Update from the Human Rights Committee

The primary goals of the ILS Human Rights Committee this fall was to encourage more substantive discussion on current topics in the international human rights realm and participate in activities related to those issues. In order to do so, the committee implemented several mechanisms to facilitate dialogue concerning the major interests of committee members during its bi-weekly meetings, including: international criminal law, human trafficking, labor conditions, immigration/refugee law, and issues concerning women, gender, and children. Many of these topics will also be touched on in the spring semester.

The theme of the first several meetings was international justice, and we asked committee members to read Judge Richard Goldstone’s “The Future of International Criminal Justice – Evolving Accountability from Nuremberg to the International Criminal Court,” which was presented at a Penn State Law Symposium. Goldstone was the chief prosecutor during the early days of the ICTY and hence the article gives a sweeping look at international justice in the last 60 years, touching on Nuremberg, the Tokyo Trials, the formation of the ICTY and ICTR, and creation of the ICC through the ratification and implementation of the Rome Treaty. Members shared their experience working with various NGOs, tribunals, and other human rights organizations, as well as presented their opinions on whether they agreed with Goldstone’s premises of the progress of international justice. The committee also organized a film outing and discussed impressions of Nuremberg, the Schulberg/Waletzky restoration of the historic 1946 U.S. documentary. The NYC Film Forum’s screening marked the first time the documentary’s remarkable footage—from the Nuremberg trials as well as Allied Force’s liberation of the concentration camps—had been shown in the United States.

In order to foster communication outside of its meetings, the committee also created its own blog entitled “BLS Human Rights Committee” at http://blshumanrights.blogspot.com to 1) promote relevant events related to the law and human rights taking place at BLS and in the greater NYC area; 2) circulate articles/reports/websites that are of interest; and 3) provide a discussion forum on these topics.

The current focus of the committee is the planning of events for next spring. Already there are several ideas in the works, including roundtable discussions on the 2010 Senate immigration reform bill and Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process of domestic human rights implementation as well as a potential panel focusing on international justice. Because the committee was able to accomplish a variety of undertakings during this fall semester, it is now in a position to achieve even more this coming spring. Please be on the lookout and don’t forget to visit the new blog!

— Written by Laura A. Gretz and Brigitte Hamadey, Co-Chairs of the ILS Human Rights Committee


A version of this article appeared in print in the December 2010 issue of the Bridge.