Human Rights Institute ANNUAL REPORT 2013–2014 the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School
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Human Rights Institute ANNUAL REPORT 2013–2014 The Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School The Human Rights Institute sits at the heart of human rights teach- ing, practice, and scholarship at Columbia Law School. Founded in 1998 by the late Professor Louis Henkin, the Institute draws on the Law School’s deep human rights tradition to support and influence human rights practice in the United States and throughout the world. The activities of the Human Rights Clinic are included in the Institute’s work, enabling us to multiply our impact on the field and engage stu- dents more fully in our efforts. The Institute currently focuses its work in several substantive areas: Human Rights in the United States; Counterterrorism, Armed Conflict, and Human Rights; Human Rights in the Global Economy; and Human Rights and Rule of Law in Burma. We have developed distinct approaches to work in each area, building bridges between scholar- ship and activism, developing capacity within the legal community, engaging governments, and modeling new strategies for progress. This report details our activities from September 2013–August 2014. CONTENTS Human Rights Initiatives 2013–2014 1 Human Rights in the United States 1 Counterterrorism, Armed Conflict, and Human Rights 7 Human Rights and the Global Economy 9 Human Rights and Rule of Law in Burma 11 Events 12 Continuing Legal Education Events 12 Conferences and Workshops 12 Speaker Series 15 Publication Highlights 19 Faculty and Staff 20 Affiliated Researchers and Advisers 24 Welcome New Institute Faculty and Staff 25 Spotlight on Alumni 27 human rights initiatives 2013–2014 Human Rights in the United States The Institute’s Human Rights in the United States Project develops the capacity of A centerpiece of the U.S. lawyers, policymakers, and advocates to incorporate a human rights framework Institute’s Human into domestic advocacy efforts. We build networks, facilitate trainings, conduct educational outreach, and promote coordination among progressive public policy Rights in the United and advocacy groups. The Project also directly contributes to the development of States Project, our legal theories and positive precedents based on international law through work on Bringing Human select litigation before U.S. courts, in international and regional fora, and through other research and advocacy projects. Rights Home (BHRH) Lawyers’ Network Building the Field of Domestic has grown to more than Human Rights Lawyers 730 members, including individuals working A centerpiece of the Institute’s Human Rights in the United States Project, our Bringing Human Rights Home (BHRH) Lawyers’ Network has grown to more than 730 members, in more than 37 states including individuals working in more than 37 states across the U.S. The membership of across the U.S. our BHRH Lawyers’ Network is drawn from approximately 200 advocacy and legal ser- vices organizations, 50 universities and law schools, and a number of private law firms, as well as state and local human rights bodies. Our members, who range from law students to attorneys in practice for more than 50 years, are dedicated to using international law and human rights strategies as part of their domestic advocacy efforts. This year’s bian- nual BHRH Network meetings brought members together to discuss common challenges, engage in strategic discussions, and develop joint strate- gies and projects on issues including U.N. advocacy, U.S. policy initiatives, U.S. matters before the Inter-American Commission, and pending cases in U.S. courts. We con- vened periodic meetings of the Network’s Working Group on the Inter-American System and also launched a new Working Group on Local Human Rights Lawyering, in conjunction with American University Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. Through the former group, the Institute facilitated peri- odic communication and meetings among Network mem- bers, the U.S. State Department, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In between meetings, BHRH Network members stayed connected through the BHRH Lawyers’ Network listserv and participated in two Continuing Legal Education programs (see Events, page 12). Members also made use of the Institute’s U.S. Human Rights Online Library, our online clearinghouse for The fall 2013 Bringing Human Rights Home Lawyers’ Network Meeting domestic human rights resources, including sample briefs, pleadings, and other materials relevant to this work. ANNUAL REPORT 2013–2014 1 human rights initiatives 2013–2014 State and Local Implementation of Human Rights State and local governments play a key role in ensuring that the United States meets its human rights treaty obligations. The Institute works to strengthen human rights protec- tions in the United States by building the capacity of state and local officials to implement human rights at the local level, and by advocating for federal support and coordination of these efforts. Under the direction of JoAnn Kamuf Ward, associate director of the Institute’s Human Rights in the U.S. Project, and the Institute’s Executive Director Risa Kaufman, the Institute engages in direct outreach to state and local officials and agencies, as well as conducts federal and international advocacy on these issues. As part of this work, the Institute chairs the Human Rights at Home (HuRAH) Campaign’s State and Local Government Subcommittee, bringing together state and local government officials and advocates from across the country to develop and implement strategies to incorporate human rights into local law, policy, and practice. In the past year, the Institute has strengthened its relationships with state and local human rights agencies throughout the U.S. and developed important new relationships with mayors and other local officials to iden- Left to right: Mayor Ralph Becker of tify opportunities to bring human rights home. We have done Salt Lake City and Mississippi Attorney this primarily through the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies Jim Hood General at the ICCPR (IAOHRA) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. review in Geneva In addition, the Institute develops resources and provides technical support to assist state and local officials in translating international human rights principles into local prac- tice. This year, we assisted the Tennessee Human Rights Commission in developing state- wide human rights hearings and traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, to present testimony on effective local human rights strategies. In August, we released a new toolkit on human rights impact audits and assessments, drawing on the experiences of five local jurisdictions that are using these tools. Also this year, the Institute intensified its efforts to advocate for federal support of state and local human rights implementation. The Institute led international advocacy on this issue through its participation in the March 2014 U.N. Human Rights Committee’s review of U.S. compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as the August 2014 U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination’s review of U.S. compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Along with our partner IAOHRA, the Institute submitted shadow reports and traveled to Left to right: Executive Director Geneva for both reviews to highlight state and local efforts to advance Risa Kaufman and Faculty Co-Director human rights and detail the need for federal support and coordination of this work. At the Sarah Cleveland conclusion of the reviews, both the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination issued recommendations consistent with the Institute’s submissions. 2 HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTE human rights initiatives 2013–2014 Access to Justice In response to the crisis in unmet civil legal needs, the Institute is strengthening human rights advocacy efforts to secure meaningful access to counsel in civil cases. Led by Executive Director Risa Kaufman, working with Institute Project Attorney Erin Foley Smith ’10, the Institute is enlisting and supporting legal services and the wider U.S. access to justice community to deepen advocacy efforts at the U.N. and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. This year, much of our access to justice work focused on the U.N. human rights treaty reviews. In conjunction with the U.N. Human Rights Committee’s review of U.S. compliance with the ICCPR in March 2014, the Institute drafted and submitted a coalition shadow report detailing the civil justice gap in the United States and recom- mending federal reforms to ensure that people who are low-income and poor have meaningful access to legal representation in cases where basic human needs are at stake, including in immigration proceedings. With our partner Northeastern University School of Law’s Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE), the Institute filed a similar report with the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination for its August 2014 review of U.S. compliance with the CERD. The Institute participated in the civil society delegation to both the ICCPR and CERD reviews in Geneva to raise awareness around the issue with the commit- tees and the U.S. government delegations, and engaged in wider public education around the issue. Our efforts resulted in strong recommendations from both committees. The U.N. Human Rights Committee recommended that the U.S. provide access to legal representation for immigrants and for domestic violence victims. The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination recommended the U.S. guarantee access to legal representation in all immigration-related matters and allocate sufficient Left to right: Human Rights Clinic resources to ensure effective access to legal representation in civil proceed- students Sara Osama Kayyali ’14, ings implicating basic needs. Paula Ximena Mendez Azuela ’14 The Institute is working to translate and leverage this international success to support LL.M., Ami Shah ’15, and Caroline domestic litigation and advocacy.