The ANU College of Law

The College will prioritise in this round appointments from levels A to C, with emphasis on early career academics who have a strong research track record, or strong research potential, and an ability to teach across two or more of the areas identified below. They should also connect with the College’s ethos of commitment to law reform and social justice and share the high value the College places on allowing individuals to reach their true potential in an environment of collegiality, egalitarianism, and respect for diversity.

The College has particular needs in a number of core areas, including tort, contract, corporate and commercial law, equity, dispute resolution, and public law, as well as in family law, Indigenous law and Japanese law. New appointees may also be expected to contribute to the teaching of the first year courses in Foundations of Australian Law or Lawyers, Justice and Ethics, and to share the College’s enthusiasm for an increasingly international dimension to its educational programs and research agendas.

ANU is consistently ranked as amongst the world’s top universities. The ANU College of Law, Australia’s national law school, is a leader in the development of the discipline, both in research (top score of 5 in ERA 2010) and education.

Closing Date: Monday, 4 June 2012
Salary Range: $58,077 – $108,000 pa
plus 17% super.
Contact
T 02 6125 4124
E Michael.Coper@anu.edu.au
W http://jobs.anu.edu.au/PositionDetail.aspx?p=2679

• Bulletin Board
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Bulletin Board

UPDATE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Starting in this issue and going forward, the International Human Rights Committee is pleased to provide updates on what we are focused on.

HELPING WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN HAITI

Following up on last year’s very successful Books for Africa project, Special Projects Vice Chair Royce Murray has done research on organizations that are helping women and children in the displaced persons camps in Haiti.  Royce and others have identified two projects to address vulnerability of women and children at night:

(1) Emergency whistles so a woman who is being attacked can alert others in the community and get help; and (2) Solar lanterns to address the poor lighting in the camps and again, make women and children more able to protect themselves and each other.  Royce is working directly with organizations to get these items directly to women and children in Haiti.

For more information or to contribute to these two initiatives, please contact Royce directly at roycebmurray@gmail.com

NOMINATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE AAAS SCIENTIFIC FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY AWARD

The award is given to scientists or engineers or their associations whose exemplary actions have served to foster scientific freedom and responsibility. Such achievements can include: acting to protect the public’s health, safety or welfare; focusing public attention on important potential impacts of science and technology on society by their responsible participation in public policy debates; or establishing important new precedents in carrying out the social responsibilities or in defending the professional freedom of scientists and engineers.

To submit a nomination…

• Send the names, addresses, phone number, and e-mail of both the nominator and the nominee.
• A summary of the action(s) that form the basis for the nomination (about 250 words).
• A longer statement (no more than three pages) providing additional details of the action(s) for which the candidate is nominated.
• The candidate’s vita or short biography (no more than three pages).
• Any documentation (books, articles, or other materials) that elucidates the significance of the nominee’s achievement may also be submitted. (All materials become property of AAAS.)
• SUPPORTING LETTERS ARE NOT REQUIRED BUT WILL BE ACCEPTED

NOMINATIONS ARE DUE SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

You may see information about the award on the AAAS web site at http://www.aaas.org/about/awards/freedom.shtml

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL Deborah Runkle at 202.326.6794 or email her at drunkle@aaas.org

Human Rights News

DAMAGES

An appeals court allows a suit against Donald Rumsfeld to go forward.

By Dahlia LithwickPosted Monday, Aug. 8, 2011

Last week, a federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., determined that a lawsuit filed against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld by a former military translator who claimed to have been tortured by U.S. forces at Camp Cropper in Iraq could go forward despite claims from Rumsfeld and the Obama administration that he should be immune from suit. After assessing the claims of “John Doe,” Judge James S. Gwin found that American citizens don’t lose their constitutional rights simply because it’s wartime. “The court finds no convincing reason,” wrote Gwin, “that United States citizens in Iraq should or must lose previously-declared substantive due process protections during prolonged detention in a conflict zone abroad.”

On Monday, a three-judge panel from the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals came to pretty much the same conclusion. Reviewing a different lawsuit, filed by two different military contractors, alleging similar forms of abuse at the same camp, the panel determined, with one judge filing a partial dissent, that their suit against Rumsfeld could proceed.

Read more: http://www.slate.com/id/2301176?wpisrc=xs_wp_0001

Compliments of Larry Albrecht: you can read the entire Seventh Circuit decision upholding the propriety of a Bivens Fifth Amendment claim against the government’s defense that it’s constitutional to torture US citizens, and also denying Rumsfeld’s qualified immunity, and finding that the right to be free from torture is well-established under both international and US law at: http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/tmp/AA0VMZ4E.pdf

9 SALVADORAN SUSPECTS FIGHT EXTRADITION TO SPAIN

The nine, wanted in the 1989 killings of six Jesuit priests during El Salvador’s civil war, turn themselves into Salvadoran authorities as they fight extradition to Spain. 

By Alex Renderos, Los Angeles Times

August 9, 2011

Reporting from San Salvador— Nine former Salvadoran soldiers and military officials were in custody Monday at an army base while fighting extradition to Spain in the killings of six Jesuit priests and two others during El Salvador’s civil war.

The Salvadoran government said in a statement that the men, among 20 ex-soldiers indicted by a Spanish judge in May, were in the custody of a civilian court that handles extradition cases.

The suspects turned themselves in at the military installation Sunday afternoon, as Salvadoran police were preparing to arrest them on an extradition order from Interpol. A 10th suspect, former army chief of staff Rene Emilio Ponce, died in May, before the indictments were issued.

The Salvadoran Defense Ministry, now in the hands of a leftist government, has said it would not interfere in civilian proceedings against the men, who have asked the country’s Supreme Court to block the extradition. It would be the first time Salvadoran officers were extradited to face crimes stemming from the conflict.

The men argue that the case involving the 1989 deaths of the Jesuit priests was closed in 1991 after a court handed down convictions against at least two officers. The convictions were set aside under an amnesty that came when the civil war ended in 1992, setting the stage for a legal battle over whether the suspects have immunity from prosecution on fresh charges of crimes against humanity.

The case has been closely watched here since Judge Eloy Velasco of Spain, acting under a principle known as universal jurisdiction, charged the 20 former military men.

Five of the six slain priests were Spaniards.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-salvador-soldiers-20110809,0,1553482.story

HARIRI TRIBUNAL JUDGE APPEALS TO SUSPECTS

Head of UN-backed tribunal probing murder of ex-Lebanon PM says suspects will get fair trial if they hand themselves in.

The president of the UN-backed tribunal investigating the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, has called on the four suspects in the case to turn themselves in, promising they will get a fair trial.

In an open letter published on Thursday, the deadline following 30 days in which Lebanese authorities were given to search and arrest the suspects, Judge Antonio Cassese addressed the accused, informing them of the possibility of appearing via video-link during the court proceedings.

“If you do not wish to come to the tribunal in person, the option might be available – following the procedures in our rules – of appearing by video-link, thus participating in the proceedings without physically coming to The Hague,” Cassese said.

He went on to insist on the need for the accused to obtain legal counsel, and that “substantial funds have been earmarked” specifically for the defence team, in case they cannot afford it.

In June, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) issued arrest warrants for four members of Hezbollah for alleged involvement in the February 14, 2005 truck bombing in Beirut that killed Hariri and 22 others.

The STL, which was established in 2007 under Chapter Seven in the UN mandate, has had a polarising effect on Lebanese domestic politics, dividing the country into two distinct camps; those who believe the STL is pushing forward a political agenda to bring down Hezbollah, and those who believe that the court is the only institution that will be able to objectively seek the truth.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/08/201181116494850716.html

11 August 2011

IVORY COAST CONFLICT: UN SAYS 26 EXECUTED IN A MONTH

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast says that 26 people have been executed in the last month.

It says the killings have been carried out principally by armed forces who helped the new President, Alassane Ouattara, take power.

The report came as Ivory Coast officials said they had charged 62 former army officers.

Mr Ouattara has been president since April when his forces arrested former President Laurent Gbagbo.

Mr Gbagbo is now under house arrest in the north of the country. Some alleged killings were blamed on his allies.

The rights representative for the UN mission in Ivory Coast, Guillaume Ngefa, said there had been 26 cases of “extrajudicial execution, summary or arbitrary” and “85 cases of arbitrary arrest and illegal detention”.

The killings were reported between 11 July and 10 August of this year, he said, adding that locals and victims identified most of the perpetrators as men belonging

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14495336

ANOTHER OBSTACLE TO BURMA ENGAGEMENT: GANG RAPE

Posted By Josh RoginWednesday, August 10, 2011

Thirteen U.S. senators, all women, are calling on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to take concrete action to address the Burmese junta’s use of rape as a weapon of war.

“Given the Burmese regime’s unabated use of rape as a weapon of war, we urge you to call on the regime to end this practice and pursue our shared goal of establishing an international Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the senators wrote in an Aug. 10 letter, obtained by The Cable.

The signers on the letter were Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Susan Collins (R-ME), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH).

The senators cited several reports that the Burmese army has been using gang rape in its conflicts with ethnic minorities along its borders recently. For example, the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand  reported that dozens of women have been gang raped since the truce between Burma and the Kachin Independence Army broke down in June, and that Burmese soldiers claim they have “orders to rape women.”

The Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) has also been documenting all known cases of rape during the Burmese government’s new offensive against the Shan State Army following the collapse of a 22-year ceasefire.

“Burma Army troops are being given free rein to rape children, the pregnant and the elderly,” said SWAN coordinator Hseng Moon in a press release. “We strongly condemn these war crimes.”

Read more: http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/08/10/another_obstacle_to_burma_engagement_gang_rape

Job, Fellowship, and Volunteer Postings

ABA-SIL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE JOB BOARD

The ABA-SIL Human Rights Committee is pleased to announce a comprehensive new Job Board consisting of web pages for potential employment opportunities from dozens of international human rights NGOs. The job board was developed by ABA member Ellen J. Tabachnick. It can be accessed from the Committee Resource module in the lower right column of our committee’s home page at http://www.abanet.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=IC950000.

LEON LEVY FELLOWSHIP

Refugee Protection Program

New York Office

START DATE: September 1, 2011

Human Rights First is seeking a two-year Leon Levy Fellow for the Refugee Protection program in the New York Office. The Leon Levy Fellow will play a key role in developing and overseeing the asylum screening program designed to promote and facilitate pro bono representation in the asylum and immigration adjudication systems.

Many immigrants in removal proceedings—including asylum seekers and others with legitimate claims to lawful immigration status—face the harsh prospect of being removed from the United States simply because they cannot afford competent attorneys. Without a right to government-funded counsel in immigration proceedings, there is a need for legal service providers to partner with law firms to provide pro bono legal representation for these individuals.

To learn more about this opportunity or to apply, please visit http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/Jobs/apply_position.aspx?qs=BVEAXY7ao4A%3d

THE ARIEL F. SALLOWS CHAIR OF HUMAN RIGHTS

University of Saskatchewan – College of Law

The Sallows Chair will be of interest to outstanding candidates who have made distinguished contributions to research and/or practice in human rights; the candidate must have the academic qualifications required for an academic appointment. Past holders include Penelope Andrews, Marilou McPhedran, Virginia Leary, Paul Mahoney, Shelley Wright, the late Martin Ennals, Rebecca Wallace, Abdullah An-Na’im, Nihal Jayawickrama, Francisco Forrest Martin and Roy Adams.

Successful candidates for the Chair will be in residence in the College of Law, and it is normally expected that the candidate will pursue a research program, teach a course or seminar, give a public lecture and oversee the planning for a conference. Tenure will normally be for one year, but in any event no longer than two years. Salary will be commensurate with the experience and standing of the holders. The date for appointment is flexible, and may be as early as January 1, 2012.

Letters of application, accompanied by a current curriculum vitae and an outline of the research plans of the candidate, should be sent to:

Beth Bilson, Acting Dean
College of Law
University of Saskatchewan
15 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7N 5A6

Deadline:  December 31, 2011

http://www.usask.ca/law/faculty_sessionals/employment_opportunities.php

INTERNATIONAL JOBS

Fundraising Officer

Kurdish Human Rights Project

Location: London

Last Date: August 20, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_77189.shtml

Consultant

United Nations Relief and Works Agency

Location: Amman

Last Date: August 23, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_77361.shtml

Program Officer

Save the Children

Location: Washington D.C.

Last Date: August 25, 2011

http://devnetjobs.tripod.com/stc-program-officer-25july2011.html

Fundraising Officer

Association for the Prevention of Torture

Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Last Date: August 26, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_77494.shtml

Legal Adviser

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

Location: Geneva , Switzerland

Last Date: August 31, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_77695.shtml

Senior Legal Policy Researcher – Human Rights

Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)

Location: New Caledonia

Last Date: August 31, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_77590.shtml

Director, Global Communications

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP)

Location: Brussels, Belgium

Last Date: September 5, 2011

http://devnetjobs.tripod.com/peaceforce-2august2011.html

SOURCE: See more jobs at: http://www.DevNetJobs.org or by sending a blank email to:
developmentjobs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Educational Courses & Conferences

HUMAN RIGHTS SYMPOSIUM: Realising Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the UK

Date: 21st and 22nd of October 2011

Location: Law Society, Chancery Lane, London

The Law Society is organising a conference on ‘Fairness, Justice and Human Rights: Realising Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) in the UK’.

The conference is designed to enable approximately 250 judges, scholars, policy makers, legal practitioners and community representatives to exchange views and consider the problems and prospects for the effective enjoyment of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) in the UK. It will feature a mixture of keynote addresses, breakout sessions/workshops as well as informal opportunities to exchange ideas and build relationships.

Key speakers include:

- Justice Albie Sachs (former Justice of the South African Constitutional Court)
- Lady Justice Arden (Lady Justice of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales)
- Kate Green MP (Labour MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Poverty , member of the Work and Pensions Committee)
- Professor Francesca Klug OBE (Director, Human Rights Futures Project, LSE)
- Baroness Walmsley (Patron, CRAE, co-Chair Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Policy Committee on – Education, Families and Young People and sponsor of the 2009 ROCK Children’s Rights Bill)
- Professor Emeritus Richard Wilkinson (Director, Equality Trust and author ‘The Spirit Level’)

For more info: http://international.lawsociety.org.uk/node/11415

FINAL CALL: Applications for Short Certificate Courses — October-November 2011

HREA is issuing a final call for applications for the following short certificate courses, which will be offered in the third trimester of 2011 (September-November):

- Environment and Human Rights (5 October-15 November 2011)
- Health and Human Rights (19 October-29 November 2011)
- (5S11)” href=”http://lists.hrea.org/phplist/lt.php?id=Kh5UAgZXAABSBBgFAgIBWk4GBVUEDA%3D%3D”>The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (5 October-15 November 2011)

These short e-learning courses are six weeks in duration and involve approximately 40 hours of reading, interaction with participants and instructor on discussion boards, quizzes and “webinars” with invited guests.

There are also still a few places available in the following 11-week specialised e-learning courses:

- Election Observation (14 September-29 November 2011)
- Human Rights Advocacy (14 September-29 November 2011)

Applications can be submitted online. For further information about each course please click on the course link above. The application deadline is 1 September 2011. For a listing of all upcoming courses, please visit www.hrea.org/courses

Reminder

The materials and information included in this listserv are provided as a service to you and do not necessarily reflect endorsement by the American Bar Association or the Section of International Law.  We encourage subscribers to pass the information along to colleagues and other interested parties and to contribute press releases, news items, event listings, job vacancies and other appropriate information.  To post a message email INTHUMRIGHTS@mail.abanet.org.  For questions, suggestions or problems, contact Russell Kerr, russell@kerrlawfirm.com.

Thank you again for your interest and participation!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This weekly digest contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this digest is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.  For more information go to:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

Filed under: ABA Human Rights e-Brief Tagged: American Bar Association, Human Rights ]]> http://intlawroundtable.com/2011/08/16/aba-international-human-rights-e-brief-15-aug-2011-issue-no-460/feed/ 0 Don http://intlawroundtable.com/2011/07/09/another-legal-disappointment-in-the-medellin-sequel/ http://intlawroundtable.com/2011/07/09/another-legal-disappointment-in-the-medellin-sequel/#comments Sat, 09 Jul 2011 18:51:45 +0000 Don Anton http://intlawroundtable.com/?p=241 ]]> Once again, the obligations of the U.S. under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations have been ignored by the Supreme Court of the United States resulting in the execution of Humberto Leal in Texas.  The   The Washington Post reports:

The top United Nations human rights official said Friday that the execution of a Mexican national in Texas was a breach of international law, while diplomats, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, expressed disappointment in the outcome of the case.

Humberto Leal Garcia Jr., who had been convicted of raping and killing a 16-year-old San Antonio girl in 1994, was executed by lethal injection on Thursday night, shortly after the Supreme Court denied the Obama administration’s request for a delay.

The administration had filed an amicus brief in the case because of concerns that Texas authorities, in failing to notify Leal of his right to access Mexican consular officials, had violated the United Nations’ Vienna Convention.

In 2004, the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled that Leal and other Mexican nationals facing execution had been denied their rights under the treaty.

The “execution will undermine the role of the International Court of Justice, and its ramifications are likely to spread far beyond Texas,” Navi Pillay, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said Friday.

U.S. officials had expressed concern about the impact of the case, suggesting that Leal’s execution could make other nations less likely to respect the terms of the Vienna Convention should American citizens abroad be in need of consular assistance.

Shortly after the execution, Mexico issued a statement of condemnation and said it had submitted an official protest to the State Department. A group of former U.S. ambassadors who had pressed for a stay also expressed disappointment.

“Texas justice is Texas justice,” said State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland. But, she added, “This is simply about ensuring an American — a non-American facing judicial proceedings in the United States — has the same rights that we expect an American facing judicial proceedings overseas would have.”

In seeking the stay, the Obama administration had sought more time so that Congress could take up pending legislation to bring the United States into compliance with the Vienna Convention.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled 5 to 4 that that was not enough to rule in the government’s favor, saying in an unsigned majority opinion that the court was tasked with ruling on current law, “not what it might eventually be.”

The immediate impact of the execution is unclear, and some experts have argued there is unlikely to be any.

They note that three years ago, Texas executed another Mexican national, even though he had similarly not been informed of his rights under the Vienna Convention. Then, too, there were warnings about the impact on U.S. foreign-policy interests.

“Congress,” the high court’s majority wrote Thursday, “evidently did not find these consequences sufficiently grave to prompt its enactment of implementing legislation, and we will follow the law as written by Congress.”

The amicus brief of the United States argued that the “execution of petitioner would place the United States in irreparable breach of its international-law obligation to afford petitioner review and reconsideration of his claim that his conviction and sentence were prejudiced by Texas authorities’ failure to provide consular notification and assistance under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.”

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said in a press release: “The execution of Mr. Leal García places the US in breach of international law,” said Pillay, who is currently on official mission in Mexico. “What the State of Texas has done in this case is imputable in law to the US and engages the United States’ international responsibility. I am very disappointed that neither the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles nor the Governor took steps open to them to prevent this breach of the US obligations under international law from occurring.”

The disappointing per curiam opinion of the Supreme Court, together with the dissents by Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan, in Leal v. Texas is here.

(h/t Ron Ron Bettauer)

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Bulletin Board

CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS NEWSLETTER – June 2011

The June 2011 newsletter of the Centre for Human Rights at the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria is now available at: http://www.chr.up.ac.za/newsletters/jun-2011/

GLOBAL CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS FILMS

Our community project, UNSPOKEN, has created the possibility that we will continually provide diverse and rich human rights films at our October UNSPOKEN Human Rights Film Festival and Conference.

- *Films can be submitted at www.iamunspoken.com*

- *For any questions please contact film@iamUnspoken.com
IMPOWR Volunteers

Posted: 5/25/11

The ABA Section of International Law’s International Models Project on Women’s Rights (IMPOWR) is looking for volunteers to become Contributing Editors and Review Board Members. IMPOWR is a new initiative to establish a global collaborative database on women’s rights under law. It promises to play a unique role in supporting the worldwide implementation of the principles underlying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). IMPOWR seeks experienced lawyers and law students with a depth of knowledge in foreign legal systems and national laws pertaining to gender equality in one or more of the topic areas covered in the database: CEDAW status; civil life (citizenship, voting rights, etc.); healthcare; marriage and family relations (marital rights, custody, inheritance, etc.); economic and social life (access to education, employment, property ownership, etc.); crimes and violence (trafficking, domestic violence, etc.); and access to justice. Volunteers will serve as “Contributing Editors” to perform research and develop content for the database. Review Board Members will review the database content for relevancy and accuracy.

Those interested in volunteering can complete the volunteer information form online www.impowr.org/volunteer or contact International Projects Director Christina Heid (christina.heid@americanbar.org) for additional information and indicate their substantive interest and background.

Human Rights News

UN’S RWANDA GENOCIDE TRIBUNAL CONVICTS WOMAN OF GENOCIDE FOR FIRST TIME

The first woman ever charged with genocide by an international court was today convicted of the crime and sentenced to life in prison by the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up in the wake of the mass killings in Rwanda in 1994.

Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, 65, a former Rwandan government minister of family and women’s development, was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwandan (ICTR) of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, crimes against humanity (extermination, rape and persecution) and several serious violations of the Geneva conventions.

ICTR judges also convicted Ms. Nyiramasuhuko’s son Arsène Shalom Ntahobali and four others of similar charges as part of what is known as the Butare case, after the Rwandan prefecture where the crimes took place.

During the Rwandan genocide, which began in early April 1994, Butare initially served as a haven for people fleeing massacres carried out in other regions of the country, with the area regarded as having relatively harmonious inter-ethnic relations between Tutsis and Hutus.

But Ms. Nyiramasuhuko and others conspired to remove a local official seen as posing an obstacle to the killing of Tutsis and to replace him with Sylvan Nsabimana, one of her co-accused in the Butare case.

As a Cabinet-level Government official, Ms. Nyiramasuhuko was found to have ordered and directed subsequent killings and rapes and participated in a broader effort to wipe out the local Tutsi population.

Prosecutors told the ICTR – which is based in Arusha, Tanzania – that roadblocks were set up to identify, abduct and kill Tutsis and Ms. Nyiramasuhuko and her son, in conjunction with soldiers, personally manned those roadblocks.

Many killings and abductions also took place at the Butare town prefecture offices, often at the personal order of Ms. Nyiramasuhuko or Mr. Nsabimana. Ms. Nyiramasuhuko and her son sometimes forced people to undress completely before leaving the prefecture offices.

Mr. Ntahobali, a former student, and Elie Ndayamabaje, a former mayor of Muganza, were sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of similar offences to Ms. Nyiramasuhuko’s.

Mr. Nsabimana, a former prefect of Butare, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Alphonse Nteziryayo, another former Butare prefect, was handed a 30-year jail term. Joseph Kanyabashi, a former mayor of Ngoma commune, was given a 35-year prison sentence.

The trial of the six people in the Butare case took 10 years and was considered particularly complex, with nearly 200 witnesses and almost 13,000 pages of documents.

An estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in Rwanda in less than 100 days between April and June 1994, often with weapons such as machetes.

SOURCE: UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST – 24 June 2011

KHMER ROUGE TRIAL FRAUGHT WITH DRAMA IN CAMBODIA

Four former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of genocide go on trial in Cambodia on Monday before a U.N.-backed tribunal amid charges of political meddling in the investigation of other cases.

By Brendan Brady, Los Angeles Times

June 27, 2011

Reporting from Phnom Penh, Cambodia— As a U.N.-backed Cambodian tribunal opens Monday to try former Khmer Rouge leaders charged with genocide, critics accuse the Cambodian government of meddling and the United Nations of failing to uphold the court’s independence.

Standing trial are the four highest-ranking surviving former Khmer Rouge leaders: head of state Khieu Samphan, 79; Foreign Minister Ieng Sary, 85; his wife, Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, 79; and the revolution’s chief ideologue, Nuon Chea, 84. They face multiple charges that include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Last July, in the first trial of Khmer leaders, former prison commandant Comrade Duch was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The current case, considered one of the most complex and historically significant war crimes trials since Nuremberg, is expected to last longer and be trickier than the first, in part because the defendants ruled through proxies.

International co-prosecutor Andrew Cayley, a Briton, also faces a roster of hard-hitting defense lawyers, including Jacques Verges, a Frenchman dubbed “terror’s advocate” for his success in defending those charged with war crimes.

The controversy surrounding the proceedings focuses on whether charges should be levied against more former regime members than the initial five. An estimated 1.7 million people died of starvation, overwork, medical neglect and execution during the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge’s 1975-79 reign.

Trying more alleged mass murderers is controversial in Cambodia because many prominent figures today have links to the former regime. Those in favor of widening the investigation — currently two more cases involving five suspects are under consideration — have met multiple roadblocks.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-cambodia-khmer-20110627,0,2879086.story

BAHRAIN TRIALS BEAR MARKS OF ‘POLITICAL PERSECUTION,’ SAYS UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE

The United Nations human rights office today spoke out against the harsh sentences, including life imprisonment, handed down this week to several activists in Bahrain, saying their trials bear the marks of “political persecution.”

On Wednesday, Bahrain sentenced 21 activists and opposition leaders reportedly for plotting to overthrow the Government, which has been has engaged in a violent crackdown against protesters calling for greater democracy, as witnessed in other countries across the Middle East and North Africa.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, is writing to King Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa of Bahrain to convey her concerns, her spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, told reporters in Geneva.

“There are serious concerns that the due process rights of the defendants, many of whom are well-known human rights defenders, were not respected and the trials appear to bear the marks of political persecution,” said Ms. Shamdasani.

She added that, according to reliable sources, the Lower National Safety Court has convicted more than 100 individuals since March this year, mostly for crimes allegedly committed during the protests.

“We urge the authorities to act in strict accordance with their international human rights obligations, particularly regarding the right to due process and a fair trial,” Ms. Shamdasani said.

“We call for an immediate cessation of trials of civilians in the Court of National Safety, and an immediate release of all peaceful demonstrators who were arrested in the context of the protest movement in February.”

Up to 1,000 people reportedly remain in detention, according to the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), which has received “worrying” reports about the way they are being treated.

Ms. Shamdasani noted in particular that four individuals previously arrested reportedly died in detention due to injuries resulting from severe torture. She called on the Government to urgently conduct an independent investigation into these allegations.

OHCHR’s comments echo those of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who voiced his deep concern at the sentences handed out this week. In a statement issued yesterday by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban urged Bahraini authorities “to allow all defendants to exercise their right to appeal and to act in strict accordance with their international human rights obligations, including the right to due process and a fair trial.”

SOURCE: UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST – 24 June 2011

UN MISSION TO PROBE DR CONGO RAPE CLAIMS

The UN says it is sending a team to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to investigate allegations of rape.

The French aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF, has said that more than 100 people in Niakiele village, in Sud-Kivu province, were raped or beaten in an attack which took place between June 10 and 12.

“We have a UN inter-agency mission going tomorrow into the area, one of the key tasks of the human rights component is to verify these allegations of rape,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman at the UN human rights office, told the AFP on Thursday.

“We received these allegations but we need to go on the ground to confirm them before we can share anything.”

Megan Hunter, head of the Dutch branch of MSF in Sud-Kivu province, said: “We have certainly treated over 100 women who say they have been raped or are suffering trauma.”

She did not say who might be responsible. However, she said that MSF is working with Congolese health officials to get more information.

Jean-Marie Ngoma, a provincial parliamentarian, blamed the assaults on “soldiers from the Congolese army”, headed by an officer named as Colonel Niragire Kifaru, who is a former member of the Mai Mai tribal militia.

Ngoma said that more than 60 women in the village were raped.

The UN-backed Radio Okapi said the attacks have been blamed on a group of about 200 rebels who had been integrated into the DRC army before deserting this month.

The resource-rich eastern DRC is an unstable area marked by violence blamed largely on the presence of the army and a host of militia and rebel groups.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/06/20116231915359584.html

GUATEMALA: UN ENVOY AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE HAILS ARREST OF FORMER TOP MILITARY FIGURE

A United Nations envoy today welcomed the arrest of a former top Guatemalan military figure accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, saying the arrest sends a strong signal that justice can prevail in the Central American country.

General Hector Mario Lopez Fuentes, who served as chief of staff of his country’s armed forces between March 1982 and October 1983, was arrested last week, according to media reports.

General Lopez Fuentes faces accusations that he directed a policy of wide-scale military attacks against civilians, particularly indigenous Mayans, during which entire villages were destroyed and countless women and girls were raped.

Margot Wallström, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, issued a statement in which she stressed that ending impunity is essential if a country or society is to come to terms with past abuses against civilians.

Numerous Guatemalans were the victims of human rights violations during the country’s protracted civil war, and the UN helped the Government set up the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in an effort to tackle the problem.

“The apprehension of General Lopez Fuentes sends a strong signal to all perpetrators that conflict-related sexual violence is not acceptable, and that justice will ultimately prevail,” Ms. Wallström said.

“Sexual violence thrives on silence and impunity,” she added. “Women have no rights if those who violate their rights go unpunished.”

The envoy urged Guatemalan authorities to ensure the protection of victims, witnesses, human rights defenders and others throughout any legal action they may take to uphold their rights.

SOURCE: UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST – 23 June 2011

ZIMBABWE DIAMOND EXPORT BAN ENDS, DESPITE OBJECTIONS

The international group that monitors ‘blood diamonds’ OKs exports from the Marange mining fields despite rampant human rights abuses. The U.S., Canada and European Union are protesting the decision

By Neela Banerjee, Los Angeles Times

June 25, 2011

Reporting from Washington— The international organization that monitors conflict diamonds has agreed to allow Zimbabwe to export diamonds from its vast Marange mining fields despite rampant human rights abuses in the area.

The decision by the Kimberley Process — as the regulatory group governed by diamond-trading nations is known — threatens an end to world consensus over blocking so-called blood diamonds from the market and makes it impossible for consumers to have confidence that the diamonds they buy did not contribute to violence, said some participants in the group’s meeting this week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

On Thursday, Kimberley Process Chairman Mathieu Yamba said Zimbabwe would be allowed to export rough diamonds from Marange under a system of minimal human rights oversight, participants said. The regulatory group’s decisions are supposed to be made by consensus, but the United States, Canada and the European Union swiftly protested.

“Until consensus is reached, exports from Marange should not proceed,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

The ruling party in Zimbabwe seized Marange in 2009 allegedly by killing hundreds of prospectors. President Robert Mugabe’s party continues to control the area with violence and forced labor, rights groups say.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-black-diamonds-20110625,0,2490474.story

LEGAL AID CUTS WILL STOP CASES LIKE TRAFIGURA, UN OFFICIAL WARNS

John Ruggie, UN special representative for business and human rights, warns justice minister changes will be damaging

Owen Bowcott, legal affairs correspondent

The Guardian, Thursday 16 June 2011

A senior UN official has warned the government that cuts to legal aid and changes to lawyers’ fees will prevent claims, such as those in the Trafigura case, being brought against multinational businesses.

Professor John Ruggie, a Harvard University lawyer who is the UN secretary-general’s special representative for business and human rights, wrote to the UK justice minister Jonathan Djanogly saying he was concerned about the “disincentives” being introduced.

The letter, sent last month, is a damaging critique of Ministry of Justice plans to cut £350m a year from the legal aid budget and reform conditional fee agreements so claimants would have to use any compensation to pay their lawyers’ success fees.

Ken Clarke, the justice secretary, has made clear his desire to reduce “spiralling legal costs” and restrict no win, no fee agreements. A sentencing and legal aid bill is expected to be introduced into the Commons in the coming days.

Ruggie’s letter, passed to opposition justice spokesman Andy Slaughter is a clear attempt to deflect the government from what he fears will be a damaging outcome. “Three related aspects of the proposed reforms could, when implemented together, constitute a significant barrier to legitimate business-related human rights claims being brought before UK courts in situations where alternative sources of remedy are unavailable,” he wrote. “Legal aid is no longer available in the UK for many cases against multinational enterprises and most such cases are currently funded through conditional fee agreements.”

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/jun/16/united-nations-legal-aid-cuts-trafigura

Job, Fellowship, and Volunteer Postings

ABA-SIL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE JOB BOARD

The ABA-SIL Human Rights Committee is pleased to announce a comprehensive new Job Board consisting of web pages for potential employment opportunities from dozens of international human rights NGOs. The job board was developed by ABA member Ellen J. Tabachnick. It can be accessed from the Committee Resource module in the lower right column of our committee’s home page at http://www.abanet.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=IC950000.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Human Rights First • New York City Office

Posted: 6/20/11

Human Rights First (New York City) is seeking an experienced fundraising professional with a proven record in major donor work and staff management to lead our comprehensive fundraising efforts. HRF is a U.S.-based advocacy organization that works to leverage U.S. law, policy, and influence to promote human rights globally.

This position is for an immediate hire.  For more information and to apply, please visit: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/about_us/jobs/apply_Staff.aspx

TRAINING COURSE INTERNSHIP
Inter-American Human Rights

LOCATION: Washington DC

POSTED: 6-23-11

The annual Inter-American Human Rights System Training Course is a one week training that gathers 20 to 25 government officials from the Americas, which takes place in Washington DC, in parallel to the Session of the IA Commission during the month of July.

The Training is co-organized by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, American University-Washington College of Law and the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights and concentrates in the use of the human rights mechanisms of the IA System. The Course provides comprehensive and practical training for government officials in the functions and operation of the Inter-American Commission and Court on Human Rights. It will also provide them with useful, tested strategies and best practices for the implementation of human rights standards at national level.

The organizers are currently seeking an intern to collaborate with the logistics and organization of the training for fifteen days in the month of July. The intern is expected to be in Washington DC from July 13 to 22 (both included). Prior to the arrival in Washington DC, the intern is expected to collaborate in the update of a research related to cases decided by the Commission and the Court. This activity should take about a week of work.

Responsibilities

The intern will be responsible for logistics and administrative matters relating to the course and participants, including:

• preparing  welcome package for participants;
• compiling information for the training course CD;
• preparing training certificates for participants;
• liaising with the hotel in regard to participants during the training;
• preparation/set up for coffee and lunch breaks;
• arranging and facilitating transport for participants;
• assist participants in any request related to the training, including accommodation, training facilities, information, etc.;
• assist in any other duty as indicated by the coordinator.

While the duties related to the internship are mostly administrative, the intern will have the opportunity to be present in the training activities, as long as his/her duties permits.

Qualifications:
Knowledge of/interest in human rights/currently studying human rights;
Superb organizational skills, self-motivated, initiative-taker,multi-tasker;
Problem-solving attitude, excellent interpersonal skills;
Proficiency in Spanish

Preferred: Previous work experience in organizing conferences/trainings etc

The internship is unpaid.
How to Apply:
Please send ASAP a cover letter, and resume to Andrea Galindo at cursosddhh@gmail.com. Please put in the subject line “Washington DC training course internship”

Due to the volume of applicants anticipated, we will not be able to respond individually to each applicant and will only be contacting those applicants that we feel best meet our criteria.

PRACTITIONER-IN-RESIDENCE/LECTURER

Miami Law Human Rights Clinic (HRC)

Miami Law invites applicants for the position of Practitioner-in-Residence/Lecturer in its Human Rights Clinic. The Practitioner-in-Residence/Lecturer will have the opportunity to join the vibrant and supportive clinical community at the School of Law. Together with the HRC’s Director, the Practitioner-in-Residence/Lecturer will help run the HRC, including assisting in the teaching of clinic classes, supervising students, managing cases/projects, and representing clients. The position is designed for a lawyer with at least three years of practice experience who is interested in human rights law and advocacy at the domestic and international levels and has an interest in pursuing a career in law school clinical teaching.

The Human Rights Clinic (www.law.miami.edu/hrc) includes a critical and a skills-based seminar on human rights law and practice. The Clinic is engaged in human rights projects and cases before the United Nations, the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights, and other domestic and international tribunals, as well as other forms of advocacy including human rights documentation/fact finding, report-writing, legislative initiatives, and community organizing campaigns.

To apply, please email a resume, cover letter, writing sample, law school transcript, and names, addresses and telephone numbers of three references by June 30, 2011 to hrc@law.miami.edu.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. For questions, please contact Rose Dominguez at rdominguez@law.miami.edu or (305) 284-4542.

For more information visit: http://www.law.miami.edu/hrc/pdf/HRC_2011_PIR_Lecturer.pdf

THE ARIEL F. SALLOWS CHAIR OF HUMAN RIGHTS

University of Saskatchewan – College of Law

The Sallows Chair will be of interest to outstanding candidates who have made distinguished contributions to research and/or practice in human rights; the candidate must have the academic qualifications required for an academic appointment. Past holders include Penelope Andrews, Marilou McPhedran, Virginia Leary, Paul Mahoney, Shelley Wright, the late Martin Ennals, Rebecca Wallace, Abdullah An-Na’im, Nihal Jayawickrama, Francisco Forrest Martin and Roy Adams.

Successful candidates for the Chair will be in residence in the College of Law, and it is normally expected that the candidate will pursue a research program, teach a course or seminar, give a public lecture and oversee the planning for a conference. Tenure will normally be for one year, but in any event no longer than two years. Salary will be commensurate with the experience and standing of the holders. The date for appointment is flexible, and may be as early as January 1, 2012.

Letters of application, accompanied by a current curriculum vitae and an outline of the research plans of the candidate, should be sent to:

Beth Bilson, Acting Dean
College of Law
University of Saskatchewan
15 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7N 5A6

Deadline:  December 31, 2011

http://www.usask.ca/law/faculty_sessionals/employment_opportunities.php

INTERNATIONAL JOBS

Legal Education and Training Advisor
International Development Law Organization
Location: Juba, Southern Sudan
Last Date: June 30, 2011
http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_76230.shtml

Human Rights Specialist

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Location: Washington, D.C

Last Date: July 1, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_76590.shtml

Intern for Legal Programme
ECPAT International
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Last Date: July 9, 2011
http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_76424.shtml

Gender Expert – Research, Statistics, Indices

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)

Location: Vilnius, Lithuania

Last Date: July 13, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_76667.shtml

Program Officer

Save The Children – US

Location: Washington D.C., USA

Last Date: July 14, 2011

http://devnetjobs.tripod.com/13june2011-stc-program-officer-dc.html

Social Worker

International Justice Mission

Location: Nairobi

Last Date: July 15, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_76722.shtml

Land Law Specialist, Land Tenure and Decentralisation

Tetra Tech ARD

Location: East Africa

Last Date: July 20, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_76645.shtml

Program Development HIV/AIDS Specialist

International Development & Exchange Programs (IDEP) / World Learning

Location: Washington D.C.

Last Date: July 20, 2011

http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_76679.shtml

SOURCE: See more jobs at: http://www.DevNetJobs.org or by sending a blank email to:
developmentjobs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Educational Courses & Conferences

LLM HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
Transitional Justice Institute
University of Ulster
(Jordanstown and Magee campuses, Northern Ireland)

This LLM programme based at the Transitional Justice Institute, with staff expertise across a range of areas, offers an LL.M. degree which is designed to give students a unique lens on the study of human rights in the contemporary international moment. Using the local Northern Ireland political and legal context as a starting point the course will imbue students with a working knowledge of international norms and principles, while at the same time encouraging students to move beyond the local to reflect critically on present international law norms and their application to other situations and contexts. Students are encouraged to develop and transfer knowledge, experience and expertise of the transformative possibilities of human rights law both in respect of societies emerging from violent conflict and in relation to the local and global management of other particular societal problems. This dual focus – from the local to the global and back – is a core part of the course’s aim to equip you with the knowledge and skills base to contribute internationally as well as locally.

This programme has been developed to enable students to:

* Gain an in-depth knowledge of the theoretical and practical application of human rights law.
* Understand the particular human rights issues in conflicted and transitional societies.
* Gain knowledge and skills in carrying out research projects from design to write-up.
* Enhance skills in critically appraising published and commissioned research.
* Develop skills highly relevant to legal practice, and to policy, research and advocacy roles in the voluntary, public and private sectors in the UK, Ireland and beyond. Successful completion may also open up a range of further study and research options.

Further Information
Download Information Leaflet
TJI website: www.transitionaljustice.ulster.ac.uk , or
Applications should ordinarily be received before the last Friday in June, although consideration may be given to applications received after this date.
Contact
Ms Emer Carlin
Secretary
Transitional Justice Institute
Magee campus
Tel: + 44 (0) 28 71675146
Email:LLM@ulster.ac.uk

CHANGE OF DATE: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS IN A TIME OF AUSTERITY WORKSHOP

Durham Law School and the Faculty of Laws, Oxford, will host a one-day workshop on ‘Economic and Social Rights in a Time of Austerity’ on 1 July.

The workshop aims to explore the role of human rights, and particularly ESR, in the context of austerity policies fashioned in the wake of the global financial crisis. It does so though focusing on four main

themes: Monitoring, Mainstreaming, Legal Processes and Equality. It features leading ESR experts working in law, academia, the public sector and civil society.

***Due to the UK-wide public sector strike on 30 June, this event will now be held on 1 July – not 30 June as originally advertised.*** The venue (Senior Common Room, Faculty of Laws, Oxford) remains unchanged.

Details on the event and an updated programme are available at:

www.esrinatimeofausterity.com

HUMAN RIGHTS COURSES

Intervention Training.  Join the Law Society’s International Action Team (IAT)

Date:                      28th June 2011

Time:                     16.00-15.30

Location:                The Law Society, Chancery Lane

To book online, click here:  http://services.lawsociety.org.uk/events/node/53460

Common Law and Convention Law:  The Limits to Interpretation

The Law Society is hosting a lecture by Baroness Hale of Richmond on the common law and human rights. Lord Lester of Herne Hill will be chairing.

Date:                    28th June 2011

Time:                    18.00-19.30

Location:               The Law Society, Chancery Lane

For more information: http://www.hrla.org.uk/HRLA%20Event%2028th%20June%202011.pdf

The Ruggie Guidelines on Business and Human Rights – What Do They Mean for Lawyers?

The event explores how these new guidelines affect the advice lawyers give business clients.

Date:                      5th July 2011

Time:                     18.00-19.30

Location:               The Law Society, Chancery Lane

For more information and to book a place:   http://services.lawsociety.org.uk/events/node/53386

Reminder

The materials and information included in this listserv are provided as a service to you and do not necessarily reflect endorsement by the American Bar Association or the Section of International Law.  We encourage subscribers to pass the information along to colleagues and other interested parties and to contribute press releases, news items, event listings, job vacancies and other appropriate information.  To post a message email INTHUMRIGHTS@mail.abanet.org.  For questions, suggestions or problems, contact Russell Kerr, russell@kerrlawfirm.com.

Thank you again for your interest and participation!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This weekly digest contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this digest is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.  For more information go to:

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

It’s been awhile since I made an acquisition, but I have a good one today.  It comes from the first edition the two volume International Law: Chiefly as Interpreted and Applied by the United States published by Little, Brown & Company in 1922.    Written by Charles Cheney Hyde, who at the time was “Professor of Law in Northwestern University.”  Hyde would remain in that position until 1925 when he moved to Columbia to become holder of the famous chair of Hamilton Fish Professor of International Law and Diplomacy (1925-1945).  In 1951 and 1952 he was a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.  He died in 1952.  A more detailed remembrance by Woolsey is in volume 46 of the American Journal of International Law.  Footnote 2 of the remembrance interestingly discloses that Hyde’s daughter had married another famous Columbia  international lawyer, Oliver Lissitzyn.  Lissitzyn (along with Wolfgang Friedman and Richard Pugh) put together the first edition of International Law: Cases and Materials (West, 1969), which is now in its 5th edition — and the reason all this is mentioned is because I was involved in the 3rd edition (Henkin, Pugh, Schachter, Smit), which at some point will be subject of a Lou Henkin autograph post.

Back to Hyde.  His 1922 two volume text was the result of a suggestion of Dean Wigmore that a text be prepared on international law from the U.S. point of view.  As a true scholar, though, he was quick to highlight and criticize U.S. interpretation and application of international law that varied from the actual requirements of the law.  The text was expanded in a 1945 second edition to include three volumes.

To the autograph.  It is signed for Dr. Gaillard Hunt.  It is uncertain whether the recipient was the senior or junior Gaillard Hunt, but this information is on a web site that appears to be maintained by the grandson of senior Hunt.

The grandfather (1862-1924) edited the papers of James Madison and his name has recently started appearing in citations in the endless disputes about separation of church and state. Hunt’s father, Gaillard Hunt, Jr. (1903-1949) left behind a novel . . .. [The grandson Gilliard T.] Hunt is a member of the District of Columbia Bar (and inactive in the New York Bar). He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife, Susan Hunt, and his daughter, Emma Hunt, who recently graduated from Tulane.

Without further ado, here is Charles Cheney Hyde (click the thumb to enlarge):

* Natasha Affolder, International Environmental Law’s Unfamiliar Faces: Contracts, Concessions and Offset Agreements

* Hari Osofsky. Complexities of Climate Change Adaptation

* Don Anton, Greening the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD): An Agenda for International Environmental Law

The IELIG has also sponsored a joint proposal with the Law of the Sea Interest Group:

* Don Anton and Coalter Lathrop, Regulating the “Race to the Bottom”: Governing the Sustainable Exploitation of Deep Sea-Bed Resources

While there is no guarantee that any of these proposals will get up, we believe that all of them are strong and we hope for a strong international environmental law showing at the 2012 Annual Meeting.

As a member of the American Society of International Law, to join the interest group all you need to do is proceed to the ASIL International Environmental Law Interest Group webpage.

• Bulletin Board
• Human Rights News
• Job, Fellowship and Volunteer Postings
• Educations Courses & Conferences

Bulletin Board

WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOR

Sunday, June 12th was World Day Against Child Labor.  The ILO’s most recent global estimate is that 115 million children are involved in hazardous work. This is work that by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm children’s health, safety or morals. Children working in many different industries and occupations can be exposed to such risks and the problem is global, affecting industrialized as well as developing countries.

Learn more: http://www.ilo.org/global/meetings-and-events/events/world-day-against-child-labour/2011/lang–en/index.htm

IN THE DOCK: Defence Rights at the ICC

The International Bar Association (IBA) International Criminal Court (ICC) Programme has released a new film on defence rights at the ICC. Please find more information on the film and its launch by visiting http://www.ibanet.org/Article/Detail.aspx?ArticleUid=4B9CD7F3-9185-4EBC-B40B-D54B8CC8D01E

To watch the film Click here

IMPOWR Volunteers

Posted: 5/25/11

The ABA Section of International Law’s International Models Project on Women’s Rights (IMPOWR) is looking for volunteers to become Contributing Editors and Review Board Members. IMPOWR is a new initiative to establish a global collaborative database on women’s rights under law. It promises to play a unique role in supporting the worldwide implementation of the principles underlying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). IMPOWR seeks experienced lawyers and law students with a depth of knowledge in foreign legal systems and national laws pertaining to gender equality in one or more of the topic areas covered in the database: CEDAW status; civil life (citizenship, voting rights, etc.); healthcare; marriage and family relations (marital rights, custody, inheritance, etc.); economic and social life (access to education, employment, property ownership, etc.); crimes and violence (trafficking, domestic violence, etc.); and access to justice. Volunteers will serve as “Contributing Editors” to perform research and develop content for the database. Review Board Members will review the database content for relevancy and accuracy.

Those interested in volunteering can complete the volunteer information form online www.impowr.org/volunteer or contact International Projects Director Christina Heid (christina.heid@americanbar.org) for additional information and indicate their substantive interest and background.

NEW RESOURCE: Human Rights in the United States: A Dictionary and Documents

This guide to Human Rights in the United States is a two-volume set offering easy to grasp explanations of the basic concepts and laws in the field, with emphasis on human rights in the historical, political, and legal experience of the United States. This indispensable resource surveys the legal protection of human dignity in the United States, examines the sources of human rights norms, cites key legal cases, explains the role of international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and charts global, regional, and UN human rights measures.

For more information please click on:

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/c3b7ca19/human_rights_in_the_united_states_a_dictiona

NEWSLETTER: War Crimes Prosecution Watch, Volume 6, Issue 4 – May 23, 2011

War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world.

To read the newsletter visit: http://publicinternationallawandpolicygroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/wcpw_vol06_issue04.html

Human Rights News

SPANISH JUDGE ISSUES HISTORIC INDICTMENT AND ARREST WARRANTS AGAINST

20 DEFENDANTS IN JESUITS MASSACRE CASE

San Francisco, CA — Today, a Spanish judge issued a 77-page indictment and arrest warrants for 20

Salvadoran ex-officers who have been charged with crimes against humanity and state terrorism for their

role in the murders of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her sixteen year old daughter in 1989. The

defendants were all members of the Salvadoran military, including several who were in the High

Command. The highest ranking defendant, Rafael Humberto Larios, was the Minister of Defense at the

time of the massacre. Also indicted is General Rafael Bustillo, Colonel Orlando Zepeda who was also

Vice Minister of Defense and Colonel Inocente Orlando Montano who was Vice Minister of Public

Safety.

In the lengthy charging document, Judge Eloy Velasco describes the far reaching conspiracy to kill the

Jesuit priests and explains how it was conceived as a military operation at the highest levels of the

Salvadoran Army and Military Intelligence. The defendants, the majority of whom are still residents of

El Salvador, have ten days to surrender to authorities before additional steps will be taken to ensure their

arrest. Colonel Orlando Montano is already in custody.

This indictment come almost three years since, the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA) and the

Spanish Pro Human Rights Association (APDHE) initiated a case before the Spanish National Court for

the murders against members of the Salvadoran military. CJA has been working closely with Spanish and

US authorities to ensure the arrest of the defendants and to expand the case to include six more defendants

who were responsible for the massacre. CJA has presented extensive testimony to the court over the past

few years including expert testimony from Stanford Professor Terry Karl, military expert Colonel Garcia

and Salvadoran Judge Sydney Blanco, among others.

On the morning of November 16, 1989, in the midst of a bloody civil war, El Salvador and the world

woke up to the news that six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and the housekeeper’s daughter had been

brutally murdered. A Truth Commission report revealed that the Salvadoran military planned and

committed the crimes against the priests, who were outspoken critics of the military dictatorship. For the

past 21 years, all efforts to obtain justice in El Salvador have been thwarted. In explaining the basis for

the issuance of the indictment and the arrest warrants, the judge explains that any claim of double

jeopardy should fail because the 1990 trial held in El Salvador was a “sham trial.”

Read more: http://cja.org/downloads/JesuitsArrestWarrants%20PR.pdf

HIGH-PROFILE PANEL URGES NON-CRIMINAL APPROACH TO WORLD DRUG POLICY

The report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and past presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, was swiftly dismissed by the U.S. and Mexico.

By Ken Ellingwood and Brian Bennett, Los Angeles Times

June 1, 2011, 6:41 p.m.

Reporting from Mexico City and Washington—

Calling the global war on drugs a costly failure, a group of high-profile world leaders is urging the Obama administration and other governments to end “the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but do no harm to others.”

A report by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and past presidents of Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, recommends that governments try new ways of legalizing and regulating drugs, especially marijuana, as a way to deny profits to drug cartels.

The recommendation was swiftly dismissed by the Obama administration and the government of Mexico, which are allied in a violent 4 1/2 -year-old crackdown on cartels that has killed more than 38,000 people in Mexico.

“The U.S. needs to open a debate,” former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria, a member of the panel, said by telephone from New York, where the report is scheduled to be released Thursday. “When you have 40 years of a policy that is not bringing results, you have to ask if it’s time to change it.”

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-drug-policy-20110602,0,1200377.story

Editorial

SYED SAKEEN SGAGZAD’S COURAGE

Published: June 1, 2011

The Pakistani journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad knew he was a marked man. Mr. Shahzad, who covered national security and terrorism, had received repeated threats from Pakistan’s powerful spy agency. Yet he courageously kept doing his job — until somebody silenced him. His body, his face horribly beaten, was buried on Wednesday.

Suspicion inevitably falls on Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s chief intelligence agency. For the sake of justice, and the shredded credibility of Pakistan’s government, his murderers must be found quickly and held accountable.

Mr. Shahzad disappeared from Islamabad on Sunday, two days after he published an article suggesting a militant attack on a naval base in Karachi was retaliation for the navy’s attempt to crack down on Al Qaeda militants in the armed forces. American analysts doubt an Al Qaeda cell infiltrated Pakistani security, but they have long worried about individual sympathizers.

Whatever the case, the attack humiliated the ISI and the armed services. They were already fending off allegations that they sheltered Osama bin Laden and criticism for failing to stop the American raid that killed him.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/opinion/02thu3.html?_r=2

IT’S TIME TO FOCUS ON TRAFFICKING IN LABOUR, URGES NEW REPORT

10 Jun 2011 06:14

Source: member // World Vision International

Trafficking is typically associated with the sex trade. But it is now clear that the sale of people into slavery in the fishing, food processing, domestic work and other industries is the most common form of trafficking and needs far more public attention if it is to be stopped, according to a new report on trafficking in the Mekong region.

World Vision International’s report ‘10 Things You Need To know About Labour Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region’ lays out ten truths about trafficking that most people are unaware of in an effort to broaden debate about trafficking, and just who it is that ends up enslaved and where.

Based on findings from other reports as well as case studies collected by World Vision in the course of its efforts to fight trafficking across the region, the report states that across the Asia Pacific region there are an estimated three people trafficked for every 1,000 inhabitants while globally for every person forced into the sex trade, nine are forced to work.

The report states: “Trafficking for labour exploitation is generally not considered as severe a crime as trafficking for sexual exploitation, and there is a high level of impunity for offenders. Victims of labour trafficking are often not identified as such, and instead are detained and deported from the country where the exploitation took place. As a result, the majority of trafficked persons do not have access to assistance or justice, and the traffickers remain free to exploit others.”

To learn more about the Ten Things, the report recommendations for action and to read the case studies of survivors download ‘The Ten Things You Need to Know About Labour Trafficking’ report.

Read more: http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/its-time-to-focus-on-trafficking-for-labour-urges-new-report/

BASHIR COMMITTING NEW CRIMES IN DARFUR

UNITED NATIONS — Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir is committing new crimes in Darfur and challenging the authority of the UN Security Council, the chief international warcrimes prosecutor said Wednesday.

“Crimes against humanity and genocide continue unabated in Darfur,” International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the Security Council.

He said new air attacks on civilians and killings of ethnic minorities had been carried out in the conflict-stricken western region, where the United Nations says at least 300,000 people have died since an uprising started in 2003.

“These millions of victims displaced are still subjected today to rapes, terror and conditions of life aimed at the destruction of their communities, constituting genocide,” Moreno-Ocampo said.

Bashir has already been charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the ICC but refuses to recognize its authority, though his travels have been severely restricted.

“President al-Bashir has learned how to continue to commit crimes challenging the authority of the UN

Security Council,” the prosecutor said in his report to the council on Darfur.

“He did not stop the commission of the genocide against the displaced, but he is blocking the dissemination of information about their fate.”

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jHhMldIzHhAO6xVuiCuJqXsqtUOA?docId=CNG.4b51b056239693ce4c4888dc9ef63302.8f1

CHIQUITA FAILS TO HALT SUIT OVER COLUMBIA TORTURE, MURDER

By Ann Woolner – Jun 3, 2011

Chiquita Brands International Inc. (CQB), owner of the namesake banana label, failed to halt U.S. lawsuits brought by thousands of Colombians who said they or their relatives were tortured or killed by militias the company paid.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach, Florida, today denied Chiquita’s motion to dismiss some of the claims brought under the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act. The civil suits, which have been joined into a single case, seek compensation for the victims.

The Cincinnati-based company was fined $25 million by the U.S. after pleading guilty in March 2007 to engaging in transactions with a terrorist group for paying Colombian paramilitary militias $1.7 million from 1997 to 2004. No executives were charged.

The seven complaints consolidated before Marra cover“several thousand” plaintiffs alleging their family members were killed or tortured by Colombian paramilitary groups in banana-growing regions of the country, according to today’s order. The paramilitaries targeted trade unionists and leftist activists, the judge said.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-03/chiquita-fails-to-halt-suit-over-colombia-torture-murder.html

GADDAFI FACES NEW ICC CHARGES FOR USING RAPE AS WEAPON IN CONFLICT

Chief prosecutor investigates evidence of sexual attacks on women as Britain tells Nato: you must do more

The chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) is likely to add rape to the war crimes charges against Muammar Gaddafi on the back of mounting evidence that sexual attacks on women are being used as a weapon in the Libyan conflict.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters at the UN in New York last night there were strong indications that hundreds of women had been raped in the Libyan government clampdown on the popular uprising and that Gaddafi had ordered the violations as a form of punishment.

The prosecutor said there was even evidence that the government had been handing out doses of Viagra to soldiers to encourage sexual attacks. Moreno-Ocampo said rape was a new tactic for the Libyan regime. “That’s why we had doubts at the beginning, but now we are more convinced. Apparently, [Gaddafi] decided to punish, using rape.”

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/08/gaddafi-forces-libya-britain-nato

MLADIC SHUNS ‘MONSTROUS’ CHARGES

Ex-Bosnian Serb army head Ratko Mladic has made his first appearance at The Hague war crimes tribunal, but said he would not enter a plea to the “monstrous” and “obnoxious” charges.

He is charged with crimes in the 1992-95 Bosnian war, including the massacre of about 7,500 people in Srebrenica.

Gen Mladic told the court he had been “defending my people and my country”.

He also said he was “gravely ill”, but a court spokeswoman said health checks had shown he was fit to stand trial.

Nerma Jelacic said a variety of tests had been done on Gen Mladic since he arrived at The Hague, but none had turned up any health issues to cause concern.

Gen Mladic, who was arrested last week in Serbia, is charged with genocide, persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, inhumane acts, terror, deportation and hostage-taking, according to the tribunal indictment.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13637360

SESELJ CONTEMPT TRIAL CHAOS

Disputes around protective measures for witnesses disrupts case.

By Rachel Irwin – International Justice – ICTY

TRI Issue 696,

10 Jun 11

The second contempt trial for Serbian nationalist politician Vojislav Seselj ended abruptly at the Hague tribunal this week when one defence witness refused to testify with protective measures and the accused would not call the rest of his witnesses unless their identities were revealed publicly.

When the judges informed Seselj that they could not rescind the protective measures and that he would have to submit this request to the judges hearing his criminal trial, the accused said this was a “brutal violation” of his rights.

“I am a very thorough and patient,” Seselj said. “Once one [contempt trial] is completed, I will prepare myself for the next one, and the next one…your problem is how you are going to get away from that.”

Detained at the tribunal since 2003, Seselj is charged with nine counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity – including murder, torture and forcible transfer – for atrocities carried out in an effort to expel the non-Serb population from parts of Croatia and Bosnia between August 1991 and September 1993. He represents himself in court and remains leader of the Serbian Radical Party, SRS, based in Belgrade.

Seselj’s criminal trial has endured repeated delays since it officially began in November 2007, a full year after the original trial date was postponed due to the defendant’s hunger strike. The defence phase of the case has yet to begin.

Read more: http://iwpr.net/report-news/seselj-contempt-trial-chaos

IRISH CHURCH’S FORGOTTEN VICTIMS TAKE CASE TO U.N.

By CAROL RYAN

DUBLIN — For years, it was Ireland’s hidden scandal: an estimated 30,000 women were sent to church-run laundries, where they were abused and worked for years with no pay. Their offense, in the eyes of society, was to break the strict sexual rules of Catholic Ireland, having children outside wedlock.

Although it has been over a decade since their story came to light, the women are still waiting for an apology, and possibly compensation.

Now, an advocacy group, Justice for Magdalenes, which has spent the last two years lobbying the Irish government to investigate the history of the laundries, is taking the case to the United Nations, alleging the abuse amounted to human rights violations, and hoping that an official rebuke from the international body will shame the government into action.

“We don’t take any pleasure in embarrassing the government in this way but we have worked the domestic structure as far as we can and still the government has done nothing,” said James Smith of Boston College, a spokesman for Justice for Magdalenes.

The United Nations is examining Ireland’s human rights record this week as part of the Universal Periodic Review, a review of the human rights records of all 192 member states. The U.N. Committee Against Torture invited Justice for Magdalenes to make a statement in Geneva after reading their submission about the alleged abuses in the laundries.

Maeve O’Rourke, a Harvard Law School human rights fellow, presented the Magdalenes’ case last Friday. She told the committee that the Irish government’s failure to deal with the abuse amounted to continuing degrading treatment in violation of the Convention Against Torture. She also said the state had failed to promptly investigate “a more than 70-year system of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of women and girls in Ireland’s Magdalene laundries.”

The story of the Magdalene women was uncovered in 1993 when a religious order in Dublin cashed in on the booming Irish property market and sold a portion of its land to a developer. The bodies of 155 women who had died in the laundry were exhumed from unmarked graves and the media began to ask questions. The story went made international headlines with the release of Peter Mullan’s 2002 film “The Magdalene Sisters.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/world/europe/25iht-abuse25.html?_r=1

Job, Fellowship, and Volunteer Postings

ABA-SIL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE JOB BOARD

The ABA-SIL Human Rights Committee is pleased to announce a comprehensive new Job Board consisting of web pages for potential employment opportunities from dozens of international human rights NGOs. The job board was developed by ABA member Ellen J. Tabachnick. It can be accessed from the Committee Resource module in the lower right column of our committee’s home page at http://www.abanet.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=IC950000.

THE ARIEL F. SALLOWS CHAIR OF HUMAN RIGHTS

University of Saskatchewan – College of Law

The Sallows Chair will be of interest to outstanding candidates who have made distinguished contributions to research and/or practice in human rights; the candidate must have the academic qualifications required for an academic appointment. Past holders include Penelope Andrews, Marilou McPhedran, Virginia Leary, Paul Mahoney, Shelley Wright, the late Martin Ennals, Rebecca Wallace, Abdullah An-Na’im, Nihal Jayawickrama, Francisco Forrest Martin and Roy Adams.

Successful candidates for the Chair will be in residence in the College of Law, and it is normally expected that the candidate will pursue a research program, teach a course or seminar, give a public lecture and oversee the planning for a conference. Tenure will normally be for one year, but in any event no longer than two years. Salary will be commensurate with the experience and standing of the holders. The date for appointment is flexible, and may be as early as January 1, 2012.

Letters of application, accompanied by a current curriculum vitae and an outline of the research plans of the candidate, should be sent to:

Beth Bilson, Acting Dean
College of Law
University of Saskatchewan
15 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7N 5A6

Deadline:  December 31, 2011

http://www.usask.ca/law/faculty_sessionals/employment_opportunities.php

INTERNATIONAL JOBS

Program Director Anti Corruption
DynCorp International (Casals and Associates)
Location: Falls Church, VA, USA
Last Date: June 15, 2011
http://devnetjobs.tripod.com/11may2011-dyncorp-anti-corruption-director.html

Outreach Manager, Judicial Training Project
Management Systems International (MSI)
Location: Sri Lanka
Last Date: June 18, 2011
http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_75976.shtml

Senior Child Protection Advisor, Children and Women Protection Project
Management Systems International (MSI)
Location: Haiti
Last Date: June 25, 2011
http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_76144.shtml

Fundraiser
Friends of the Earth Europe
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Last Date: June 26, 2011
http://devnetjobs.tripod.com/fundraiser-foe-26may2011.html

Legal Education and Training Advisor
International Development Law Organization
Location: Juba, Southern Sudan
Last Date: June 30, 2011
http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_76230.shtml

SOURCE: See more jobs at: http://www.DevNetJobs.org or by sending a blank email to:
developmentjobs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Educational Courses & Conferences

THE FLETCHER SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCED STUDY OF NONVIOLENT CONFLICT

Tufts University / Medford, Massachusetts

June 19-25, 2011

Visit the FSI 2011 Webpage

Download Flyer

Download Application

The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict is pleased to announce a call for applications to participate in an advanced, interdisciplinary program on nonviolent conflict taught by leading scholars and practitioners of strategic nonviolent action and authorities from related fields.

We also invite you to pass along this announcement to others who share our passion for achieving human rights and justice through nonviolent strategies.

If you have any questions, or would like for us to send you an application directly, please do not hesitate to contact us at fsi@nonviolent-conflict.org or visit our website at www.nonviolent-conflict.org.

JUSTICE SECTOR REFORM: APPLYING HUMAN RIGHTS BASED APPROACHES

IHRN

Announcing details of the International Human Rights Network 2011 justice sector training programme Justice Sector Reform: Applying Human Rights Based Approaches (OJIR11)
Dates: Monday 20th – Friday 24th June 2011 Venue: National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland

This annual IHRN training programme aims at enhancing the skills of justice sector personnel, consultants, managers etc, in applying Human Rights Based Approaches to Justice Sector Reform.  The programme is designed for people working in the justice sector (with state or non state institutions) or undertaking Rule of law/Governance assignments as well as justice sector personnel wishing to adapt their expertise for international consultancy work (eg for bi-lateral donors, EC Framework Contract Lot 7 – Governance and Home Affairs etc).

Knowledge and skills enhanced include:
*The legal principles, policies & practice underpinning human rights based approaches to justice sector reform
*The inter-linkages between justice sector roles (law enforcement, judiciary, corrections/rehabilitation, etc)
*The relationship between the justice sector and related terms; ‘security sector’, ‘rule of law’, ‘good governance’
*Human Rights Based needs assessment, programme design, implementation, as well as monitoring & evaluation
*Programming tools & checklists (including benchmarks & indicators of human rights change)
*Case studies from national contexts as well as international field missions (including conflict and post-conflict)
*Teamwork, advocacy, strategic partnerships and consulting opportunities

Past participant testimonials, Application forms and further details available at
http://www.ihrnetwork.org/justice-sector-reform_202.htm

LLM HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE
Transitional Justice Institute
University of Ulster
(Jordanstown and Magee campuses, Northern Ireland)

This LLM programme based at the Transitional Justice Institute, with staff expertise across a range of areas, offers an LL.M. degree which is designed to give students a unique lens on the study of human rights in the contemporary international moment. Using the local Northern Ireland political and legal context as a starting point the course will imbue students with a working knowledge of international norms and principles, while at the same time encouraging students to move beyond the local to reflect critically on present international law norms and their application to other situations and contexts. Students are encouraged to develop and transfer knowledge, experience and expertise of the transformative possibilities of human rights law both in respect of societies emerging from violent conflict and in relation to the local and global management of other particular societal problems. This dual focus – from the local to the global and back – is a core part of the course’s aim to equip you with the knowledge and skills base to contribute internationally as well as locally.

This programme has been developed to enable students to:
* Gain an in-depth knowledge of the theoretical and practical application of human rights law.
* Understand the particular human rights issues in conflicted and transitional societies.
* Gain knowledge and skills in carrying out research projects from design to write-up.
* Enhance skills in critically appraising published and commissioned research.
* Develop skills highly relevant to legal practice, and to policy, research and advocacy roles in the voluntary, public and private sectors in the UK, Ireland and beyond. Successful completion may also open up a range of further study and research options.

Further Information
Download Information Leaflet
TJI website: www.transitionaljustice.ulster.ac.uk , or
Applications should ordinarily be received before the last Friday in June, although consideration may be given to applications received after this date.
Contact
Ms Emer Carlin
Secretary
Transitional Justice Institute
Magee campus
Tel: + 44 (0) 28 71675146
Email:LLM@ulster.ac.uk

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS IN A TIME OF AUSTERITY

Durham Law School and the Faculty of Laws, Oxford, will host a one-day workshop on ‘Economic and Social Rights in a Time of Austerity’ on 30 June.

Date: 30 June 2011

Venue; Oxford Faculty of Laws

The workshop aims to explore the role of human rights, and particularly ESR, in the context of austerity policies fashioned in the wake of the global financial crisis. It does so though focussing on four main

themes: Monitoring, Mainstreaming, Legal Processes and Equality. It features leading ESR experts working in law, academia, the public sector and civil society.

Details of the event, including speakers and a draft programme are available at:

www.esrinatimeofausterity.com

Places are limited. To register, please contact Arghya Sengupta (Arghya.sengupta@balliol.ox.ac.uk).

HUMAN RIGHTS COURSES

Intervention Training.  Join the Law Society’s International Action Team (IAT)

Date:                      28th June 2011

Time:                     16.00-15.30

Location:                The Law Society, Chancery Lane

To book online, click here:  http://services.lawsociety.org.uk/events/node/53460

Common Law and Convention Law:  The Limits to Interpretation

The Law Society is hosting a lecture by Baroness Hale of Richmond on the common law and human rights. Lord Lester of Herne Hill will be chairing.

Date:                    28th June 2011

Time:                    18.00-19.30

Location:               The Law Society, Chancery Lane

For more information: http://www.hrla.org.uk/HRLA%20Event%2028th%20June%202011.pdf

The Ruggie Guidelines on Business and Human Rights – What Do They Mean for Lawyers?

The event explores how these new guidelines affect the advice lawyers give business clients.

Date:                      5th July 2011

Time:                     18.00-19.30

Location:               The Law Society, Chancery Lane

For more information and to book a place:   http://services.lawsociety.org.uk/events/node/53386

Reminder

The materials and information included in this listserv are provided as a service to you and do not necessarily reflect endorsement by the American Bar Association or the Section of International Law.  We encourage subscribers to pass the information along to colleagues and other interested parties and to contribute press releases, news items, event listings, job vacancies and other appropriate information.  To post a message email INTHUMRIGHTS@mail.abanet.org.  For questions, suggestions or problems, contact Russell Kerr, russell@kerrlawfirm.com.

Thank you again for your interest and participation!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This weekly digest contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this digest is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.  For more information go to:

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Yesterday a number of my International Law colleagues and I filed a Motion for Leave to File an Amici Curiae Brief in support of the appeal by Ecuadorian defendants in Chevron v. Donziger (which includes a copy of the Brief) in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. For those unfamiliar with the facts surrounding the case, below is a summary of a detailed synopsis provided by a colleague.

The case goes back to 1964, when Texaco, Chevron’s predecessor operated a large oil concession in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest.  Between 1964 and 1990, Texaco dumped about 16 billion gallons of toxic substances into the surface water of the Amazon, relied upon by indigenous Amazon and remote farmers for all domestic and agricultural uses.  Texaco also created hundreds of unlined pits in the jungle floor and filled them with toxic sludge.  Internal Texaco Memos document that Texaco had a policy of avoiding the documentation of oil spills and of destroying records of previous spills.  The Memos also reveal that Texaco decided against adopting the environmental practices used in the United States because it would hurt profits.

In 1993, the Amazon indigenous communities and remote farmers sued Texaco in the United States, its home jurisdiction, seeking redress for damages caused by Texaco’s operations.  From 1993 to 2002 Texaco and later Chevron, when it acquired Texaco, fought to have the case dismissed and moved to Ecuador as the more appropriate forum to try the case.  During this time Chevron removed all assets from Ecuador.  Ultimately, the U.S. action was dismissed in exchange for promises by Chevron to accept jurisdiction in Ecuador and satisfy any judgment rendered by an Ecuadorian court.

The case was refiled in Ecuador and on valentine’s day this year, February 14, Judge Lozada fo the Provincial Court fo Sucumbios delivered a 188 page judgment against Chevron awarding the indigenous communities and remote farmers $8.6 billion in damages, with $5.6 billion going toward environmental remediation.

Anticipating the worst, Chevron took preemptive action back in the United States.  With the judgment not even final and no possibility for enforcement in the U.S., Chevron filed a complaint against the Ecuadorians seeking declaratory relief for non-recognition of the Ecuadorian judgment and a preliminary injunction enjoining the Ecuadorians for seeking to have the Ecuadorian judgment recognized or enforced anywhere in the world.  On March 7, 2011, the U.S. Federal District Court in the Southern District of New York granted the preliminary injunction in this Opinion.

This is where my colleagues and I came in.  As you will see from our Brief, we believe that the District Court erred in granting the injunction and that international legal obligations of the United States requires that the injunction be dissolved and the case dismissed.