Human Rights Brief Volume 17 | Issue 3 Article 13 2010 Center News/Faculty and Staff pU dates Human Rights Brief Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief Part of the Legal Education Commons Recommended Citation Human Rights Brief. "Center News/Faculty and Staff pdU ates." Human Rights Brief 17, no.3 (2010): 72-74. This Column is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Human Rights Brief by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. : Center News/Faculty and Staff Updates CENTER NEWS/FACULTY AND STAFF UPDATES ceNter NeWs Immigration and Customs Enforcement, of conduct that constitute customary law; U.S. Department of Homeland Security). the place of legal dualism in a mod- centeR’s progRam On Human neha Misra (Solidarity Center, AFL- ern constitutional state; intersections of tRafficking anD fORceD laBOR CIO), Ann Jordan, (Program Director, customary law and gender, particularly HOsts cOnfeRence examining OBama Center’s Program on Human Trafficking with respect to land tenure rights; and the aDministRatiOn’s approacH tO and Forced Labor), and Bama Athreya inclusion of customary law in national cOmBating tRafficking anD fORceD (International Labor Rights Forum) served and regional courts. sanele sibanda, lec- laBOR as moderators. turer at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, delivered the keynote The Center for Human Rights and speech on whether modern conceptions Humanitarian Law’s Program on Human u.s.-isRael civil liBeRties laW of democracy and human rights provide a Trafficking and Forced Labor, along with fellows progRam celeBRates 25 role for customary law in advancing human the International Labor Rights Forum yeaRs; professOR HeRman scHWaRtz rights or enriching the constitutional state. and the Solidarity Center (AFL-CIO), HOnOReD Other speakers included Professor Francis hosted a conference on March 24 entitled To celebrate the 25th anniversary of ssekandi (Columbia Law School), “Combating Human Trafficking and Forced the US-Israel Civil Liberties Law Fellows Caroline sage (World Bank), Professor Labor: The Obama Administration’s Global Program, the Washington College of Law Christine Zuni Cruz (University of New Agenda.” The conference focused on cur- (WCL) hosted a panel discussion on March Mexico), Professor Ezra Rosser (WCL), rent efforts to curb the circulation of goods 22 entitled, “Celebrating 25 Years of the Professor Rachel Rebouché (WCL), made with forced or trafficked labor within US-Israel Civil Liberties Law Fellows Hadar Harris (Center for Human Rights the United States; gaps in legal protections Program: The Future of Human Rights in and Humanitarian Law), and Professor for domestic workers and the possibil- Israel.” Moderated by Center for Human todd Eisenstadt (American University ity of improving their work conditions in Rights and Humanitarian Law Executive School of Public Affairs). Please see the the new International Labor Organization Director Hadar Harris, this dynamic article by Sanele Sibanda in this issue for convention on domestic workers; and new discussion featured four past graduates more information. strategies for ensuring that programs and of the program: Joshua schoffman (for- policies are evidence based and focused mer Deputy Attorney General of Israel), on reducing the numbers of victims and sawsan Zaher (staff attorney, Adalah), Wcl/univeRsity Of pesHaWaR protecting the rights of victims. A rich Moshe Cohen-Eliya (Senior Lecturer at cOllaBORative excHange anD discussion was held with Ana Avendano Ramat Gan Law School, and Durgham capacity BuilDing progRam: up (Assistant to the President for Immigration saif (attorney and former faculty at Haifa progRam DiRectOR visits centeR, and Community Action, AFL-CIO), Carol University’s Arab Minority Clinic). A leaDs DiscussiOn On genDeR anD Pier (Associate Deputy Undersecretary, moving dinner honoring longtime WCL Human RigHts in pakistan Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Professor Herman schwartz, followed the As part of the Washington College of U.S. Labor Department), Antonia Pena roundtable. For more on the Program and a Law-University of Peshawar Collaboration (domestic worker and leader at Casa de profile of Professor Schwartz, please see Program, administered through the Center Maryland, a non-profit organization pro- the article in this issue. for Human Rights and Humanitarian viding legal services to immigrants), Jane Law, Professor nasir Khattak from the sigmon (Senior Coordinator for Programs, University of Peshawar (UP), Pakistan, centeR HOsts cOnfeRence On Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking visited the Center to discuss the project and custOmaRy (tRaDitiOnal) laW in Persons, U.S. State Department), its next steps. The Collaboration Program, Matt Friedman (Regional Programme On February 15, the Center for Human which aims to build the capacity of UP fac- Manager, UN Inter-agency Project on Rights and Humanitarian Law, the Human ulty members in the areas of human rights Human Trafficking (Thailand, China, Rights Brief, and the WCL International and gender studies, has already brought Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam)), Human Rights Law Clinic hosted an all- four UP faculty members to pursue their Kathy Blakeslee (Director, Women in day conference entitled, “Custom, Law Ph.D.s throughout American University Development, USAID), Marcia Eugenio and Tradition: Alternative Legal Systems (AU). Two more fellows are expected to (Director, Office of Child Labor, Forced and Their Impact on Human Rights.” The come to AU in fall 2010. In addition, Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau conference explored the underrepresented on March 16, Professor Khattak spoke of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Labor issue of the intersection of customary to a packed auditorium at WCL about Department), Christian Levesque (Conrad law and human rights in traditional soci- “The Challenges of Supporting Gender and & Scherer, LLP), and Katerina Karousos eties. Panelists discussed different per- Human Rights Education in Peshawar.” He (Acting Chief, Multilateral Programs spectives on customary law in transitional discussed the activities and goals of the Unit, Office of International Affairs, and aboriginal societies; cultural codes UP’s ground-breaking Human Rights Published by Digital Commons @ American University Washington College72 of Law, 2010 1 Human Rights Brief, Vol. 17, Iss. 3 [2010], Art. 13 Centre and Gender Studies Department — conflict as well as the atrocities of the dic- coached by the Center’s Assistant Director, the first of their kind in Pakistan. Professor tatorial royal regime under exceptionally Matias Hernandez, won the Niagara Khattak commented on the difficult reali- difficult circumstances. As International International Moot Court Competition, an ties of educating about gender and human Advisor of the Hague Appeal for Peace, his international law competition that this year rights in the volatile North-West Frontier contribution in the human rights and peace drew fifteen law schools from Canada and Province, an area that has experienced movement is also manifested in the ongo- the United States. The team from WCL rampant violence and felt the pressures of ing transition and peace process in Nepal. also won the following awards: Best Team Talibanization. During this event, Dr. Siwakoti shared his Argument — Applicant (Nutan Patel and experience in seeking justice and peace in Ari Levin), Runner-Up Team Memorial Nepal and engaged in a fascinating discus- — Respondent (Lindsey Siegel and Sara expeRiential leaRning project sion with the WCL community. Kang), 4th Place Advocate (Sara Kang), fOcuses On eDucatiOn anD immigRant and 5th Place Advocate (Lindsey Siegel). cHilDRen The Center’s Student Advisory progRam On Human tRafficking anD Board (SAB) sponsored a four-session fORceD laBOR HOlDs DiscussiOn On faculty aNd staff updates Experiential Learning Project (ELP) on Human tRafficking in tHe mekOng Claudio Grossman is the WCL Dean “Education and Immigrant Children.” The Delta RegiOn and a Co-Director of the Center for Human ELP is an annual SAB-run project that On March 22, the Program held a lunch- Rights and Humanitarian Law. In February, explores a particular human rights issue and-learn session on “Human Trafficking Dean Grossman served as moderator and from various angles by taking students in the Mekong Delta Region” with Matt commentator for a WCL event on “Special outside the classroom on site visits in Friedman (Regional Programme Manager, Mandates on Freedom of Expression: Ten the Washington, D.C. area in a series UN Inter-agency Project on Human Key Threats to this Fundamental Right,” of four sessions and follow-up facilitated Trafficking (Thailand, China, Burma, which included panelists Catalina Botero reflective meetings. Despite a significant Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam)). Friedman (Special Rapporteur on Freedom of delay in the project due to this winter’s presented a comprehensive overview of Expression, Inter-American Commission epic snowstorms, the students attended the innovative work being done by the on Human Rights), Frank La Rue (Special sessions during which they explored the United Nations to document cases, locate Rapporteur on the promotion and protec- process and experience