Fellow ABA members, we call on your support this June 14, 2013 for the first ABA HUMAN RIGHTS LOBBY DAY on Capitol Hill. On ABA HUMAN RIGHTS LOBBY DAY we will convene ABA members to lobby their members of Congress to seek their support for U.S. ratification of the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and for greater U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court (ICC). We will also lobby members of the House of Representatives to ask them to become members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. If you are unable to join us in Washington, you can support our efforts from wherever you are in the world. First, scroll down this page to the Committee Documents section and review the ABA issue briefing papers. Second, telephone your members of Congress in their Washington D.C. office. You can call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Member of Congress’ office or go your Member of Congress’ websites to find the direct phone line to their D.C. office. Then, ask to be connected to the staff person who handles human rights matters. We thank all of our ABA colleagues in advance for your support of this important ABA initiative.
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The International Human Rights Committee is concerned with all matters involving the response to and amelioration of instances of assaults on human dignity through the oppression of civil and political rights, as well as efforts to create and foster legal, business, and cultural systems and institutions that give meaningful protection to human rights. More specifically, the Committee monitors the drafting and adoption of international covenants; advocates for foreign human rights lawyers who have been persecuted for their work; investigates cases of alleged human rights abuses throughout the world; and educates the bar, policy makers, and the public at large about human rights issues.
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Dear Friend, Welcome to the International Human Rights Committee web site! We cordially invite you to participate in the activities below and to propose initiatives that are consistent with our Mission Statement. Policy: The Committee periodically submits proposals to the ABA President for the issuance of "Rule of Law" letters to governments accused of harassing human rights lawyers and advocates globally. It also may propose appointment of neutral observers to witness and report on the fairness of trials involving human rights advocates. For copies of the guidelines for rule of law letters or trial observations, contact the ABA Center for Human Rights. In addition, the Committee has the ability to propose new ABA policies in human rights. For guidelines, please review previous human rights policies passed by the ABA House of Delegates. To get involved, contact Vice Chair for Policy Eileen Meier.
CLEs & Teleconferences: The Committee organizes CLEs and Teleconferences at little or no cost to educate participants on human rights issues globally. If you have an idea for a CLE or Teleconference, please notify our Vice-Chair for CLEs Liz Turchi. Programs:The Committee organizes seminars on human rights for annual and mid-year ABA meetings to familiarize attendees with current global human rights trends. Your attendance provides an opportunity to learn from the world's foremost experts/leading authorities in human rights and to connect with other members from around the globe. Please contact our Program Chair, Olufunmi Oluyede with recommended topics, speakers, and panels. Publications: The Committee collects submissions from members on important legal developments for a "Year-in-Review" article which is customarily submitted for publication to "The International Lawyer" -a publication of the ABA. In addition, the Committee proposes themes for books published by the ABA on international human rights issues. Please contact Vice-Chair Cleveland Ferguson III regarding proposed submissions for the Year-in-Review, ideas for a book, or to access archived Committee documents, including past Year-in-Review Publications and Committee newsletters. Projects: The Committee is involved in numerous ventures, including the weekly publication of "International Human Rights EBrief", a "Books for Africa" drive for the donation of law books to faculty in Zimbabwe and other countries of the Continent; the "Haiti Whistle Campaign" on violence against women in Haitian camps etc. Please contact Committee Co-Chairs Olufunmi Oluyede, and Becky Farrar with suggested projects. Communications: The Committee strives to keep its members informed of internal operations. We accordingly circulate minutes of our Steering Group and Committee leadership conference calls, post audio files of teleconferences on this site and maintain a blog. The International Human Rights Committee's blog is available to Committee members to post and discuss timely human rights issues with the login username "inthumrights@gmail.com" and password "123987456". Please contact Vice-Chair for Communications Heather Hodges if you have information that you would like to share with the Committee.
Fact-Finding Missions: To focus attention on this essential subject (an important function at the U.N. OHCHR, Human Rights Watch and other human rights bodies)and in fulfillment of our Committee's mission statement, we are looking into the development of a protocol for conducting fact-finding missions into international human rights issues. The Committee seeks to develop guidelines and, ultimately, targets for investigation. Please contact the Committee if you are interested in this project. Other: If there are additional activities consistent with our Mission Statement that interest you, do not hesitate to contact Co-Chairs Olufunmi Oluyede, and Becky Farrar. We will do our best to initiate a new activity addressing your particular interest in international human rights. We appreciate your participation and look forward to working with you on significant international human rights concerns -with a view to impacting our world positively. Thanks, Olufunmi Oluyede & Rebecca Farrar, Co-Chairs, International Human Rights Committee, Section of International Law, American Bar Association
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| | Committee Events |
ABA HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
June 14, 2013 | | On ABA HUMAN RIGHTS DAY we will convene to lobby members of Congress to seek their support for U.S. ratification of the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and for greater U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court (ICC). |
THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS: Perspectives from the US, UN, and Civil Society
March 8, 2013 | | As the Syrian revolution continues and attacks on civilian areas continue, the refugee crisis is deteriorating rapidly, with some reports of thousands of refugees leaving Syria daily. Refugees encounter tremendous difficulties and are forced helplessly to abandon their homes for camps in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and elsewhere. The situation is also becoming increasingly burdensome on the host countries. On this teleconference, expert speakers from various sectors will discuseds both the facts on the ground, and the policy implications of the crisis. This program was moderated by Meera Shah (Harvard Law School Human Rights Program) and the panelists included Zaid Hydari (Helsinki Citizens Assembly), Jana Mason (United Nations High Commission on Refugees), and Jennifer Williams (Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, U.S. Department of State). |
Syria: Human Rights and the Responsibility to Protect
December 7, 2012 | | NOTE: An audio-recording of this event can be found in the Committee Program Files located at the bottom of this web page. A panel of experts and activists provided an update on the Syrian crisis, discuss key human rights issues, and answer your questions about the possible options for humanitarian intervention in light of the Responsibility to Protect (“R2P”). Our guest speakers included Allison Giffen (The Stimson Center), Tom Porteus (Human Rights Watch), Mona Yacoubian (The Stimson Center) and Muna Jondy (Syrian-American activist and President of United for a Free Syria). |
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| Section Events |
June 20, 2013 - June 24, 2013
Location: TBD
Format: Live/In-Person
June 20, 2013 - June 23, 2013 China World Hotel
Beijing ,
China
Format: Live/In-Person
June 21, 2013 - June 22, 2013
Location: TBD
Format: Live/In-Person |
Stay up-to-date on Committee activities by joining us on LinkedIn and Facebook. Join IHRC @ Linkedin and Like IHRC @ Facebook.
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Rebecca Farrar (Co-Chair), Olufunmi Oluyede, (Co-Chair), Joseph P. Federici III, Cleveland Ferguson III, Heather L. Hodges, Eileen Meier, Tammie Smith, Elizabeth A. Turchi, Ani E. Ajemian (Senior Advisor), Robert Joseph Gaudet (Senior Advisor), Penny Wakefield (Senior Advisor), Virginia Kerr Anderson, Paro Astourian, Catherine Doll, Eugenio W.A. Geigel, Robert J. Golten, Alonso Gonzalez-Villalobos, Nema Milaninia, Sharon Payent, Vasco De Jesus Rodrigues, Chang Wang.
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