Renowned Human Rights Program Announces Expert Instructors for Summer 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 9, 2015 - The Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, to be held May 26 – June 12 by American University Washington College of Law’s Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, will offer 18 courses taught by world-renowned scholars and practitioners in the field of human rights. The Program is an integral part of the new LL.M. in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law launched this spring, directed by Professor Robert Goldman.

Many visiting scholars will join the law school’s faculty, including Dean Claudio Grossman, Academy Co-directors Claudia Martin and Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, and Professor Juan Mendez. The Program enables individuals to develop skills and gain practical experience in an intense three-week format. Last year, the Program welcomed 150 students from over 25 countries.

Celebrating over 15 years of legal education, the Academy was created to promote practical approaches to human rights and humanitarian law as well as strengthen links between human rights organizations, practitioners, and educators worldwide. Dean Claudio Grossman (chair) and Professor Robert Goldman (vice-chair) oversee the Academy’s Advisory Board.

“Over the past 15 years, the Academy’s summer program has educated many individuals in important areas of human rights and humanitarian law,” said Claudio Grossman, dean, American University Washington College of Law. “This summer’s program will be the largest yet as we welcome more than 40 top human rights experts to our faculty.”

The Program’s expert instructors for summer 2015 include:

AUWCL Faculty

  • Claudio Grossman, Chair, Committee Against Torture, United Nations and Dean, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C.
  • Juan Méndez, Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, United Nations and Visiting Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C.
  • Claudia Martin, Co-Director, Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C.
  • Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, Co-Director, Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C.

Academia

  • Douglass Cassel, Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, IN
  • John Cerone, Visiting Professor of International Law, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, MA
  • Rebecca Cook, Co-Director, International Program on Reproductive and Sexual Health Law, University of
  • Toronto, Canada
  • David Crane, Professor of Practice, Syracuse University College of Law, Syracuse, NY
  • Felipe Gómez Isa, Professor of Public International Law, Pedro Arrupe Institute of Human Rights, University of Deusto (Bilbao), Spain
  • Manfred Nowak, Director, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, Vienna, Austria
  • Leonardus Zwaak, Retired Associate Professor, Netherlands Institute of Human Rights, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

International Courts, Human Rights Bodies, and Inter-Governmental Institutions

  • Elizabeth Abi-Mershed, Deputy Executive Secretary, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States (OAS), Washington, D.C.
  • Emilio Álvarez Icaza, Executive Secretary, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States (OAS), Washington, D.C.
  • Jorge Araya, Secretary, Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Catalina Botero, Former Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States (OAS)
  • Antônio Cançado Trindade, Judge, International Court of Justice, United Nations, The Hague, The Netherlands
  • Mac Darrow, Chief, Millennium Development Goals Section, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Olivier de Schutter, Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Former Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, United Nations
  • Eduardo Ferrer Mac-Gregor Poisot, Judge, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Organization of American States (OAS), San Jose, Costa Rica
  • Felipe González, Commissioner and Former Chair, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States, Washington, D.C.
  • Christoffel Heyns, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, United Nations
  • Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Organization of American States (OAS), Washington, D.C.
  • Siobhan McInerney-Lankford, Senior Counsel, The World Bank, Washington, D.C.
  • Fausto Pocar, Judge, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, United Nations, The Hague, The Netherlands
  • Pablo Saavedra, Secretary, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Organization of American States (OAS), San Jose, Costa Rica
  • Juana Sotomayor, Human Rights Officer, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Sylvia Steiner, Judge, International Criminal Court, United Nations
  • Jamie Williamson, Legal Adviser, Advisory Services on International Humanitarian law, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland

NGOs and Civil Society

  • Victor Abramovich, Executive Secretary, Institute of Public Policy on Human Rights, Mercosur, Argentina
  • Carlos Ayala, Member, Honor Council, Comisión Andina de Juristas
  • Santiago Cantón, Executive Director, Partners for Human Rights, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, Washington, D.C.
  • Elizabeth Ferris, Director, Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.
  • Chris Jochnick, Director, Private Sector Department, OXFAM America, Washington, D.C.
  • Viviana Krsticevic, Executive Director, Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), Washington, D.C.
  • Julissa Mantilla, International Special Adviser on Transitional Justice from a Gender Perspective, UN Women, Peru
  • Ted Piccone, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, Project on International Order and Strategy, Latin America Initiative, Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.
  • Mónica Roa, Vice President for Strategy & External Relations, Gender and Justice Program, Women’s Link Worldwide, Bogotá, Colombia
  • Eric Rosenthal, Founder and Executive Director, Disability Rights International, Washington, D.C.
  • Alejandro Valencia Villa, Consultant, Human Rights and Transitional Justice, Colombia
  • José Miguel Vivanco, Executive Director, Americas Division, Human Rights Watch, Washington, D.C.

Concurrent with the program, the Academy sponsors Human Rights Month from May 17 – June 12, which offers additional academic opportunities through conferences, panels, and films. This series of events addresses both achievements and challenges in human rights law, and features the expertise of legal practitioners, scholars, and activists.

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