Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law Welcomes 2016-17 Disability and Human Rights Fellows
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC, September 20, 2016 - The Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law is pleased to welcome the 2016-17 Disability and Human Rights Fellows. The Center's Disability & Human Rights Fellows Program, sponsored by the Open Society Foundations, brings attorneys from various parts of the world to AUWCL to engage in a specialized course of study focused on disability and human rights. This fall, the Center is pleased to welcome the fifth cohort of Disability and Human Rights Fellows: Facundo Capurro Robles (Argentina), and Juan Sebastian Jaime Pardo (Colombia).
Juan Sebastián Jaime Pardo was a Clinical Lecturer and Senior Staff Attorney at the Gender and Disability Rights Legal Clinic (Action Program for Social Equality and Inclusion -PAIIS-) of Los Andes University. He has also been member of the Gender and Law Research Group at Universidad de los Andes, where he also worked as adjunct professor for the classes of Legal Interpretation and Bioethics, Disability and the Law.
Facundo Capurro Robles has been working as a public defender for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities detained in mental institutions. He is also a teaching assistant for a human rights course in Buenos Aires Law School.
The program is focused on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and its integration into national and local law. It aims to advance the rights of persons with disabilities, and through legal channels, help overcome the effect of exclusionary practices, so that persons with disabilities achieve a state of full and effective participation and inclusion in society. The program intends to provide disability rights advocates and lawyers with the necessary expertise to develop new legislation, jurisprudence, impact litigation, and scholarship, thereby taking advantage of the innovations and opportunities offered by the UNCRPD. It also seeks to enhance the emerging discourse of disability rights as human rights. Click here to learn more about the program.
###
About the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law
American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) established the Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law in 1990 as part of its long-standing commitment to international human rights and the rule of law. For over 20 years, the Center has worked with students, faculty and the international legal community to provide scholarship and support for human rights initiatives around the world. The Center is dedicated to creating opportunities for students, practitioners and activists through training, complementary education, outreach, workshops and conferences, and research and publications. It provides a clearinghouse for the wide scope of activity concentrated on human rights and humanitarian law at AUWCL.
About American University Washington College of Law
In 1896, American University Washington College of Law became the first law school in the country founded by women. More than 120 years since its founding, this law school community is grounded in the values of equality, diversity, and intellectual rigor. The law school's nationally and internationally recognized programs (in clinical legal education, trial advocacy, international law, and intellectual property to name a few) and dedicated faculty provide its JD, LL.M., and SJD students with the critical skills and values to have an immediate impact as students and as graduates, in Washington, DC and around the world. For more information, visit wcl.american.edu.