she is developing research about the current characteristics of the human rights movement in Mexico, specifically its role in the 2008 reform of the criminal justice system. I believe that the findings of Barbara's study will be extremely important for understanding the dynamics of the human rights movement in Mexico today, especially since there is a lack of current research in that area. I have no doubt that the reports and articles arising from her research will be a useful reference both inside and outside of Mexico.

In Mexico, Barbara is also teaching a course about human right advocacy oriented to graduate students and human rights practitioners. The course has been very well received, and the demand exceeded all the expectations. It presents a great opportunity to share and spread the Human Rights Program's expertise in human rights advocacy.

Another example is that, during my second semester at the University of Minnesota, I am teaching a course titled "The Politics of Human Rights in Mexico," which is targeted at undergraduate and graduate students in the Global Studies and Spanish departments. The course is taught in Spanish and its main goal is to give students an understanding for local human rights dynamics.

As you may already know, the Program is also working on a collaborative project with four law schools in Medellín, Colombia to strengthen human rights clinics and develop a human rights curriculum. This interest in Colombia and Mexico shows the commitment of the Program to diverse research and action in human rights.

I have been linked with Human Rights Program for six years, and every time I arrive in the Twin Cities I feel at home. This is due to the kindness of my colleagues in the Program and also the opportunity to renew my personal commitment to the cause and knowledge of human rights.

The report asserts that "The right to life is violated repeatedly by the U.S. government's refusal to address the misuse of firearms by private actors." The report brings to the attention of the U.N. Committee that each year in the United States, more than 30,000 people are killed through gun violence. In 2012 alone, 38 mass shootings took place, including the December 2012 killing of 20 children and 6 adults at a Connecticut elementary school. In many cases, mass assaults involve semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines.

The report urges the U.N. Committee to continue its important attention to gun violence and proposes presentation of five major questions to the U.S. delegation:

1. What measures have been taken to prevent abuse with small arms and light weapons (SALW) (e.g., strengthening of background check requirements and federal assault weapons ban)?

2. How is the federal government working with state governments to prevent human rights violations with reasonable gun regulations, including screening purchasers with records of mental illness and records of domestic violence?

3. What measures are being implemented in cases of domestic violence to prevent firearm use?

4. How is the federal government addressing issues of police brutality and excessive force with firearms?

5. What steps are being taken to stop transfer of small arms and light weapons across U.S. borders to Mexico and other countries where those weapons are used to commit human rights violations?

Among the report's recommendations to decrease gun violence are universal background checks, stronger enforcement of laws prohibiting gun ownership (e.g., by persons addicted to controlled substances, with a history of mental illness, or convicted of domestic violence), elimination of loopholes allowing gun purchases online and at gun shows, and enactment of a ban on assault weapons and ammunition.

Firearms manufacture, transfer, and possession are regulated at both the federal and state levels but enforcement is primarily a state function, and gun laws vary widely among the 50 states. The federal government should collaborate with states to ensure consistent standards for gun ownership, concealed-weapon, "stand-your-ground," and other laws, the report says. "The prevalence of SALW continues to compromise the achievement of human rights in the United States," it concludes.

The report was prepared by Adjunct Professor Barbara Frey, director of the University of Minnesota Human Rights Program; Professor Jennifer Green, head of the Law School's Human Rights Litigation and International Advocacy Clinic; and Clinic students Dina Al-Shorafa ('13), Rachel Blackhurst ('14), Laura Matson ('13), Savir Punia ('14), and Thea Reilkoff ('14).

On Monday, the student advisory board worked in conjunction with the organization World Without Genocide, and set up a multimedia exhibit called "Tents of Witness: Genocide and Conflict." The exhibit featured six tents, each one narrating a different genocide in a different region of the world. The tents housed slides that depicted many aspects of each genocide, educating participants about the concept of genocide, explaining causes and consequences of genocide, and presenting action steps to prevent it. The event was headed by Christie Nicoson, who acted as a liaison between the student advisory board and World Without Genocide and made this wonderful event possible. Many students stopped as they passed by between classes, asking questions and engaging in the exhibit, and the student advisory board was thrilled to engage in discussions with other students on human rights topics.

On Tuesday evening, the board hosted a spoken word night at Mapps Coffee and Tea, where several incredibly talented performers shared their experiences in social justice issues, such as LGBT rights, homelessness, and war. Kirstin Benish led the event, organizing all of the performers and coordinating with Mapps Coffee. The student advisory board felt honored to hear such moving and thoughtful pieces, and all agreed that spoken word bears great power as a channel for speaking out and mobilizing action. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank all of the performers for their courageous and knowledgeable pieces, and Mapps Coffee for supporting this event.
On Wednesday, the incredibly talented Student Advisory Board member Lauren Kim organized an insightful and very informational event on North Korea. Lauren put together a PowerPoint presentation and showed a powerful documentary on the dire human rights situation in North Korea, giving attendees a multidimensional understanding of this grave issue and shedding light on the critical need for global action to help the North Korean people.

To conclude Human Rights Week, the student advisory board hosted a film screening of the documentary Black Gold, an event that focused on labor rights in the coffee industry. Led by Anna Meteyer, the event consisted of the screening and then a discussion on the structure and role of Fair Trade in the global economy. Ceramic cups were handed out at the end of the event, and each cup was decorated with a quote from the UDHR on the outside and a quote from Gandhi on the inside. The cups will serve as a reminder to attendees to be conscientious when purchasing their coffee, and hopefully will provide motivation to take further action on the issue of exploitation in the global market system.

The Human Rights Program Student Advisory Board would like to thank everyone who participated in Human Rights Week, and especially the Human Rights Program for supporting our efforts and making this week possible. We feel that Human Rights Week was a great achievement, not only in that it engaged students across campus and from many different disciplines in human rights issues, but also in that it signaled a successful starting point for our advocacy efforts. We look forward to continuing to develop our understanding of advocacy work, and have set our sights high for next semester.

Written by Anna Meteyer.

This profoundly humbling film follows four heart-wrenching stories of surviving, not thriving, surviving; of making it through one more day, always one more day; of living through the worst and continuing to care, to work, to heal, to fight for the world that could be, the world that should be--one free of torture. Hector Aristizábal, a therapist, actor, and activist, was tortured by the Colombian military in the 1980s. He continues to act, often leading therapy sessions that draw heavily on acting, and he also campaigns against the School of the Americas and the use of torture in general. Donald Vance, a Navy veteran from Chicago, worked as a security contractor in Iraq. After informing the FBI that he had witnessed an illegal arms transfer by United States personnel, Vance was detained and tortured. He is currently suing the United States government and Donald Rumsfeld for, among other things, authorizing the use of torture. Matilde de la Sierra currently lives in the Chicago area and spends much of her time protesting United States military involvement in the Middle East. de la Sierra formerly worked as a physician in rural Guatemala before being abducted and tortured by a militia. Blama Massaquoi, who was born in Liberia are forced to fight as a child soldier at 15 years old. After being captured by a rebel military group, he was made to drink a substance, likely lye, that destroyed his esophagus. Massaquoi is currently living in Minnesota and is attending college.

The post-film discussion emphasized the importance of bringing the voices of victims and survivors into the conversation about torture. Sommer noted that one of the reasons she and co-director Kathy Berger began to create Beneath the Blindfold was their reaction to the fact that analyses of the Abu Ghraib photos tended to refer only to the perpetrators and whether they were bad apples or products of the system. While perpetrator-focused questions are important, when the conversation lacks reference to the victims, half of the story is missing. Goering reminded the audience that we often get lost in statistics, but each number indicates one person, one human life torn apart by torture.

The panelists also brought up the importance of educating the public, especially young people. In light of media representations of torture, such as those in 24 and those thought to be part of the soon-to-be-released Zero Dark Thirty, critical observation becomes more important than ever. Sommer and Berger have developed a 53-minute version of the film specifically for use in high schools. Both the Human Rights Center and the Advocates for Human Rights have created human rights education programs targeted at students.

Rudelius-Palmer noted that torture, inhuman, and degrading treatment has become routine procedure in the United States prison system as well. In particular, an unknown number of individuals are held in solitary confinement, a practice that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, has said violates international law.

Later this week, the Senate Select Committee Report on Intelligence will be brought before the full Senate for review. This report considers CIA detention and interrogation practices. While full release of the report to the public is highly unlikely, the report might be release in part in the future.

In the words of survivor Donald Vance, "I really don't care what country you're from, I don't care what color your skin is, I don't care who you pray to. This shouldn't happen to anyone. Period." It is estimated that between 120 and 150 countries practice torture, including the United States.

Visit http://www.beneaththeblindfold.org/ for more information about the film, and visit the websites of the Center for Victims of Torture, the Advocates for Human Rights, and the Human Rights Center to learn how these organizations are working to end the use of torture at home and abroad.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Discussions about military commissions tend to be proxies for discussions about other issues, including Presidential power, Congressional power, and the status of habeas corpus. Military commissions have British origins, and historically, they have been used around the world to ensure specific outcomes at the expense of respect for rule of law.

Recent use of military commissions in the United States began with the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force. The United States military did not request that military commissions be set up, and, especially among those in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, there were concerns about rules of procedure and evidence as well as for the rights of the accused. Cullen specifically pointed to the fact that evidence obtained by tortured was formally allowed and the fact that civilian defense counsel access to evidence was severely limited.

Cullen noted that military doctrine demands two things: protection of forces and exploitation of intelligence. When individuals are picked up for routine questioning, guidelines suggest that they not be held for more than three days unless they are an imminent threat or have relevant information. Holding individuals longer than three days or treating them poorly can create enemies from those previously uninvolved or unnecessarily destabilize the region in question.

Cullen further argued that using military commissions to try suspected terrorists gives legitimacy, casting even convicted terrorists as warriors or martyrs rather than criminals. Moreover, the most recent military commissions conducted by the United States military took place during World War II. Consequently, the present-day lacks expertise, whereas those involved in the federal court system, from judges to FBI agents, have experience trying terrorism, conspiracy, and material support cases. Additionally, federal courts have been better able to get convictions on terrorism cases than military commissions.

Ending the use of military commissions also will improve relations with foreign governments. These foreign governments are more likely to cooperate, in terms of transferring defendants, witness, and evidence, when the United States tries terrorism cases in the federal courts, according to Cullen. Currently, there are 48 Guantanamo Bay detainees said to be unable to be tried in the military commissions. When asked how the United States can transition from the use of military commissions to federal courts, Cullen said that what is most needed is political will.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Monday, December 3rd: Tents of Witness: Genocide and Conflict
Where: Wiley Foyer
When: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Tents of Witness: Genocide and Conflict is a multimedia, multicultural, multigenerational exhibit designed to educate people about genocide; explain the causes and consequences of genocide; present action steps to prevent it; and remember those in our own communities who have fled from these atrocities and whose families and communities have been destroyed. Tents of Witness features ten 8' x 12' painted canvas tents that simulate those used in refugee camps. The tents depict the story of different groups persecuted based on their identity: race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin. The stories are of the conflicts suffered by the Jews and others targeted in the Holocaust; Native Americans; and the catastrophes in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, North Korea, Darfur, Argentina, Sri Lanka, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The tents house slides depicting the cultures prior to the violence, as well as details about the conflicts, their repercussions, and the reconciliation efforts in their aftermaths. The Tents of Witness is a traveling exhibit from the nonprofit World Without Genocide at William Mitchell College of Law, in St. Paul.

Tuesday, December 4th: A Night of Spoken Word
Where: Mapps Coffee, 1810 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454
When: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Human Rights Program Student Advisory Board will be hosting an Open Mic Night featuring performers on LGBT rights and other social justice issues in the United States. Everyone is welcome to join us at Mapps Coffee on West, from 6 to 8pm. Come perform poetry, sing, act, or just enjoy a cup of coffee while listening to talented and passionate individuals! The Human Rights Student Advisory Board will also present critical information on discrimination issues in Minnesota state courts, and provide attendees with resources to address their representatives concerning this topic.

Wednesday, December 5th: A Critical Discussion on Human Rights in North Korea
Where: Blegen, Room 135
When: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Throughout the last 50 years, the American media has focused its energies on the cold war politics surrounding North Korea by depicting threats of nuclear weapons, treating its corrupt leaders as tabloid topics, and failing to bring to light the struggle of the North Korean people. Vicious human rights atrocities plague North Koreans as they fight to find ways around the devastating oppression of the current ruling regime. Through a PowerPoint, video clips, and a discussion, the Student Advisory Board hopes to educate students at the UofM about the critical human rights condition in North Korea, and on the innovative and courageous efforts of the North Korean people to combat the repressive regime ruling them.

Thursday, December 6th: Black Gold: A Film Screening and Discussion
Where: Hanson, Room 109
When: 4:45 pm - 6:30 pm
Witness a man's riveting fight for justice as an Ethiopian farmer in the coffee industry through this highly acclaimed documentary. Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields. The story of Tadesse Meskela reveals the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world's coffee trade. An official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, Black Gold has been called "Riveting and jaw-dropping" by the LA Times, and the Daily Telegraph announces the documentary as "Remarkable--a moving but scandalous story. It has extraordinary power." Join the Student Advisory Board at a screening of this film and enjoy free, fair trade coffee in a handmade mug that each attendee can take home with them to remember their experience (the mugs are limited to the first 50 people).

Friday, December 7th: Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon
Where: Willey Foyer and Coffman Memorial Union, Basement
When: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
Join Amnesty International and the Human Rights Program Student Advisory Board in participating in one of the largest human rights campaigns in the world: Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon. This year we will be coming together to allow students to write to their representatives on a range of human rights issues. Join us at Willey Foyer or Coffman Memorial Union on Friday, December 7th, to stand up for human rights!

During his talk, Judge Tunheim focused in on the three issues he has seen in the way U.S. federal courts handle terrorism cases. First is the problem of classified information. Tunheim detailed how tedious the process of becoming cleared to hear classified information is and then how long the process of admitting that information to the court is if and when there are appeals to the substituted information. Substituted information is information that will disclose the nature of what is in classified documents without revealing information that is truly sensitive - the decision process for which can be lengthy and contentious (for example, two years in the Warsame case). A solution to this problem, as Tunheim suggested, might be getting the judge and prosecutor together and deciding at that time what substitutions can be made.

Next is the problem of the drawn out pace of terrorism cases. The U.S. government has little incentive to move cases along quickly, because that would force them to limit the evidence that will be used. Judges can choose to suppress evidence that may have been obtained illegally. The prosecution has the right to appeal decisions to suppress evidence, and the appeals process can take up to two years to resolve.

The final problem touched on by Tunheim was pre-trial detention. While most suspects of terrorism are released before trial, there are instances where the rights of detainees are not respected. This is evident in the Warsame case where he was placed in solitary confinement for all but 30 minutes per day. Closely related, and brought up by an audience member was the possibility of recourse in the criminal justice system for those who allege they were victims of torture while detained. Judge Tunheim stated that while a judge can refer officials for prosecution in the case of torture allegations, many of those officials avoid prosecution by leaving the country.

The message that Judge Tunheim advocates is that when it comes to trying suspects in cases of terrorism we must send the international community the message that we are not afraid to give these suspects the same rights as others despite the serious accusations brought against them.

Written by Max Kaufman.

The grant covers three years of partnership, which will be carried out by the university's Human Rights Program in the College of Liberal Arts and the Human Rights Center in the Law School. Faculty in both colleges will conduct workshops and teach courses in Medellín, and Colombian law students and faculty will travel to the university to learn about human rights law and practice and to cultivate mentor relationships with faculty and human rights professionals.

"We are eager to partner with law students and faculty from Medellin," says Barbara Frey, director of the U's Human Rights Program. "We know it will be an exciting and rewarding experience working with faculty and students who are committed to the rule of law as an alternative to violence in Colombia. We will certainly learn as much as we will teach."

Colombia is one of the oldest democracies in Latin America, but has seen intense armed conflicts over the past 50 years involving insurgents and paramilitary groups, along with criminal and narcotics trafficking organizations. With the implementation of a free-trade agreement between the U.S. and Colombia in May, and the start of peace talks between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government last month, the U.S. State Department and USAID are supporting Colombia's efforts to strengthen its democratic institutions, promote respect for human rights and the rule of law, foster socio-economic development, address immediate humanitarian needs, and end the threats to democracy posed by narcotics trafficking and terrorism.

The four law school partners in Medellín are: Universidad de Medellín, Universidad de Antioquia, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and Universidad Católica de Oriente.

Human rights education is embedded in numerous units at the University of Minnesota. The Human Rights Program in the College of Liberal Arts and the Human Rights Center at the Law School form the intellectual core of human rights education at the university. Faculty members in the College of Liberal Arts are internationally known for their expertise on the intersections of human rights with judicial trials, small arms, genocides and atrocities, and cultural histories. Students at the undergraduate and graduate levels combine classroom work with activism, regularly taking on issues as diverse as meatpackers' working conditions, sex trafficking and prolonged solitary confinement.

The Law School houses the Human Rights Center, which assists human rights advocates, monitors, students, educators, and volunteers in accessing effective tools, practices, and networks to promote a culture of human rights and responsibilities in our local, national, and international communities. Their faculty and students routinely partner with the United Nations on human rights monitoring and education. One of its most far-reaching projects is its online Human Rights Library, which houses critical legal resources in Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and other languages.

To build upon their mutual interest and expertise in human rights more than 50 faculty members spanning at least six colleges - including education, law, liberal arts, medicine, public affairs and public health - have come together through a voluntary collaboration known as "The Human Rights University." The collaboration seeks to mobilize knowledge to advance human rights.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.usaid.gov.

Higher Education for Development (HED) mobilizes the expertise and resources of the higher education community to address global development challenges. Higher Education for Development (HED) works closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is founded by the nation's six presidential higher education associations to support the involvement of higher education in development issues worldwide.

The conference also included panel discussions on the use of solitary confinement in supermax facilities, immigrant detention facilities, and juvenile detention facilities. These panel discussions led to breakout strategy sessions. The breakout strategy sessions served as forums for conference participants to define plans of action and discuss tactical options, including FOIA requests, grassroots mobilization, use of the media, opportunity evaluation, and creative forms of advocacy. Following the breakout sessions, the group came back together to debrief and discuss remaining questions and next steps.

The event wrapped up with a trip to the Sullivan Galleries at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which features an exhibit on the Tamms Year Ten Campaign, a grassroots movements that has called for the closing of Tamms Closed Maximum Security Unit, a detention facility in southern Illinois that holds inmates in solitary confinement. During this evening session, the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights presented an award recognizing Senator Dick Durbin's work to expose inhumane use of solitary confinement in the United States.

Solitary confinement is also called administrative segregation, isolation, lockdown, and SHU, which stands for security housing unit. Though it is difficult to determine exactly how many people are held in solitary confinement in the United States, the estimate used at the conference was 80,000. Detention facilities rarely have published clear guidelines as to why and for how long an inmate can be put into solitary confinement. Solitary confinement has been shown to exacerbate preexisting mental illnesses and to cause significant mental harm to previously mentally healthy individuals. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment Juan Mendez has stated that no one should be held in solitary confinement for longer than 15 days, citing the high likelihood of permanent mental damage after that period.

Proponents of solitary confinement argue that the practice is necessary to ensure control over unruly prisoners. Many detention facilities around the country have eliminated their solitary confinement units, and rather than facing more violence, these facilities have actually experienced an overall decline in violence.

The convening successfully gathered together activists from across regions and disciplines to discuss what can be done to bring about the end of the cruel practice of solitary confinement in the United States. For more information on the work that is currently being done on this issue, visit the websites of conference participants The National Immigrant Justice Center, The National Religious Campaign Against Torture, and Tamms Year Ten.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Francisco Valdes is a specialist on constitutional reform and politics in Latin America and is a regular columnist in Mexico City's Universal paper. Valdes emphasized that there have been important electoral and judicial changes in Mexican politics since the hegemonic stage of the PRI. The most important changes Valdes pointed out were the existence of competitive elections and an independent Supreme Court. Despite these improvements Valdes argued that once in office the PAN did not change the nature of governance in Mexico. He points to the main reasons for this lack of accountability is behind the constitutional provisions of no re-election for officials and a high concentration of power in the national government. Valdes characterized the current political situation as one of democratic access but authoritative rule.

Joy Langston is the leading authority on the PRI in Mexico. She specifically talked to what the main concerns are now, including that the PRI has retaken control of the Presidency and the majority of governorships in Mexico. Langston emphasized that signs point to a significant change in the PRI since their previous PRI administrations. Most notably they now have to work in a democratically competitive environment. One major question Langston addressed is whether the PRI will negotiate with drug cartels. She held that it was doubtful there could be a return to former PRI status quo in dealing with drug cartels. This status quo was an agreement of non-intervention as long as there was no public violence and the drugs were kept out of Mexican streets and sold to the United States. Langston pointed out that now the drug cartels are much wealthier and more fragmented, particularly the Zetas, because of Calderon's policies. This fragmentation makes negotiation difficult if not impossible. Langston pointed to current president elect Enrique Pena Nieto's promises to bring down violence and focusing on crimes against society such as kidnapping and extortion as the only major indications that have been given about his drug policy. Most importantly Langston emphasized that the PRI now has to deal with an independent Supreme Court and will be expected to deliver some form of structural reforms.

In direct relation to the human rights situation in Mexico, Valdes and Langston both emphasized that major problems are a lack of access to the judicial system and public financing of parties. They explained that beyond the Supreme Court the judicial system remains very weak and changing it would prove very costly. They also explained that the public financing system allows governors large amounts of expendable cash allowing for the financing of local elections and ensuring that the PRI is able to retain a majority in governorships and local elections. There are however increasing steps towards reform because of the new electoral competitiveness. Most notably with drug policy is the recent Supreme Court ruling that ensures armed forces that commit crimes against civilians will be tried in civilian and not military courts. Hopefully these developments point towards a continued strengthening of the legal system in Mexico.

Valdes and Langston both painted a picture of Mexican democracy that is changing and involving. Although they have returned to the PRI it is hardly the same situation that was in place the last time they ruled. It will be interesting to follow the developments under this new PRI and a Mexico with stronger electoral competition and judicial independence.
Written by Carly Dooley.

Hicks noted that this optimism was quickly dismantled. IBSATI states offered extremely muddled human rights foreign policy, with great inconsistency and large gaps between rhetoric and action, much like the human rights foreign policy of the Global North. In order to more precisely measure the diplomatic efforts of IBSATI regarding human rights at the United Nations, Hicks suggested three different yardsticks: General Assembly voting records, Human Rights Council voting records, and a more detailed investigation into reactions to the Syria case.

Using data compiled by Ted Piccone of the Brookings Institute, Hicks argued that in the General Assembly, Brazil and Turkey voted in favor of greater human rights protection most of the time, though they by no means voted perfectly. South Africa's voting record was not quite as good, and the voting records of India and Indonesia were dreadful. A similar pattern emerges in the Human Rights Council voting records, though Turkey has not yet been on the Council, and India's record is better. Assessments of Security Council votes are less informative due to the emphasis on consensus and the threat of veto.

The case study of Syria points to further unwillingness to engage prominently in human rights diplomacy. The fallout from international involvement in Libya prompted this decision. Though it had voted in favor of international intervention in Libya, the character of this intervention had disenchanted South Africa. Brazil and India also favored non-interventionism in Syria. Diplomats from India, South Africa, and Brazil visited the Syrian government in August of 2011, but they did not leave the capital, and the Indian diplomats, however inadvertently, even helped to spread misinformation. Hicks hypothesized that the lack of support for Security Council action by Brazil, South Africa, and India emboldened Russia and China.

Overall, it seems that Brazil is most willing to engage on thematic issues rather than country-specific ones. South Africa appears inconsistent and obviously political with regard to country-specific issues, especially in the continent of Africa, though it has been willing to push forward thematic measures dealing with racism and poverty. India has been equally resistant to human rights involvement on country-specific and thematic issues. Indonesia has frequently verbalized a commitment to human rights, but this has not transitioned into positive action. Hicks pointed to Turkey's European Union aspirations as part of the reason for its apparent respect for human rights and favorable votes on both country-specific and thematic issues.

Hicks put forth several possible reasons for these shortcomings dealing with the human rights foreign policy of emerging democracies. To some extent, resources play a role. While the United States and Western European countries have devoted much time and money to the creation of strong foreign services, these emerging democracies have not yet done the same. That means diplomats from the IBSATI states must rely more often on the word of foreign nationals or secondhand information. Then there is an element of self-interest and a strong sense of regionalism. Rather than turning to the United Nations, the IBSATI countries often feel more comfortable appealing to regional bodies or mechanisms. The colonial, apartheid, and authoritarian experiences of these countries might also help to explain the reluctance to engage in human rights diplomacy, according to some. However, Hicks pointed out that this history could reasonably lead to either interventionist or noninterventionist positions.

The most convincing explanation for the gap between human rights rhetoric and action in the emerging democracies is the North-South divide. Hicks noted that there is a methodological difference between the North, which generally prefers public condemnation, sanctions, and military action, and the South, which generally favors constructive engagement, cooperation, and quiet diplomacy. The South tends to distrust the intentions behind interventionism. The true strength of the North-South divide becomes apparent in discussions about Israel and Palestine, where the South selectively abandons its aversion to public action and the North clings to selective application of diplomatic measures.

Concerning the road ahead, Hicks proposed three avenues of engagement. First, she promoted the role of civil society organizations. These organizations have significant room to operate both inside and outside of the United Nations system. They can help to press both the North and South for consistency regarding human rights diplomatic practices. Hicks also held up the possibility of utilizing smaller states to draw attention to human rights concerns in the United Nations. Many smaller states, like the Maldives and Costa Rica, have proven willing to break with regional consensus and push forward on human rights issues. Finally, Hicks argued for the potential to find common ground between the North and South on specific issues, highlighting the cases of Sri Lanka, which India was willing to get involved in due to its large Tamil population, and LGBT rights, which both Brazil and South Africa have supported.

Though the initial optimism for better global human rights policy in the United Nations system following the rise of India, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, and Indonesia as democratic states was dashed, Hicks ultimately identified many existing sites for future improvement.

Human Rights Program Student Advisory Board member Yon-Soo (Lauren) Kim offered the following reaction to the presentation:

"From her [Hicks'] lecture, I came to think more about countries in Global South in terms of their human rights foreign policies, realizing that I had been focused too much on what Global North is doing to protect human rights around the world. Thus, I could sympathize with her opinions of looking for more connection between Global South and Global North and giving smaller states more attention and more equal chances for their voices to be matter more on human rights foreign policies. In addition, I could think more about the reasons behind the IBSA countries' attitude and action about the foreign policies. I understand now more about why they tend to be inactive toward intervention, relating to their experience under the colonial period. As a whole, her lecture helped me to "get out of my comfort zone," and think more from perspective of Global South on human rights foreign policies issues."

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Panel moderator Eric Schwartz provided a basic sketch of the international human rights system, including a description of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which entered into force in 1969, though the United States did not ratify until 1994.

Special Rapporteur Mendez advised that prevention requires both looking backward and looking forward. Impunity, he cautioned, renders future action in opposition to violence impotent. In other words, a solid foundation of accountability is necessary for prevention of human rights violations, including racial and ethnic inequality. While certain levels of discrimination might be written off, it is important to remember than genocide is the extreme end of a continuum of discrimination, and movement along the continuum occurs more quickly than we like to believe. Mendez also discussed the role of transitional justice in reckoning with legacies of inequality and injustice. Transitional justice mechanisms "oblige states to the truth." Not only do these mechanisms get the truth out, but they also break cycles of blame, foster the individuation of guilt, and work toward group reconciliation, according to Mendez.

Professor Frey first critiqued the title of the panel, suggesting that the distinction between human rights and civil rights is a false one and actually undermines the realization of rights generally. She then proposed the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination as a site in which remedies for discrimination could be sought. The Committee utilizing creative methodologies, including states reports, thematic debates, early warning procedures, and general recommendations, to delve into worldwide issues related to discrimination. That said, the Committee is only as effective as activists make it. To bridge the gap between international and domestic politics, domestic activists must take part in Committee proceedings and start to use Committee language in domestic settings. The Western Shoshone peoples have found the Committee to be a useful forum for voicing their concerns about US domestic policy regarding land rights. In this case, the Western Shoshone people have found calling upon international human rights bodies, such as the Committee, to be more effective practices than going through domestic channels alone.

Judge Lange highlighted the problematic historical dimension of racial discrimination and remedy discourse in the United States. We tend to have a selective memory about historical figures and issues. Abraham Lincoln suggested that free African American men practice voluntary self-deportation as a remedy to the racial discrimination. Additionally, Lange pointed to the segregation of US troops during World War Two, including the particularly striking example that white troops would be fed first, then POWs, then the black troops. Lange then pointed to a local historical exemplar, Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey worked tirelessly to ensure that principles of nondiscrimination would be included in the 1948 Democratic platform. Ultimately, Lange pointed to the fact that we can look to these historical figures, if we consider their stories in whole rather than in convenient part, and "take a page from their books on how to get the job done."

The panelists set forth a variety of possible courses of action to undertake to start to remedy racial and ethnic inequality, seeking guidance from the international system as well as from historical success stories.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

In an appeal to culture without making a relativistic argument, Tamale noted that this widely accepted concept could provide a solid base for the realization of universal human rights in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ubuntu, roughly translated, means "humaneness." It refers to basic human dignity, respect, and community. Ubuntu derives from the Bantu language family, and thus is understood widely across Africa. Tamale noted that the concept is something most Africans grow up with, and it is internalized so that it becomes something almost intuitive.

In the case of gay rights in Uganda, the interjection of ideas seen as "western," like human rights, often have adverse effects. Additionally, politicians and others opposed to gay rights often allege that homosexuality is a western export. Tamale referenced numerous historical examples to show that it is not homosexuality but homophobia that was foreign to African thought. That type of argument, Tamale said, holds more sway in classrooms in academic buildings than out in the community. Outside of academia appeals to cultural norms, like ubuntu, will be more effective.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Human rights as a concept, as a specifically universal concept, presents a problem for history--in fact it often denies historical placement, for to be universal, it cannot be temporally placed. If a natural product of being a human being, then as long as there has been human beings, there must have been human rights. The notion that human rights have a historical placement raises important philosophical questions about universality. The precise point in which to locate human rights historically is also profoundly difficult.

Often, attempts to identify human rights as universal across time employ one of two modes of thought. The first is a teleological approach with a view that the present at end point in history, that it is the product of progress. The second approach is Hegelian in nature, seeing human rights as something that is coming to be what it always was, innate potential coming into being over time.

The more recent historiography is less sweeping in scope. Instead of trying to justify earlier and earlier starting points, this literature envisions an "invention" of human rights or the "coming into being" of human rights. The three most common theories mark the origins of human rights in the late 18th century, the mid-1940s, and the 1970s.

Briefly, the late 18th century argument places human rights as the result of Enlightenment thought. In Inventing Human Rights, Lynn Hunt further develops this view. Pendas noted that for human rights to be human rights conceptually, they must be seen as natural, equal, and universal. Enlightenment thought and the rights claims made using it did make appeals to the natural status of these rights and appealed to notions of equality, but they did not include a sense of universalism, argued Pendas. The 1940s argument sees human rights as primarily an American policy. Elizabeth Borgwardt argues for this view in A New Deal for the World. Pendas pointed out that rights discourse in the 1940s was full of dissenting, non-American voices. The 1970s argument, which regards the flourishing of international human rights mechanism as signaling the birth of human rights, is put forth most strongly by Samuel Moyn in The Last Utopia. Pendas believes that the decade of the 70s is too late to be the origins of human rights.

Pendas did argue that there was a significant broadening of human rights in the 1970s due to the global demise of Fordism. This economic rupture and the rise of activist networks, as well as the undercurrents of prior rights discourses in places like Eastern Europe, necessitated an expansion of human rights. Human rights have become a classic form of international politics in a post Fordist world. Jut like post-modernism, human rights seeks to appropriately respond to a changing world. The integration of human rights history and world or regional history is the next step in identifying the origins of human rights.

Devin Pendas is Associated Professor of History at Boston College and the author of The Frankfurt-Auschwitz Trial, 1963-1965.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Policymakers initially drafted the Classified Information Procedure Act (CIPA) to prevent the misuse of information in espionage cases. Would-be defendants would use a technique known as "gray-mailing," in which they would threaten to use classified information in their defense, thus making the information public. Because the federal government did not want the information to be made public, the would-be defendants escaped the potential for trial.

The so-called "State Secret Doctrine," as originated in Reynolds v. United States, allows information to be kept out of the courtroom if releasing the information could threaten national security. However, the classified documents in the Reynolds case were declassified years after the case, and the information had nothing to do with national security interests. While the State Secret Doctrine can be used correctly, it also can be abused.

The executive order that created the category of classified information clearly described in what instances information could be classified. Culpability and potential for embarrassment are not valid reasons to keep information classified. Without transparency, which of course stands directly opposed to classified information, there is no way to know if the State Secret Doctrine or other classification standards are being implemented properly.

The principles delineated in CIPA aim to protect the security of government information while also respecting the rights of defendants. The federal government is allowed to substitute a revised version of classified documents. The substitute documents theoretically include any exculpatory evidence without revealing any classified information. A judge reviews the documents to ensure that as much information as possible is released. This review provides some oversight, but ultimately the government does decide what information to include in the substitute documents.

This process handcuffs the defense in some ways. The defense team, unlike the government prosecution, does not know full nature of information. Moreover, a substitute document will never have the same impact in a courtroom that a witness testimony has.

According to Dratel, the principle issue in question when considering secrecy and international human rights law is torture. Certain procedures were developed to reduce the possibility for accountability for those rationalizing, approving, and committing torture.

The changes made in the United States legal and penal systems following 9/11 have damaged foreign government confidence in US procedures. Dratel cited examples from the United Kingdom and Germany to prove this point. The UK is currently holding six terrorism suspects, but refuses to extradite these individuals to the US until there is more transparency in proceedings and the possibility of trial by a military tribunal is eliminated. The German government is said to have information that would supplement certain terrorism cases in the US. However, officials refuse to surrender that information until the death penalty is lifted as a potential punishment in those cases.

Dratel reminded the audience that the misuse of classification of information adversely affects "not just the rights of defendants but also the rights of the public in a democracy."

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Doty is an assistant professor at the Arizona State University and has focused this research project on Arizona communities, especially Eloy and Florence. The Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) is the largest employer in Eloy. Florence is also home to several prisons.

The prison industrial complex refers to the dramatic increase in incarceration as the private sector exerted more and more influence over prisons, from owning and operating them to political lobbying. This shift from public to private responsibility for and control over the prison system has raised a number of concerns, including overcrowding and the criminalization of difference. Doty and Wheatley believe that a similar trend might be appearing with regard to immigrant detention.

At this time, 17% of all immigrant detainees are held in privately owned facilities, but over 50% are held in privately run facilities owned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other government agencies. Under the Obama administration, the sheer number of deportations has increased and the criminalization of immigration has also become more robust.

There are three types of detention facilities that immigrants are commonly held in: contract, service processing, and inter-government service agreement. Contract facilities are owned and operated privately. Service processing facilities are owned by ICE, but most are operated privately. Inter-government service agreement facilities are centers that are owned by cities or counties. ICE contracts with these local governments. Oftentimes, though, the local governments then subcontract with the CCA or other private corporation. Private prison companies also lobby heavily. CCA alone spends over $1.8 million per year on lobbying.

One argument frequently put forth in favor of the expansion of prisons is that such expansion is said to increase job opportunities. The criminalization of immigrants, though, actually has a negative impact on local economies. Local economies are often heavily dependent on the labor of undocumented immigrants.

The blurring of the distinction between public and private is of particular interest to Doty. Channels of power and accountability are more readily apparent in the case of publicly run prisons. It is possible that privately run prisons could be efficient, more transparent, and better serve local communities, but the opposite is also possible. However, without further empirical study, we won't know with any certainty.

Whether or not the changes we have witnessed in immigrant detention recently correspond to an immigrant industrial complex, these changes do have significant implications for the current political environment and are very real concerns for those communities that depend on immigrant workers.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Perliger is particularly interested in why democracies continue to implement ineffective counterterrorism policies. There is a lack of solid theory on how democracies can effectively respond to terrorism. The existing counterterrorism literature, asserts Perliger, focuses on the operational aspects of counterterrorism policy and neglects the political and legal dimensions of terrorism. Perliger cautioned the audience that it is important to remember that terrorism is the product of groups with political agendas. These groups have turned to violent means and scare tactics, but their aims are political in nature.

Often appropriate consideration is not given to the question of what makes terrorism effective. Terrorism is an effective tactic when the discourse around the conflict or issues in question changes. Terrorist groups rarely, if ever, have the capacity to defeat a traditional state military using traditional military tactics. As a result, terrorist groups must turn to a form of psychological or symbolic warfare. While the impacts of such a strategy are very real, the goals of actors involved are to make a psychological or symbolic impact. When policymakers better understand what makes terrorism an attractive strategy, they will be better able to draft effective counterterrorism policies.

Perliger argues, "terrorism is a democracy phenomenon," because only when engaging with democracies does it make sense to conduct a psychological war. In an autocracy, it does not much matter than the public buys into the narrative offered by their government. In a democracy, on the other hand, public perception matters a great deal. Terrorism as we know it is also a modern phenomenon made possible by the invention of dynamite and the development of mass media.

Perliger then argued that the traditional perception of counterterrorism policies as inherently in opposition to civil liberties is not exactly correct. It is possible, according to Perliger, to respect basic freedoms while implementing effective counterterror policies. He cited the Spanish treatment of the Basque separatist movement as an example, The Spanish government invested in Basque territories economically and allowed for a Basque-run Parliament and schools to be put into place. In this way, the Spanish government delegitimized acts of terror committed by the separatists rather than spurring them on. These policies also offered an alternative narrative, one that allowed for coexistence.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Hua's project revolved around two questions: how do some issues become legible as human rights issues while others do not, and why are human rights represented by certain figures and not others? For example, women's human rights tend to be cast in terms of trafficking or female genital mutilation. Hua contends that human rights issues are commodities, that media and advocacy attention give these issues value. Making an issue legible "helps imagine and police national belonging."

In this framework, Hua analyzed the case of sex trafficking in the United States. Public service announcements and other officially sanctioned documents about sex trafficking feature images of individuals construed solely as helpless victims. The stories of individuals who have been trafficked are made sellable by the construction of infantilization narratives. In other words, a dynamic of victim/rescuer is set up. When these narratives are constructed, however well meaning the authors are, they often refer to cultural stereotypes and oversimplify the complex reality that is human trafficking, which does a disservice both to those being trafficked and those working to combat trafficking.

Hua's next project, tentatively called "Affect, Ethics & Primates." Recently Hua visited a chimpanzee sanctuary in California. She interviewed the people working there and found that many spoke of their work in terms of ethics. Hua hopes to further investigate how these attitudes are challenging what we consider worthy of ethical attention.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Working primarily within the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) system, Hinnen addressed the legality for government electronic surveillance following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Hinnen acknowledged the difficulty of balancing the government's interest in investigating potential threats and respecting an individual's right to privacy, as codified in the US Constitution and explicated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The checks and balance system found throughout the US government, Hinnen asserted, helps to maintain this balance.

The United States Congress initially passed the legislation to create the FISA mechanisms and has conducted investigations into intelligence abuses, including the Church Committee. The Department of Justice, which falls under the executive branch, conducts investigations and applies for FISA warrants. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a secret court, determines whether or not to issue warrants for electronic surveillance. The overwhelming majority of surveillance requests are granted.

Currently, Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Watch, The Nation Magazine, the Washington Office on Latin America and other organizations are seeking to challenge the FISA Amendments Act's legality. The organizations allege that the 2001 warrantless wiretapping program and 2008 program expansion gave the National Security Agency unconstitutional and almost unchecked power to monitor Americans' international phone calls and emails. On October 29, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for the case.

by Whitney Taylor

As part of a three-phase study, Ron, Crow, and Pandya are in the process of conducting extensive surveys in four countries: Mexico, Brazil, India, and Morocco. During an earlier phase of the project, Ron and Pandya interviewed individuals who are active in legally registered rights-based organizations from around the world. These new surveys are meant to test hypotheses about public opinion of human rights set forth in the interviews. In particular, Ron, Crow, and Pandya hope to test for the effects of religion and urban versus rural locale on trust of human rights organizations and human rights work generally. Data collected for this project will be made publicly available.

Written by Whitney Taylor.

Such was not the case at a conference I recently attended at University College Cork (Ireland), "Imagining Contemporary Algerias: Communities, Nation-State, the Maghreb and the Mediterranean." Organized by Patrick Crowley (Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences Senior Research Fellow) and Megan MacDonald (IRCHSS Government of Ireland Post-Doctoral Fellow), the conference brought together seventeen scholars from across Europe, Algeria, and the US. Conferences dedicated to the study of the Algerian cultural imaginary don't happen very often, and it was refreshing to have beside me colleagues grappling with similar questions, however varied our approaches and methods might be.

Keynote speaker Jane Hiddleston (Exeter College, Oxford University) applied pressure to theories of reading and literature in the theoretical writings of Derek Attridge and Jacques Rancière to rethink the political stakes of literature and the limits of reading as an act of engagement in her talk, "Algerian Literary Encounters: Reading and Writing in Two Novels by Tahar Djaout." Salim Bachi, the second keynote speaker, revisited his novels (particulary Le Chien d'Ulysse) to argue that authorship is above all an act of creating and proposing alternative worlds, a cartography of the unknown. Both presentations spawned thoughtful discussions that continued well beyond the walls of our conference room. My paper, "Aesthetics and Politics in Contemporary Algeria: Kamel Daoud and the Nouvel Engagement," discussed the fictional works of Kamel Daoud, an Algerian journalist, editor, and novelist whose writing leverages myth, fantasy, and formal innovation as an anti-representational and imaginative response to the violence, human rights abuses, and conflict of the past twenty years. The papers presented by my fellow panelists were provocative, rigorous, and highly original; I left with a long list of books to read, films to see, and new friends with whom to keep in touch.

I could not have attended this conference without the generous support of the Human Rights Program and the Institute for Global Studies, for which I am deeply grateful.

GLOS 3402: Human Rights Internship [3 credits]
Doug Johnson, former director of the Center for Victims of Torture, will be teaching the human rights internship class this semester, which is usually only offered in the spring. This course is designed to offer students a practical, hands-on experience in human rights advocacy including an internship in one of the many organizations in the Twin Cities area that are engaged in promoting and protecting international human rights. A student is required to work 8 hours per week (total of 100 hours for the semester) in a nongovernmental organization. Placements are described in the accompanying handout. The weekly class will provide background on the legal framework for international human rights, the nature of transnational advocacy, the mission and structure of non-governmental organizations, as well as tactics, fund-raising and other skills needed to work in the field. Students have interned at a variety of organizations including the Advocates for Human Rights, the Center for Victims of Torture, the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota Law School, and the Immigrant Law Center.

SOC 8190: Topics in Law, Crime, and Deviance
Atrocities: Collective Representations and the Law [3 credits]
This inter-disciplinary and inter-university seminar, co-taught via ITV technology by Profs. John Hagan from the Department of Sociology and the Law School of Northwestern University and Joachim Savelsberg from the Department of Sociology of the University of Minnesota will address social scientific, judicial and journalistic depictions of atrocities. These themes will be explored with a focus on the cases of Darfur, Rwanda, and the wars in the former Yugoslavia, supplemented by references to other cases of grave human rights violations, crimes against humanity and genocide. One central goal is to understand contrasting representations and collective memories of such violations, especially the effects judicial interventions have on representations and memories. These effects are considered as potential intervening mechanisms that contribute to the continuation or disruption of cycles of violence. Also communication between the fields of law, scholarship and journalism will be explored, and the tension between the globalization of representations and memories and local and national forces will be discussed. Ideas, materials and research agendas laid out in Hagan?s Justice in the Balkans (University of Chicago Press, 2003) and Darfur and the Crime of Genocide (with Rymond-Richmond, Cambridge University Press, 2009) and Savelsberg?s Crime and Human Rights (Sage, 2010) and American Memories: Atrocities and the Law (with King, Russell Sage Foundation, 2011) will guide part of our discussion. They will be supplemented by a range of related classical and contemporary writings by scholars from a variety of scholarly fields. The seminar should be of interest to graduate students in diverse disciplines such as sociology, political science, law, anthropology and history.

PA 5801: Global Public Policy [3 credits]
This spring, Professor James Ron in the Humphrey Institute will be teaching a class called "Global Public Policy" that will explore human rights themes from a public policy perspective. In PA 5801, students meet once a week to combine local, class-based discussions with international, cloud-based discussions with students in Mexico and Israel. The course examines global policy through the lens of "human security," an approach that focuses on the safety and well-being of the world's most vulnerable populations. In the first half of the course, we situate the human security notion within the broad sweep of international relations theory and global policymaking. We then examine the workings of relevant global actors, including the UN and its agencies, international NGOs, and transnational social movements. Next, we study some crucial global issues in a general way, including development, humanitarian aid, transnational crime, and humanitarian military intervention. In the course's second half, students apply these general lessons learned to concrete policy dilemmas and analysis in Mexico and Israel/Palestine. More specifically, we examine Mexico's brutal drug war, which has led to the death of some 60,000 people over the last six years, and the Israeli siege of Gaza, which has generated enormous international attention and caused substantial hardship among the civilian population. Although this is a graduate class, advanced undergraduates may enroll with instructor permission.

Below you'll find speaker profiles and a schedule. Professor Sikkink's Human Rights and Democracy class meets Monday from 2:30-3:20pm in Blegen 150.

Speaker Profiles and Schedule

1. Todd Hinnen (September 17, 2012) - is a partner in the Privacy and Security practice at Perkins Coie in Seattle. Previously, he was Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Obama administration, where he oversaw the DOJ's nationwide counterterrorism, counterespionage and export control programs. He also represented the United States before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and has testified before Congress on numerous occasions in both open and classified hearings. He also served under President George W. Bush as a Director in the National Security Council's Directorate for Combating Terrorism.

2. Arie Perliger (September 24, 2012) - is Director of Terrorism Studies at the Combating Terrorism Center and Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, US Military Academy at West Point. He has published four books and 15 articles and book chapters in the fields of terrorism, political violence and extremism and the principal ways democratic states respond to these challenges.

3. Joshua Dratel (October 1, 2012) - is a nationally-renowned criminal defense lawyer, with extensive experience in terrorism cases; former President of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (2005); Co-Chair of the Select Committee on Military Tribunals of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Senior Fellow for Legal Research at New York University Law School's Center on Law & Security, and a member of its Board of Advisors. Publisher of several books and articles on national security.

4. Nusrat Choudhury (October 8, 2012) - Nusrat Choudhury, a graduate of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Yale Law School, is a staff attorney with the ACLU's National Security Law Project. She is counsel of record in the ACLU's litigation against the F.B.I. challenging the No-Fly List.

5. Prof. Afsheen John Radson (October 15, 2012) - is an associate professor at William Mitchell College of Law, and founder and director of William Mitchell's National Security Forum. Previously, he has served as a federal prosecutor and as assistant general counsel at the CIA. He has written extensively on national security issues.

6. Justine Harris (November 12, 2012) - is principal in Colson & Harris, LLP, a boutique federal criminal law practice in New York City. A graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School and a former federal defender, she sits on the board of Federal Defenders of New York, and is also director of the Federal Defender Clinic at NYU Law School. She has represented defendants in several high-profile terrorism prosecutions, including Zeinab Taleb-Jedi, Wesam El-Hanafi, and Mohammed Zazi (the latter case in a jury trial).

7. Keith Ellison (November 19, 2012) - is the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district, serving since 2007. A graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, he is the first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress, and also the first African American elected to the House from Minnesota. He serves on the House Financial Services Committee, which, inter alia, handles policy matters relating to combating terrorist financing.

8. Judge John Tunheim (November 26, 2012) - is a U.S. District Court Judge in Minnesota, who presided over the case of Minneapolis terrorism suspect Mohammed Abdullah Warsame, among other terrorism cases. He also served as chair of the U.S. Assassination Records Review Board, in charge of declassifying the government records of the Kennedy assassination, and served as Minnesota chief deputy attorney general. In April, 2012, he spoke on "National Security Law and the Judiciary" at a luncheon hosted by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security.

9. James Cullen (December 3, 2012) - is a retired Brigadier General in the United States Army Reserve Judge Advocate General's Corps and served as the Chief Judge (IMA) of the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals. In 2004, he joined with seven other retired officers in an open letter to President Bush expressing their concern over the number of allegations of abuse of prisoners in U.S. military custody. He is a frequent guest lecturer/commentator on the use of military tribunals to prosecute suspected terrorists.

Click here to read more about the Student Advisory Board members.

Joining Representative Ellison were panel moderator David Schultz of Hamline Law School, Doug Johnson, former executive director of the Center for Victims of Torture, and Professor Barbara Frey, director of the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota. Just days after the tenth anniversary of the elaboration of the torture memos by the Office of White House Counsel, this panel of experts discussed the legacy of Bush administration torture policies.

The panelists noted example after example that showed torture to be not only immoral but ineffective. The United States government has undeniably authorized the use of torture in black sites, in Guantanamo Bay, and in domestic prisons around the country. In light of this, Johnson urged the crowd to "fight this culture of celebrated ignorance" and the "deep belief that my idea is better than empirical fact." To do this, he argued, we must find effective language to engage the broader public in the effort to end torture, including natural rights arguments based in religious and moral traditions. The Golden Rule - treat others as you would have them treat you - is why we need accountability.

Ellison pointed out that "every country has a human rights record to apologize for, so the true mark of a nation that respects human rights is the willingness to confront blemishes and say we can do better--and we can do better." The torture memos signify an era of overblown presidential authority, and that era featured and attempted to justify acts that shock the conscience. He stated further, "It is no shame or dishonor to apologize--it is a shame or dishonor not to apologize."

Professor Frey lauded Representative Ellison's readiness to come forth on this issue: "While it is easy for our elected officials to take a generic stand against torture, very few are pushing for accountability for crimes that have been committed in our name. Representative Ellison is one of those few."

Visit http://www.statefair.umn.edu/ for more information about the University of Minnesota at the State Fair.

The UN work is related to Frey's accomplishments as UN special rapporteur on human rights violations committed with small arms and light weapons. See the Small Arms Principles here. The July trip allowed Laura to witness firsthand the complex world of UN advocacy.

During the last academic year, Laura participated in Professor Jennie Green's human rights law clinic, a course that gives students practical advocacy experience on a variety of human rights issues. One focus of the class is to assist in constructing human rights norms regarding small arms and light weapons. Laura and her classmates have worked for the past two years to document the small arms practices of States Parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to submit reports to the UN Human Rights Committee which monitors compliance with the Covenant. The Human Rights Committee reviews each country's human rights practices approximately every four years. During the review process, non-governmental organizations may submit "shadow" reports to supplement or contradict the country's own reports of human rights treaty compliance. Student in the clinic have prepared seven shadow reports including reports on Kenya and Armenia that were considered in the Committee's July 2012 session. Laura presented the report on Armenia to the Human Rights Committee.

After Professor Frey and Laura Matson concluded their work in Geneva, they travelled to the New York headquarters of the United Nations to observe negotiations in a different process regarding small arms. Throughout July, country delegates from around the world debated language for a binding arms trade treaty that would set limits on the export of arms and munitions in an effort to reduce the flow of weapons to areas suffering conflict and widespread human rights abuses. Professor Frey and Laura observed the treaty negotiations and sat in on meetings with country delegates and NGOs. The small arms conference concluded without agreement on a complete treaty text, and the discussion will likely continue as part of the General Assembly and First Committee. A joint statement offered by over 90 UN Member States noted, with disappointment, the lack of a final outcome at the conference but promised to continue to pursue a robust Arms Trade Treaty that "would bring about a safer world for the sake of all humanity."
For more information on the Human Rights Program's Small Arms and Lights Weapons project, click here.

In reference to the so-called torture memos, Gary King, spokesperson for Amnesty International, said, "The memos were written to provide a legal fig leaf to hide horrible and often deadly abuses of prisoners, including water-boarding. When they became public, some were rescinded by the Bush administration."

"But to this day," King continued, "Bush administration officials are bragging about our journey into war crimes, and offering to do it again. President Obama has said we did in fact torture people, but none of the policy makers, no one who authorized or ordered torture, has been held accountable. And some of the Bush administration tactics -- for example, secret prisons and rendering prisoners to countries that torture -- may well be continuing under the Obama Administration."

A Town Hall Forum marking the 10 year anniversary of the Torture Memos
Monday August 13th 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Mayflower Church UCC, 106 East Diamond Lake Road, Minneapolis

The forum is free and open to the public to attend and participate. Mayflower Church United Church of Christ (UCC) is located at 106 E. Diamond Lake Rd, Mpls 55419, near 35W and East 54th St. Free off street parking. For more information, contact: Gary King, Amnesty International, 763-571-7696; WAMM, 612-827-5364; or Coleen Rowley 952-393-0914.

Sponsored by Amnesty International, WAMM, Center for Victims of Torture, World Without Genocide

The University of Minnesota, The College of St. Benedict /St. John's University, and Teatro del Pueblo, organizers of this annual conference and theater festival are proud to announce the artistic achievements of three of its most recent guests: Carlos Satizábal (Colombia), Patricia Ariza (Colombia), Samir Yazbek (Brasil); and the granting of an International Theater Research Award to Luis A. Ramos-Garcia, founder of the series.

*Carlos Satizábal wins the 2012 Colombian National Poetry Award

The State of Iberoamerican Studies Series group celebrates and congratulates the playwright artist, actor, professor and writer Carlos Satizábal for winning the National Unpublished Poetry Award 2012 in Colombia, thanks to his work "La llama inclinada" exhibited at the international book fair of Bogota. Carlos was in Minnesota in 2010, 2011, and 2012.

*Patricia Ariza Prince Claus (The Netherlands) Award and the Colombian Congress Medal

The International Prince Claus Award honors individuals and organizations reflecting a progressive and contemporary approach to the themes of culture and development. Patricia Ariza received this award as well as the Colombian Congress Medal for her commitment to Universal Human Rights, Peace, and artistic creativeness. Patricia was invited to Minnesota in 2009, and 2011.

*Samir Yazbek (Sao Paulo, Brasil). The Associação Paulista dos Críticos de Arte (APCA) Award 2010 for Best Brazilian writer

One of Brazil's most prominent writers, Yazbek trained under the tutelage of Antunes Filho. His plays have been performed across the world and received translation into English, French & Spanish. Samir's plays include: O Fingidor/The Pretender (Shell Award/1999, best writer); Terra Prometida/Promised Land (among the 10 best plays of 2002, according to the newspaper O Globo); As Folhas do Cedro/Cedar-Tree Leaves (APCA Award 2010 for best writer). Samir will visit Minnesota this coming Fall 2012.

*Luis A. Ramos-Garcia (Lima, Perú). XII Festival Internacional de Teatro de Grupo and Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima-Perú) Award 2011

On September 24, 2011, the XII Festival Internacional de Teatro de Grupo (Brasil, Argentina, España, Perú, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, United States, and México); the I Simposio Iberoamericano de Teatro de Grupo; the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima-Perú); and the Asociación para la Investigación Actoral Cuatrotablas; presented an International Theater Award and recognition to Luis A. Ramos-García (University of Minnesota) "for his transcendental contribution to Peruvian Theater."

The series was sponsored by an Imagine Fund Special Events grant; the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies; Human Rights Program; President's Faculty Multicultural Research Award; Global Spotlight; Global Studies; Teatro del Pueblo; and College of St. Benedict / St. John's University.

The Human Rights Program and Professor Jennifer Green's Human Rights Litigation and International Legal Advocacy Clinic collaborated in March 2012 to provide the United Nations Human Rights Committee with up-to-date information about the effects of small arms and light weapons in the world today.

Students in the law clinic prepared shadow reports on Yemen, the Dominican Republic, and the Philippines, three of the countries being reviewed as part of the Committee's periodic reporting process.

The Human Rights Committee monitors the performance of 167 States that have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Each state party is required to report periodically its human rights record and non-governmental organizations may submit shadow reports that provide additional information to the
committee's members.

A team of University of Minnesota students carried out in-depth research on violations committed by state agents and private actors made possible by easy access to lethal firearms. In the Yemen report, the students noted the indiscriminate killings of more than 2,000 individuals in 2011 when security forces used powerful weapons including AK-47s, sniper rifles, and 22.7 mm machine guns on largely peaceful protestors. The shadow report on the Dominican Republic highlighted the high number of extrajudicial killings by law enforcement officials.

In response to the U of M's work, the committee called on Yemen to implement a program involving "the collection, control, storage, and destruction of unnecessary weapons." The committee also called on the Dominican Republic to eliminate excessive use of force by law enforcement and to ensure that its laws, policies, and practices comply with international norms on firearm use.

Human Rights minor Shannon Golden, a PhD candidate in Sociology, spent most of 2011 in Uganda conducting field research for her dissertation on community reconstruction after atrocity. This slideshow documents her process. First, Shannon spent time getting to know the communities in which she conducted interviews. Then, with a team of research assistants from Uganda, she interviewed people from three villages to find out what they thought about rebuilding following atrocity. Currently, Shannon is analyzing the interviews, and she will begin to write her dissertation soon.

In honor of International Human Rights Day (December 10), Amnesty International hosts the largest human rights event in the world: Write for Rights Global Write-a-thon. Hundreds of thousands of people write letters, participate in postcard campaigns, and demand that the human rights of individuals around the world are respected, protected, and fulfilled. Last year, the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights hosted an event on the University of Minnesota campus that saw 350 people write over 800 letters. This year, we have coordinated our efforts to present students with letters, postcards, and petition signatures written to local, state, national, and international leaders on topics including human trafficking, LGBT rights, torture, and immigration detention, along with letters provided by Amnesty International on rights of prisoners of conscience.

Come join us in the Willey Hall Atrium from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. on Friday, December 9, to stand up for human rights!

University of Minnesota graduate, Lisa Paul, recently returned to the West Bank to share her human rights success story in the form of her newly released memoir, Swimming in the Daylight. Along with discussing her book Lisa awarded the first Inna Meiman Human Rights Award, a scholarship created in the name of Inna Meiman, the inspiration behind Lisa's past human rights advocacy to two current students, Morley Spencer and Nora Radtke.

Swimming in the Daylight commemorates the relationship between Paul and Inna Meiman, a Jewish Russian refusenik, denied a visa to leave the Soviet Union in order to receive cancer treatment abroad as punishment for participation in the Moscow Helsinki Watch Group, the lone human rights advocacy group in the U.S.S.R. during the height of Soviet government control and censorship. In 1985-86, Lisa carried out a 25 day hunger strike to draw national attention to Inna's plight. Her actions spurred national interest in the story and resulted in a visa allowing Inna to come for cancer treatment in the U.S. The Inna Meiman Human Rights Award, created to honor Inna and Lisa's fight for human rights recognizes students at the University of Minnesota who have already shown a dedication to protecting and promoting human rights.

The 2011 award recipients, Spencer and Radtke, friends, colleagues and graduating Global Studies seniors have already shown strong dedication to their studies and future careers to protecting and promoting human rights. Though internships, work and student group involvement Radtke and Spencer have shown time and time again their passion for expanding human rights at home and abroad.

Radtke has worked in various capacities with the Human Rights Program since 2008. As a sophomore, Radtke began interning with Child Protection International (CPI), taking on projects ranging from coordinating events to writing reports to submit to the UN Special Rapporteur on Southern Sudan. While finishing her degree, Radtke, works part-time for the Human Rights Program, is President of the Global Studies Student Association, and serves as a board member for CPI. Human Rights Program Coordinator Rochelle Hammer, who nominated Radtke for this award, stated, "Nora eagerly seeks every opportunity to learn about human rights, to transfer the knowledge she has gained to fellow students, friends, family and colleagues, and to find new ways to advocate for those who suffer" and, "Knowing the background of the award, I have no doubt that if Lisa Paul were to start her hunger strike again tomorrow, Nora would be right behind her, advocating for Inna."

Morley Spencer has also contributed greatly to human rights organizations in the Twin Cities area and abroad. In 2009, Spencer began to intern for the Advocates for Human Rights. In this capacity, she researched and wrote educational human rights materials. After her internship, Spencer continued to volunteer with the Advocates, planning and participating in a variety of events, including legislative advocacy work and tabling at the State Fair. Emily Farrel of the Advocates recommended Spencer for this award, saying, "I am quite impressed with this outstanding young woman and give her my strongest recommendation for professional roles in the future that require intelligence, excellent writing skills, organization, communication skills, human rights service and a positive attitude. She is deserving of recognition for her skills and hard work." Spencer has also volunteered for CPI and has worked in Namibia, where she wrote UN shadow reports and trained students on human rights.

Both Radtke and Spencer are highly deserving of this award and recognition for their work in the human rights field. We congratulate these two passionate activists, wishing them all the best as they continue their work of advancing human rights.

Minneapolis-Twin Cities residents, including several representatives from the Human Rights Program, had the opportunity to witness a February 2 hearing on domestic violence convened on behalf of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Rashida Manjoo. Ms. Manjoo's mandate charges her with the task of reporting on the state of violence against women worldwide. She focuses on four broad areas: violence in the home (domestic abuse, incest, etc.), violence in the community (assault, rape, etc.), violence on the state level (in prisons, condoned by law or practice, etc.) and violence against refugees and other migrants. She visited the area as part of a fact-finding mission in the US. Other areas visited included Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Miami, San Francisco, and New York City.

The purpose of Ms. Manjoo's visit, sponsored by the Advocates for Human Rights, was to listen to the testimonies of community members who had suffered as a result of violence against women and to receive written reports from survivors and activists. Seven women told their stories; two were mothers of victims, while the others were survivors themselves. All reported lives lost and/or destroyed by violence against women. Many made suggestions to improve the legal processes that follow domestic abuse or pointed out stumbling blocks in the system. A few community activists also spoke, adding another perspective to the discussion.

The suggestions and stumbling blocks referenced are:

1. Several mentioned that friends and neighbors knew but did nothing. They either felt threatened by the perpetrator or did not know how to help the woman in need.
2. One woman described her struggles with disability access in the court system. The system's inability to cope with her needs prolonged her legal process, which added to her suffering.
3. Several women noted the time and financial strains of prosecution, which often add to the feelings of powerlessness and impede recovery. Some suggested state funding for victims of domestic abuse as well as a wider availability of state-funded counselors.
4. Others pointed to different problems in the court system: unqualified or disrespectful judges in the family court system, inability to receive restraining orders, the issue of child custody battles, and the repeated release of violent offenders.
5. One activist talked about the increased barriers to justice for refugees and non-native English speakers. The court system seems to have inadequate resources available for these women, in terms of translators and competent legal advice. Additionally, there are extenuating circumstances, such as seeking permanent legal status in the US, that may encourage women to stay with abusive partners.
6. Another activist highlighted the role of men in this systemic problem. Violence against women is perpetrated for the most part by men. Men tend to have more political capital. They are more represented in the policy-making and legal spheres. Therefore, they must be part of the solution. Violence against women cannot continue to be seen as a women's issue.
7. One community member requested that someone make a database of refugees/asylees coming to the US for domestic violence reasons. On occasion, those who perpetrated the violence have also sought refuge in the US. When this is granted, the woman is no longer safe. A database of violent offenders against female refugees would protect these women more fully.
8. Many of the survivors described the pressures on family members, especially children, exposed to this violence. Institutionalized mechanisms to support family members must be strengthened.
9. One theme present in most of the testimonies was the need for education, relevant to signs of domestic abuse and what to do in the case of such violence (as both a victim and a friend or family member).

Ms. Manjoo will be publishing a report on her findings in June of 2011. To read this report, when published, and find out more about work in the Twin Cities area to eliminate violence against women, see the Advocates for Human Rights website (http://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/) and their Stop Violence Against Women Campaign (http://stopvaw.org/).

The Human Rights Program commends the efforts of all of the people who make this event possible, including Ms. Manjoo, the Advocates for Human Rights, all the women giving their testimonies and everyone involved behind the scenes.

This November, the Human Rights Program hosted the visit of Rob Lemkin, director and co-producer of the award-winning documentary, Enemies of the People, for the Minnesota premiere of the film. Enemies of the People follows Thet Sambath,
To learn the highly protected secrets of the Khmer Rouge, Sambath had to earn the trust of Nuon Chea, the highest ranking Khmer Rouge still alive today. It took seven years before Nuon Chea opened up about the innermost decisions of the Khmer Rouge regime to Sambath. Ultimately, Nuon Chea admitted his involvement in decisions that led to systematic killings. Such orders were seen by the Khmer Rouge leaders as necessary to protect the Kampuchean state along the ideological lines that he and Pol Pot had envisioned. Chea, along with four other Khmer Rouge leaders are now awaiting trial at the international criminal tribunal in Cambodia, facing charges of crimes against humanity for the "Killing Fields."

Beyond its value as an explanation of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge, the documentary provides critical insights into the psychology behind genocide violence. Besides its footage of Nuon Chea, the documentary follows the stories of a couple Khmer Rouge foot soldiers who actually carried out the killings as part of the machinery of violence. The low level perpetrators were perhaps initially motivated by ideology, but continued to do the work primarily out of fear and upon the orders of the next higher levels of authority. Mainly, they seemed concerned about how to get the "work" done, and recruited others to help them in the process. Interestingly, when their superiors suddenly told them to stop the killing, they stopped immediately and report that they never practiced violence again. The responses of these perpetrators seem to confirm Hannah Arendt's observations about "the banality of evil," as confirmed by psychological and sociological studies about what makes ordinary people commit genocide. For those interested in learning more about this topic, we recommend Becoming Evil by James Waller (Oxford, 2nd ed. 2007)

Rob Lemkin has worked for many years as a journalist and producer of documentary film, with a special focus on Asia. He met Sambath during an investigatory visit to Cambodia and was struck with the significance of Sambath's work. The partnership resulted in the production of Enemies of the People, with Lemkin and Sambath as co-directors. Lemkin did most of the film work in the documentary, which focuses on Sambath as its protagonist. During Lemkin's time in Minneapolis he met with local educators, students, human rights advocates and community members to discuss his experience building the documentary. At a discussion before the film Lemkin was joined by award-winning author, Patricia Hampl, where the two shared their insights about documenting human rights violations through film and writing. Lemkin discussed the Khmer Rouge's success in gaining power in Cambodia and his personal motivations for producing this beautifully tragic film.

The sold out premiere of Enemies of the People was at the St. Anthony Main Theater. Throughout the film, audience members, including many first and second generation Cambodian survivors of the Killing Fields watched at the edge of their seats, as they heard directly from Nuon Chea and other Khmer Rouge killers how and why 1.7 million Cambodians were "smashed." Following the film, audience members stayed to hear and engage in a panel discussion with Lemkin, HRP Director Barbara Frey, and Cambodian-American and University of Minnesota graduate Vuth Chhunn.
Lemkin and Sambath have received widespread recognition and awards for their film including the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival 2010. They are now in competition with 14 other documentaries to be considered for an Oscar nomination in January.

With 2.7 million IDPs and refugees from the Darfur conflict living in desperate conditions, Williamson questioned the U.S.'s current approach to the Government in Khartoum in relation to a pattern of grave human rights violations. The Obama Administration's approach is characterized by current Special Envoy, Scott Gration's, recent comments: "Kids, countries -- they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement." In response to a question about Gration's comments, Williamson observed, "Making nice with a government that has already made the decision to play hardball despite international opprobrium is not going to change their behavior."

The former Special Envoy expressed serious concern about the violent conditions in the IDP and refugee camps in Darfur and across the Chadian border, recommending that the African Union send troops to police the camps and establish education and centers for women. Williamson touched on the fact that the violence in Darfur has recently decreased but only because there are now fewer targets to be attacked.

The ambassador stressed the importance of the Obama administration remaining engaged in the Sudan peace discussions and taking a larger diplomatic role in the peace processes. He recommended that human rights advocates target key members of Obama's cabinet including Vice President Joe Biden, General Jim Jones, head of the NSC, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The former Special Envoy spent a substantial amount of time discussing the mounting tensions in Southern Sudan saying it was a "rich agricultural land" that is in dire need of capacity building and infrastructure, including the development of schools and roads. Southern Sudan receives less humanitarian aid than other regions of Sudan but has recently seen more international attention due to the dramatic increase in violence that has occurred over the last several months.

Ambassador Williamson touched on other nation's relationships with Sudan including China -- which imports six percent of its oil from Sudan , France -- which uses land in neighboring Chad for military training, Russia -- which is involved in military sales , and Egypt -- which has concerns over the control of the Nile.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been instrumental in advocating for the prosecution of these abusive employers and is confident their work will improve relations between workers and employers.

The coalition has composed a Code of Conduct to support workers rights and is campaigning to get companies to sign on to it. The code of conduct calls for companies to raise wages one cent per pound of tomatoes, improve working conditions and include farm workers themselves in decision making. Yum Brands, the owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and other popular fast-food restaurants has signed the code. The company is now in the process of improving standards for its workers.

Aramark, the food supplier of the University of Minnesota has yet to sign this Code of Conduct. The Coalition is looking for on-campus support to pressure the company to do so and ensure that the tomatoes on the plates at the University of Minnesota are picked by workers who are paid a fair wage and work in suitable conditions. If you are interested in getting involved please contact:

Coalition of Immokalee Workers
PO Box 603, Immokalee, FL 34143
(239) 657-8311
workers@ciw-online.org

The group of interns was able to ask Dr. Samar about the feasibility of universal birth registration in Southern Sudan, an issue they have been studying for the last 6 months as a possible deterrent to child abductions. Dr. Samar agreed that birth registration is an important step, but there are many other steps that must precede it, such as the development of infrastructure and a sound judicial system.

Dr. Samar provided many examples from her work with women and children in Afghanistan as a model framework for possible action in Sudan. She noted that it would be effective for CPI to work in partnership with local civil society group working to end child abductions. In addition, she strongly encouraged the group of interns to advocate their cause to the U.S. Government.

Although her work in Southern Sudan and with the Human Rights Council has proven to be frustrating at times, Dr. Samar argued that "Southern Sudan does not have a choice, the international community does not have a choice, we must be engaged."

For more information about the meeting and to read the memo submitted to Dr. Sima Samar, please visit the Child Protection International section of this website.

Difficulties with disarmament and the integration of small militias into the Sudan's People Liberation Army (SPLA), South Sudan's military, has created great tensions that could reignite into a civil war. In addition to intertribal conflict, South Sudan continues to be attacked by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), another key perpetrator of child abductions in South Sudan.

CPI interns had an opportunity to gather for a celebration in early June when Dan Bernard, a founding member of the Save Yar Campaign, returned to Minnesota on vacation from Cairo, Egypt where he is now working for USAID .

The student-run organization has more than a dozen active volunteers. Another CPI, Kou Solomon, testified June 10 at a Washington, D.C., roundtable discussion hosted by US Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, to recognize the World Day against Child Labor. Kou talked about the need for international action to prevent abductions, like those suffered by his family in 2007, when his two nieces were forcibly abducted by members of a different ethnic group.

Many of the founding members have continued to stay involved in CPI's work as they pursue human rights issues around the world. Each person brings a unique perspective to the table and strengthens the campaign as it moves forward to combat child abductions in South Sudan.

Four CPI interns in collaboration with the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota are busy preparing for their meeting with Dr. Samar. CPI plans on using this opportunity to discuss the issue of child abductions in South Sudan and gather information on how this issue has been affected by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005. The interns are working hard to become experts on all aspects of Sudan, including ethnic conflicts and how they play into the continuation of internal violence, disarmament and the issue of security for specific groups and the history of cattle raids as they are used as a method for child abductions.

CPI hopes to use this information to enforce their campaign for birth registration in South Sudan and in their ultimate goal of eradicating child abductions from South Sudan.

Nora Radtke, CPI Intern, explains the importance of birth registration, "A birth certificate is the door to all other rights, such as identity, education and healthcare." Having a legitimate birth certificate also protects children from sexual, economic, and military exploitation and is a fundamental step toward protecting children from disappearing.

To frame the issue of universal birth registration, students provided a case study of a successful birth registration campaign in Sierra Leone carried out by UNICEF and Plan International. Although Sudan and Sierra Leone are quite different in many respects looking to Sierra Leone, another African nation, provides a useful model for future projects in Sudan. Many of the experts emphasized the importance of Sudan's political instability, with special attention to President Omar Al Bashir, in implementing a birth registration campaign. Without government backing, local, national and regional support, such a campaign would be short lived and ineffective.

The question of US government aid in Sudan was a hot topic among attendees. Students presented an argument as to why USAID should adopt birth registration as an integral part of their agenda. Already spending millions of dollars on Education, Health Care and Security, it is essential that USAID include birth registration in order to assure these rights for their beneficiaries after they have left the country.

Sima Samar, UN Special Rapporteur on Sudan, will be visiting Minneapolis on June 22, 2009 as part of the Human Rights Law and Policy Conference. To prepare for this event students have written her a memo underlining the importance of birth registration in South Sudan to end child trafficking and other larger issues that a Special Rapporteur may be concerned with. Attendees stressed that Sima Samar is incredibly burdened with the Darfur situation, therefore the issue of birth registration must be argued within the larger context of issues within Sudan.

Overall the event was a great success allowing students, faculty and experts to question, brainstorm and strategize future goals for CPI's campaign for universal birth registration.

For more information on CPI's birth registration campaign and to access presentations please visit the CPI section of the HRP website.

To read the full article please click on the following link:
http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2009/04/23/8283/states_human_rights_advocate

In the past 15 years, Rosenthal's organization has documented violations in many countries, using video evidence of the severe mistreatment of individuals in state institutions, including extended isolation, restraints and shock therapy. MDRI was a key advocate in the elaboration and adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), a treaty which, according to Rosenthal, has guarantees for mentally disabled persons that are broader than almost any government currently has in its own national laws.

Rosenthal and MDRI will receive the 2009 Human Rights Award of the American Psychiatric Association for "overall career and life achievement as a champion of human rights."

Rosenthal's advice to emerging human rights advocates is to do field work ("Get as close to the problem as you can"), and to address real human suffering by finding a problem that compels you, determine what skills you need to address the problem and then gaining those skills.

Dean Brian Atwood of the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs, a long time
friend and colleague of President Johnson Sirleaf, set the tone for the President's address by
explaining the very special relationship shared between the U.S. and Liberia, and the
extraordinary improvements that the President has brought to her post-conflict country.
The transformation Liberia has undergone over the past three years includes a two billion
dollar international debt reduction, strong efforts to fight corruption, restoration of
infrastructure, scholarships for young girls to attend school and the planned construction of
a new University and three community colleges.

"Perhaps the best progress we have achieved is in restoring hope....the future is ours to
reclaim", President Johnson Sirleaf said to the inspired crowd.

Although President Johnson Sirleaf called upon the large population of Liberians in
Minnesota to return home, she understands the difficulties of repatriation, and would like to
establish some form of permanent status for the Liberians living abroad.
When asked what her secret was to becoming such a powerful, strong willed and determined
woman who has accomplished so many great things, the President responded with "Every
rung on the ladder gives you inspiration that there's another step to reach."

In 2008, Mexico amended its Constitution to require a dramatic reform to the penal procedure, including a shift from an inquisitorial, or written procedural, to an oral adversarial procedure with stricter requirements to protect due process. Whether those reforms are implemented in a manner which truly protects human rights is a concern that our Mexico-Minnesota collaboration seeks to address. Over the next year, the Human Rights Program and FLACSO-Mexico faculty will put together a program of research and training on how judicial power in Mexico can be used to ensure due process in the criminal justice system, especially in the face of public security concerns.

As part of this collaboration, the Human Rights Program is pleased to host a visit in July-August 2009 by FLACSO Political Science Professor, Karina Ansolabehere. Professor Ansolabehere is an expert on the political culture of the Mexican judiciary. In addition, Hollie Nyseth, a Human Rights Minor from the University of Minnesota, will spend six weeks in Mexico this summer at the Mexico City Human Rights Commission researching the human rights impacts of the criminal justice reforms.

Vorgetts' passion for the women of Afghanistan shone through as she addressed the problems outlined by Professor Ní Aoláin. In 1986, Vorgetts was exiled from her home country of Afghanistan. Returning years later, she found her country devastated by war in which the status of women had greatly deteriorated. "You can never bring peace by gun or bomb", explained Vorgetts as she discussed the consequences faced by the women of Afghanistan as a result of the mujahedeen/Taliban take over and the subsequent invasion by U.S. forces. Vorgetts highlighted the important issues the women of Afghanistan must battle on a daily basis; the lack of girl's education, domestic violence, impunity for abusive husbands and imprisonment for leaving the home. Fahima Vorgetts' organization, Women for Afghan Women (WAW), has been working to help the women of Afghanistan through community outreach and human rights advocacy. WAW has built schools, offered classes for parents, started sewing initiatives to provide economic independence, and offered vocational training.

After the opening ceremony the crowd dispersed to enjoy the day's activities which included various workshops, films and art exhibits that addressed issues concerning young Latina leadership, immigration policy and its affect on children and families, sex trafficking in Minnesota, reproductive rights in light of the new administration, HIV/AIDS, women's activism in the Muslim world and many more issues facing women today.

"Seeing people being open about things that are important in women's lives that we aren't allowed to talk about where I'm from or in my family was empowering for me and enabled me to see what I can be like someday -- an advocate for these wonderful causes" - Participant

Our 2009 theme, Transforming the World through Women’s Voices, highlights the critical role women play in creating a world of equality, non-violence and justice for all. We will raise our voices in song with two local musicians as we begin the day and continue to speak out in the many workshops addressing human rights issues of women and girls. At the end of the day, we will view a segment of “We Will Harbor You,�? a locally-produced film that portrays the activism of Minnesota women who broke the silence around domestic violence and gave birth to the battered women’s shelter movement.

Some of the workshops include:

Women’s Activism in the Muslim World

The typical image of the Muslim woman in Western media is veiled, quiet, married very early in life, and lacking decision-making power. The media concentrate stories on the veil and female genital cutting, but not on the diversity of views that Muslim women hold on these topics. Women’s agency in many Muslim societies often goes under-reported. However, there are a number of women’s organizations in Muslim countries that seek to place women’s rights on the public agenda. This workshop seeks to contrast the Western media portrayal of women in the Muslim world with the varying forms of activism which currently exist.

Dr. Leila DeVriese, Hamline University

A New Era for Reproductive Rights Here and Abroad:
The Obama Administration, the Supreme Court and Health Care Reform

Lifting the global gag rule, reinstating $235 million in family planning funding to the UNFPA, and moving forward with stem cell research are just a few reversals with the change from the Bush to the Obama administrations. But in light of the current make up of the Supreme Court, do we still need to be concerned about the future of Roe v. Wade? A huge population of young women uses family planning clinics as their primary care provider in lieu of a personal or family doctor. Where do these young women and their reproductive health fit into the new models of health care reform? This workshop will take an overall look locally, nationally and internationally at the new future of reproductive health.

Sarah Craven, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Tim Stanley, Planned Parenthood of MN, ND, SD
Representative Erin Murphy, Minnesota House Health & Human Services Committee
Kathleen Murphy, Midwest Health Center for Women

¡Ubícate! Engaging Young Latinas in Leadership

This workshop, presented by Casa de Esperanza’s Latina Youth Peer Educators, is an opportunity for organizations that work with Latina youths or are interested in creating a peer education program for Latino youth to learn firsthand the issues affecting young Latinas in Minnesota and the impact that participation in this program has had on Latina youth. The Peer Education Initiative is a tool to encourage the self-development of Latina youth through peer education by enhancing their abilities to identify their own strengths and talents and to use them in educating other youths about topics important to Latino youth, including healthy relationships, teen dating violence, self-esteem and body image and gender roles in the media.

Lumarie Orozco and peer educators Kimberly Cedillo, Jessica Limontitla, Alejandra Mejia, Alejandra Ortiz, Chelsea Spellerberg and Erika Vasquez, Casa de Esperanza

Here’s Where We Start: How Men Can Help Prevent Sexual and Domestic Violence.

This workshop will explore the environment in which sexual and domestic violence flourishes and identify five social norms which support it. Using a public health model of primary prevention, the presentation will provide participants with opportunities for action and suggestions for solutions. It will also explain how the Minnestoa Men’s Action Network is working statewide to involve men in this effort.

Frank Jewell, Men as Peacemakers, and Chuck Derry, Gender Violence Institute

Sex Trafficking in Minnesota: Past, Present and Future

This interactive session will discuss historical and recent responses to prostitution and what we now call sex trafficking in Minnesota by comparing and contrasting responses at the federal and state levels. It will also explore current grassroots and legislative advocacy on this issue in Minnesota. Presenters will equip participants with tools to dispel myths about sex trafficking and prostitution, to raise awareness of the needs of trafficked and prostituted persons, and to prevent this grave human rights violation.

Mary C. Ellison, The Advocates for Human Rights, and Angela Bortel, The Bortel Firm, LLC

Join us as we celebrate the many signs of hope and strength that women’s voices bring to a world yearning for peace and justice.

Saturday, March 14th 2009
8:00am-3:30pm
Coffman Memorial Union – University of Minnesota
300 Washington Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

http://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/International_Women_s_Day6.html

The report found that while many American companies use weak U.S. laws to stop workers from organizing, the retail giant stands out for the sheer magnitude and aggressiveness of its anti-union apparatus. Many of its anti-union tactics are lawful in the United States, though they combine to undermine workers' rights. Others run afoul of soft U.S. laws.

"I like to think about it as a 'death by small cuts' strategy," Pier told the audience gathered at the University of Minnesota Law School. "And the effect is devastating."

In the course of her research, Pier interviewed dozens of current and former Wal-Mart "associates" (the term the company uses for its employees) and supervisors in six states and pored through thousands of pages of material from the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that enforces U.S. labor law.

Wal-Mart uses a subtle form of union-busting that starts with new employee orientation, where training includes watching an anti-union video, Pier said. The corporation has a 24-hour hotline for managers to report any signs of union organizing activity and a "labor relations team" is quickly dispatched to assess the situation.

Depending on the level of union activity, workers may be subjected to mandatory "captive audience" meetings where they are lectured on the evils of unionism. In some stores, Wal-Mart has crossed the line from subtle to heavy-handed by conducting surveillance on employees, disciplining and firing some.

When those actions are taken – clearly in violation of U.S. labor law – the failings of the system become clear, Pier said. Wal-Mart takes advantage of the exceedingly slow NLRB process to draw out cases for years. When a worker finally wins a case, the company faces no penalty – other than the requirement to reinstate the worker with back pay (minus anything he or she earned in other employment) and to post a notice saying "they won't do it again."

With nearly 1 million employees in the United States, Wal-Mart is the country's largest private employer. Yet none of these workers belongs to a union. Employees at two stores in Quebec, Canada, finally won union representation, but both stores have been closed – the second one earlier this month.

The International Labor Organization has cited the lack of penalties – and the fact that workers can be "permanently replaced" if they strike – as reasons that U.S. labor law fails to meet international human rights standards, Pier said.

The proposed Employee Free Choice Act – supported by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and many Congressional Democrats – would address some of the shortcomings in U.S. labor law by levying fines of up to $20,000 for each violation and permitting workers to choose union representation by signing cards, bypassing the drawn-out NLRB election process during which many employer violations occur.

Still, Pier worries the new law would not be effective without a broader campaign to improve people's knowledge of unions. Companies like Wal-Mart could still continue the kind of early union-busting – such as showing videos during employee orientation – that create a chilling climate for organizing.

"EFCA will help," Pier said of the proposed legislation. "EFCA's necessary. I don't think it's the fix."

Pier's talk was sponsored by The Institute for Global Studies and the University of
Minnesota's Human Rights Program and co-sponsored by the Labor Education Service, publisher of Workday Minnesota.

For more information
Read Pier's report, "Discounting Rights: Wal-Mart's Violation of U.S. Workers' Right to Freedom of Association," http://hrw.org/reports/2007/us0507/

This article was taken from Workday Minnesota

On Thursday October 16 Human Rights Program Director Barbara Frey joined a panel of experts to discuss the legal issues involved in the proposed Arms Trade Treaty being considered by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN Professor Frey has worked extensively on the issue of small arms control and is the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Prevention of Human Rights Violations Committed with Small Arms and Lights Weapons. More information on Small Arms and Light Weapons is available on the Human Rights Program’s website, accessible by clicking here.

The UN panel was sponsored by Amnesty International as an effort to understand the issues involved in drafting a treaty to establish common international criteria for arms exports. Since 2003 Amnesty International, Oxfam, and International Action Network have spearheaded the Control Arms Campaign, an international movement in support of the Arms Trade Treaty.

The Control Arms Campaign states that its ultimate goal is to reduce the human causalities associated with the proliferation of small arms. The proposed Arms Trade Treaty looks to create international standards on the use, management, and transfer of arms, based on the following “5 Golden Rules:�? “States shall not authorize international transfers of conventional arms or ammunition where they will:
(i) be used or are likely to be used for gross violations of international human rights law or serious violations of international human rights law.
(ii) have an impact that would clearly undermine sustainable development or involve corrupt practices;
(iii) provoke or exacerbate armed conflict in violation of their obligations under the UN Charter and existing treaties.
(iv) contribute to an existing pattern of violent crime.
(v) risk being diverted for one of the above outcomes or for acts of terrorism.�?

Barbara Frey was joined on the panel by Clare de Silva, a lawyer from Amnesty International, and Robert M Young from the International Committee of the Red Cross. Professor Frey’s briefing focused on the human rights obligations of states who export arms into situations where there is a high probability that they will be used to commit atrocities.

Currently, the Arms Trade Treaty is gaining traction in the General Assembly. Several countries have recently finished drafting an Arms Trade Treaty resolution, which includes the mandate for an Open Ended Working Group that will meet in 2009 to discuss how to best formulate and implement an arms control treaty in the framework of the UN. For further information about the Control Arms Campaign and the Arms Trade Treaty visit their website.

Sudan’s Vice President Ali Osman Taha speaks in parliament in the capital Khartoum on July 14 2008 (AFP)

In a meeting held Monday evening on the sideline of the United Nations Assembly General meeting, Taha urged the regional body to strongly request the UN Security Council to defer the prosecution and the investigation by the ICC.

"We hope that your meeting today comes out with strong and clear request to the Security Council to rectify the situation and overcome the request of the International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor" Taha said today in New York.

"We also hope that the meeting of the General Assembly provides an opportunity for the Council to coordinate in this regard with all regional and international organizations that rejected the ICC prosecutor move, to work with it and the African countries members of the Security Council to achieve what is requested according to a clear mechanism and timeframe for action." Taha stressed.

The African Union had asked the U.N. Security Council to invoke article 16 of Rome Statue and suspend any indictment of Sudan’s head of state.

Libya and South Africa sought to force a suspension in the UNAMID extension resolution adopted on July 31 but failed to get the required number of votes and instead accepted a watered down paragraph taking note of the African Union (AU) concern regarding the ICC move.

Since the issue was not raised by any delegation.

Hopes for the introduction of an Article 16 resolution appear to be fading primarily due to the stances of the veto wielding Western members of the UNSC namely US, UK and France.

UK and France diplomats hinted to their desire to see concessions from Sudan before they would consider supporting such a resolution.

But the US, which had long standing opposition to the ICC, appeared uncompromising on bringing war crimes perpetrators to justice. Washington abstained from voting on the UNAMID extension resolution over the text which included reference to the AU concern over Bashir’s indictment.

Taha also urged the AU peace and Security Council to ensure the collaboration of "all the concerned parties" to bring rebels to the table of negotiations, saying government efforts to end the crisis could not be successful without reaching a peaceful solution with them.

He also spoke about Khartoum efforts to implement Abuja peace agreement particularly the deal reached with the former rebel leader who returned to Darfur to protest the ill implementation of the 2006 peace deal.

(ST)

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article28715

Dawes, professor of U.S. and Comparative Literature at Macalester College and author of That the World May Know: Bearing Witness to Atrocity, and Hampl, a creative writing professor in the Department of English at the University of Minnesota and author of the memoir, The Florist's Daughter, among several other award-winning books, engaged in a thoughtful discussion about exposing human rights abuses using the written word.

According to Dawes, "human rights work is fundamentally a matter of storytelling." But, this storytelling, not just using words, but also images, can sometimes have unintended consequences. Dawes relayed once such instance that took place in Dakha, Bangladesh. A group of prisoners were massacred in front of a group of photographers in Dakha during the 1971 War of Independence from Pakistan. Two photographers, who did not intervene in the violence choosing rather to document the killings on film, were given Pulitzer Prizes for using their photography to get the stories out to the rest of the world. It could be argued that getting the story out, in this case, was a kind of complicity with the violence - that the presence of the cameras actually incited the soldiers to greater violence to create a spectacle for the rest of the world. Ultimately, it was the photos, when viewed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, that spurred the Indian Government to take action to stop the violence and future killings. However, as evidenced in this case, telling the story can sometimes be a part of the tragedy itself.

Emily Bright, the 2007-08 Scribe, contributed to the evening by reading from her writing on the student-led movement to stop child abductions in South Sudan. For several months, Emily followed the work of a group of students committed to addressing the abduction of one of the students' two young nieces. Emily spoke eloquently about observing the students doing their work, while acknowledging her own feelings regarding the abducted children, and the challenges faced as she tracked the project's progress.

Our newest Scribe, Katie Leo, is currently conducting research, volunteering, and engaging communities in dialogue to learn more about various human rights issues. Katie has spoken with local Hmong-American artists and community members regarding the desecration of Hmong burial sites in Thailand and has volunteered at the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission's public hearings in St. Paul in June. Her experience thus far has informed her about the process of community reconciliation and the importance of creating a shared group narrative. Katie is particularly interested in the power that shaping language has over human rights work, as discussed in the Dawes book. Katie will continue to write and research around these issues as a key part of her Scribes Fellowship.

As we proceed with the Scribes project we are gently reminded that there is always a story behind the stories. In exposing and reporting on human rights abuses, the writer has to come to terms with the moral and ethical questions that often arise. If the story is exposed, will people be in danger because of it? How many people are endangered if the story is not exposed? Whose story is it? Is it a writer's duty to tell the story? We are thankful to James Dawes and Patricia Hampl for allowing us to sit in on their dialogue on these very tough questions.

Since its inception in October, the Save Yar Campaign, with support from the Human Rights Program, has made strides in raising awareness about intertribal child abduction in South Sudan and influencing action by South Sudanese and U.S. officials. Much work remains in untangling the many social and economic problems that contribute to child abduction.

After a March fact-finding trip to Juba, South Sudan, Campaign members Robyn Skrebes and Kaitlin Dougherty returned to the U.S., while Kou Solomon remained. Kou met with dozens of governmental and nongovernmental officials, and pressed leaders to examine the underlying causes of violations of children's rights and to seek possible solutions. Notably, Solomon met with two top presidential advisers and held multiple interviews with Governor Juuk of Jonglei state, the epicenter of this intertribal child abduction. In conversations with Solomon, the Governor emphasized the challenges facing law enforcement and the urgent need for paved roads and walkie talkies which would make policing the area easier. The Campaign carried forward these requests, balanced with a call for development aid targeting the poverty and illness that fuel the conflicts behind child abduction.

Campaign members continue to pressure elected representative and other leaders in the U.S. to address child abduction. In June, campaign members Tracy Baumgardt and Madeline Thaden traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with international experts regarding the efforts of the Save Yar Campaign. Late in July, Daniel Lynx Bernard, traveled with Baumgardt and Solomon to D.C. for a congressional briefing sponsored by Congresswoman Betty McCollum. Joining the trio in providing statements was Eric G. Berman, managing director of the Geneva-based think tank, the Small Arms Survey. The group drew attention to the relatively unknown patterns of child abduction in South Sudan and emphasized the unique affront to human rights and the destabilizing ripple effects upon the region.

In April, Save Yar Campaign members took the next step to form an umbrella organization to carry on the initial campaign and apply its lessons to other under-examined patterns of child abduction around the world. Members are working to formalize Child Protection International (CPI), an independent nongovernmental organization. In June, CPI announced its first Steering Committee which includes HRP Director Barbara Frey, and long-time Save Yar Campaign members Bernard, Thaden, Baumgardt, and Amelia Corl. Skrebes, an Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellow with CPI, is serving as Executive Director. CPI will hold its first annual meeting in August.