ABA Section of International Law
Human Rights e-Brief
14 MARCH 2011 / Issue No. 442
- Bulletin Board
- Human Rights News
- Job, Fellowship, and Volunteer Postings
- Educational Courses & Conferences
Bulletin Board
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR ABA-SIL HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD
Nominations are now open for the ABA Section of International Law’s International Human Rights Lawyer Award. The award honors individual “foreign human rights lawyers who have suffered persecution as a result of their professional activities” on behalf of human rights defenders or against human rights abuses.
The award has been presented 13 times over the last 20 years. In 2010, the recipient was Gao Zhisheng of China, whose personal and professional commitment to defense of individuals’ rights has led to his imprisonment and torture in the past and his continuing “disappearance” since his seizure by the government in 2009.
Other recipients include Andrew Makoni, Zimbabwe (2009); Abdulrahman Al-Lahem of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed-Ali Dadkhah of Iran, and Asma Jahangir and Hina Jilani of Pakistan (all in 2008); Soraya Gutierrez Arguello, Colombia (2006); Digna Ochoa y Placido, Mexico (2003); Rosemary Nelson, Northern Ireland (2001); Muchtar Pakpahan, Indonesia (1997); Olisa Agbakoba, Nigeria (1996); Radhika Coomaraswamy, Sri Lanka (1995); Teo Soh Lung, Singapore (1994); Srdja Popovic, Serbia (1993); Carlos Escobar Pineda, Peru (1991); and Gibson Kamau Kuria, Kenya (1990).
Each nomination should include 1) the nominee’s C.V./biographical information, 2) a description of human rights-related professional activity that supports the nomination, 3) other relevant background material, and 4) a cover statement explaining why it would be particularly appropriate for the Section to recognize the nominated lawyer this year.
Please submit nominations to Award Committee Chair Penny Wakefield (pwwakefield@comcast.net) and to Section Projects Coordinator Katie Van Geem (katie.vangeem@americanbar.org) by Wednesday, March 16, 2011.
The Award Committee, which also includes Russell Kerr, Eileen Meier, and Robert Gaudet, will consider all qualifying nominations for the award. The Section reserves the right not to present the award in any given year. If a recipient is named, the award will be presented during the ABA Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, in August 2011.
IBA Human Rights Institute 2010 Annual Report
The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) 2010 Annual Report has been released.
The Report can be downloaded via the website at: http://www.ibanet.org/Human_Rights_Institute/About_the_HRI/HRI_Activities/HRI_Media/HRI_Annual_Reports.aspx
SEEKING EXPERT ON GENETIC RESEARCH AND INFORMED CONSENT FOR DUBLIN PANEL
I am currently finalizing a panel for a program to be conducted at the fall meeting in Dublin, tentatively titled, “Emerging Issues in Informed Consent Research”. In light of the recent settlement involving the Havasupai tribe in Arizona, the lawsuits arising out of newborn blood spot collection in a number of US states and other controversies arising around the world, the program will examine the processes currently used for obtaining consent from the subjects that participate in these studies, and explore the sufficiency of these processes. I am eager to add to my panel someone from an NGO or related organization who can speak to the human rights concerns raised by the collection of genetic materials from large groups of populations in the absence of adequately informed consent and/or the use of previously collected materials for new purposes for which the subject did not originally consent.
I would be very happy to receive all recommendations/expressions of interest.
Jacqueline Klosek
Goodwin Procter LLP
Jklosek@goodwinprocter.com
Office: 212-459-7464
Cell: 646 873 0757
IBA HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD 2011. Who would you nominate?
Nominations are now open for the 2011 IBA Human Rights Award! This prestigious annual award is presented to a legal practitioner for outstanding contribution to human rights law. Entry is open to both IBA members and non-members, and nominations close on 27 March 2011. Who would you nominate?
Please use the IBA nominations form to submit a nomination. For more information on criteria for candidature and to submit a nomination visit the IBA website at: http://www.ibanet.org/Human_Rights_Institute/About_the_HRI/HRI_Activities/HRI_Media/IBA_Human_Rights_Award_2010.aspx
The IBA is keen to ensure that the maximum number possible of high-calibre nominations is presented for consideration by the judging panel, so make your nominations now!
The winner will be notified in July to allow time for the IBA to make arrangements for the winner to attend, as the guest of the IBA, the 2011 Annual Conference in Dubai, which runs from 30 October – 4 November 2011.
Human Rights News
ICC PROSECUTOR TO OPEN AN INVESTIGATION IN LIBYA
On Thursday 3 March 2011 International Criminal Court Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in accordance with the requirements under the Rome Statute will announce the opening of an investigation in Libya.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 (2011) provides jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court over the situation in Libya since 15 February 2011. As per the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor shall proceed with an investigation unless there is no reasonable basis to believe that crimes falling under the ICC jurisdiction have been committed.
Following a preliminary examination of available information, the Prosecutor has reached the conclusion that an investigation is warranted.
Tomorrow at a press conference in The Hague, the Prosecutor will present an overview of the alleged crimes committed in Libya since 15 February 2011 and preliminary information as to the entities and persons who could be prosecuted and put them on notice to avoid future crimes.
The Office of the Prosecutor is liaising with the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab League, as well as States. Additionally, the Prosecutor will also request information from other sources including from Interpol who will provide assistance. The Prosecutor will act independently and impartially.
The next step is for the Prosecutor to present his case to ICC judges who will then decide whether or not to issue arrest warrants based on the evidence.
Practical information for journalists attending the press conference is available here.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor
NEXT TEST OF CORPORATIONS’ LIABILITY?
The Second Circuit has set the stage for a major dispute over corporations’ liability for wrongdoing to move on to the Supreme Court. The appeals court left intact a decision that they cannot be sued under a 1789 law.
The Second Circuit Court has set the stage for another major case on corporations and the law to move on to the Supreme Court — a case raising a core question about U.S. courts’ authority to hear claims that foreign companies engaged in human rights abuses. In a closely-followed case, Kiobel, et al., v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, et al. (Circuit docket 06-4800), the Court ruled in September that corporations may not be sued under the Alien Tort Statute, enacted in 1789 by the first Congress. On Friday, a divided panel denied rehearing and the en banc Court — splitting 5-5 — refused to rehear the case. (UPDATE: Lawyers involved plan to file a cert. petition with the Supreme Court, with timing yet to be determined.)
Although the Alien Tort law has been on the books since the Founding era, it has been revived in a wave of lawsuits against foreign individuals that began with a Second Circuit ruling in 1980, and expanded to corporations for the first time in 1997. Despite that development, the underlying issue of corporations’ liabillity — or not — under the law has remained an open question.
The Supreme Court first got involved in 2004, in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain. In that ruling, in an international abduction case, the Court recognized authority for American courts to rule on ATS cases, but cautioned the lower courts to keep them within strict bounds. The specific claim in that case was not allowed to go forward, however.
Last October, the Court refused to hear a case testing whether corporations could be sued under the law. That case, Talisman Energy v. Presbyterian Church of Sudan (09-1418), and a cross-appeal, Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy (09-1262), grew out of claims by Sudanese individuals of atrocities at the hands of the Sudanese military to support oil exploration efforts in that country. Those cases, too, originated in the Second Circuit, but in that case the appeals court simply assumed, without deciding, that corporations could be held liable under ATS.
The Second Circuit, of course, has now answered that question directly, in the Kiobel case. Like the Sudan cases, this new lawsuit involves claims by Nigerians of government suppression of resistance to oil exploration in their country. The lawsuit contended that Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., a Netherlands firm, and Shell Transport and Trading Co., a British firm, and a local Shell subsidiary, enlisted the Nigerian government and its military forces to put down the resistance movement., resulting in wanton killing, raping, beating and looting and destruction property.
Read the full story: http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/02/next-test-of-corporations-liability/
LONGEST TRIBUNAL CASE CLOSES
Prosecution asks for terms of between 25 and 40 years for six Bosnian Croat defendants.
By Velma Šarić – International Justice – ICTY
TRI Issue 682,
4 Mar 11
The trial of six senior Bosnian Croat officials – the longest case heard at the Hague tribunal to date – came to a close this week.
All were senior political and military leaders in what was known as Herceg-Bosna, HB, and face 26 counts of war crimes for the expulsion and murder of Muslims in Bosnia during the Croatian-Muslim conflict in 1993.
HB was declared a distinct Croat “community” within Bosnia in 1991, and claimed republic status two years later.
The indictment accuses Jadranko Prlic, Bruno Stojic, Slobodan Praljak, Milivoj Petkovic, Valentin Coric and Berislav Pusic of being part of a “joint criminal enterprise”.
The aim, the indictment states, was “to politically and militarily subjugate, permanently remove and ethnically cleanse Bosnian Muslims and other non-Croats” in the part of Bosnia that was claimed as part of HB, and “to join these areas as part of a ‘Greater Croatia’”.
The six individuals are accused of using “force, fear or threat of force, persecution, imprisonment and detention, forcible transfer and deportation, appropriation and destruction of property and other means” to achieve their aims.
The trial began on April 26, 2006, with the prosecution case closing on February 6, 2008, and has been presided over by Judge Jean-Claude Antonetti.
Read the full story at: http://iwpr.net/report-news/longest-tribunal-case-closes
OBAMA CREATES INDEFINITE DETENTION SYSTEM FOR PRISONERS AT GUANTANAMO BAY
By Peter Finn and Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
President Obama signed an executive order Monday that will create a formal system of indefinite detention for those held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who continue to pose a significant threat to national security. The administration also said it will start new military commission trials for detainees there.
The announcements, coming more than two years after Obama vowed in another executive order to close the detention center, all but cements Guantanamo Bay’s continuing role in U.S. counterterrorism policy.
Administration officials said the president is still committed to closing the prison, although he made no mention of that goal in a short statement Monday. The administration’s original plans to create a detention center in the United States and prosecute some detainees in federal court have all but collapsed in the face of bipartisan congressional opposition.
The executive order recognizes the reality that some Guantanamo Bay detainees will remain in U.S. custody for many years, if not for life. The new system allows them the prospect of successfully arguing in the future that they should be released because they do not pose a threat.
Read the full story at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030704890.html
SYRIAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER FREED AMID DISCONTENT
From Christine Theodorou and Joe Sterling, CNN
March 8, 2011 10:27 a.m. EST
CNN) — A prominent Syrian human rights lawyer has been released from prison, a move that comes amid demands by many restive citizens for more economic prosperity, political freedom and civil liberty.
Attorney Haitham Maleh — arrested in October 2009 during a government crackdown on lawyers and activists — has been freed, his son told CNN on Tuesday.
“I just talked to him on (the) phone and he was on his way home,” Iyas Maleh said, confirming the release.
The release came as Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on Monday issued pardons for prisoners, including some who are elderly and ill. Such pardons are made annually during this time of year, the anniversary of the Baathist party seizure of power in Syria.
The 80-year-old Maleh and other prisoners were not identified in the Syrian News Agency report announcing the pardons.
Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and writer of the Syria Comment blog, believes the Maleh release was prompted by a “widespread campaign of anger” by young people who oppose the government’s authoritarian measures.
Read the full story at: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/03/08/syria.attorney.freed/index.html
TRIAL BEGINS FOR FORMER ARGENTINE DICTATORS ACCUSED OF STEALING 34 BABIES
Michael Warren
A long-awaited trial began Monday for two former Argentine dictators who allegedly oversaw a systematic plan to steal babies born to political prisoners three decades ago.
Jorge Videla and Reynaldo Bignone are accused in 34 cases of infants who were taken from mothers held in Argentina’s largest clandestine torture and detention centres, the Navy Mechanics School in Buenos Aires and the Campo de Mayo army base northwest of the city.
Also on trial are five military figures and a doctor who attended to the detainees.
The case was opened 14 years ago at the request of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a leading human rights group. It may take up to a year to hear testimony from about 370 witnesses.
Mr. Videla, 85, has been sentenced to life in prison, and Mr. Bignone, 83, is serving a 25-year term for other crimes committed during the 1976-1983 dictatorship, but this is the first trial focused on the alleged plan to steal as many as 400 infants from leftists who were kidnapped, tortured and made to disappear during the junta’s crackdown on political dissent.
There are 13,000 people on the official list of those killed, although rights groups estimate as many as 30,000 died.
Read the full story at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/trial-begins-for-former-argentine-dictators-accused-of-stealing-34-babies/article1923900/
SIX HIGH-RANKING KENYANS SUMMONED BY INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Six high-ranking Kenyan officials, including a deputy prime minister, two ministers and a police chief, have been summoned to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with possible crimes against humanity committed in post-electoral violence three years ago.
An ICC pre-trial chamber declared yesterday by a majority of two to one that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the six are criminally responsible as either indirect co-perpetrators or contributors to the crimes against humanity of murder, forcible transfer and persecution, and ordered them to appear before the court on 7 April.
The six are William Samoei Ruto, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology; Henry Kiprono Kosgey, Minister of Industrialization; Joshua Arap Sang, Head of Operations for KASS FM radio station; Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Head of the Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet; Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; and Mohamed Hussein Ali, Police Commissioner at the time of the violence.
More than 1,100 people were killed, 3,500 injured and up to 600,000 forcibly displaced in the violence that followed the December 2007 elections. There were also hundreds of rapes, possibly more, and at least 100,000 properties were destroyed in six of Kenya’s eight provinces, according to ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who had requested the summonses.
The Chamber found reasonable grounds against Mr. Ruto, Mr. Kosgey and Mr. Sang in connection with murder, forcible transfer and persecution, although not for the count of torture. For the three others it also found reasonable grounds relating to the additional crimes of rape and other inhumane acts.
Mr. Ruto has been suspended and Mr. Kosgey has stepped aside from the ministerial positions because of issues not related to the ICC.
The six were ordered to have no direct or indirect contact with any person who is or is believed to be a victim or witness of the alleged crimes; to “refrain from corruptly influencing a witness, obstructing or interfering with the attendance or testimony of a witness, or tampering with or interfering with” the collection of evidence; and to “refrain from committing crime(s)” set forth in the 1998 Rome Statute that established the ICC.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday discussed the cases with Kenyan Vice-President Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka at UN Headquarters in New York.
SOURCE: UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST – 9 March 2011
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.
OPENINGS AT ASYLUM ACCESS
Asylum Access is seeking exceptional candidates for three open positions. Recommendations / referrals are welcome!
1. Policy Manager<http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1Z4U0tVnpLjAXjdZsZLVeS5TqNopn1Ijjr8bq_DJCbLO-EE9sZDM3c127Fm9O&hl=en>:
Leads Asylum Access’s policy advocacy with the US government, UN bodies, and non-traditional allies to make refugee rights a reality.
2. Development Manager<http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1RSNwvXY0YhhacMVEQByJSt7hJ-jN37ig6f_cR52jem5SSr7fAZZwi-4jAMKf&hl=en>:
Leads Asylum Access’s fundraising strategy and implementation as we plan for expansion to three new offices in 2013.
3. Communications and Development
Assistant<http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1IkAVWDD7Qk7GQgSAmTkT3iNY0W8aywrH0Xgf6FWpubhd8kCLcZXaAJC-pi32&hl=en>:
Supports Asylum Access’s global communications and fundraising, with an emphasis on new media, branding, and creative outreach.
Job descriptions are linked and attached here. Please circulate widely!
We’d like to receive applications by March 21, but the positions will remain open until filled.
SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER
Law and Health Initiative – Public Health Program
Open Society Institute–New York
Application Deadline: April 8, 2011
The Open Society Foundations’ Public Health Program (PHP) aims to promote health policies based on scientific evidence, social inclusion, human rights, and justice. Broadly, the program works with civil society organizations within two fields: promoting the participation of socially marginalized groups in public health policy and fostering greater government accountability and transparency through civil society monitoring efforts. Program areas focus on addressing the human rights and health needs of marginalized groups, facilitating citizen access to health information, and advocating for a strong civil society role in public health policy and practice.
PHP’s Law and Health Initiative (LAHI) promotes legal action to advance public health goals worldwide. LAHI supports legal assistance, litigation, and law reform efforts on a range of health issues, including patient care, HIV and AIDS, harm reduction, palliative care, sexual health, mental health, and Roma health. LAHI’s priorities include integrating legal services into health programs, strengthening human rights protections within health settings, and developing training and education programs in law and health. By bringing together legal, public health, and human rights organizations, LAHI seeks to build a broad movement for law-based approaches to health and for the human rights of society’s most marginalized groups.
LAHI seeks a full-time senior program officer.
Qualifications
- At least ten years of professional experience in four or more of the following six relevant fields: (1) legal advocacy and litigation; (2) international human rights; (3) health and human rights; (4) global health (specifically related to marginalized groups); (5) grant-making; (6) capacity development.
- Management experience, including personnel management, project management and strategic management.
- Law degree.
- Experience working in one or more of the following regions: East and Southern Africa; Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the former Soviet Union (fSU); Southeast Asia (SEA).
- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
- Demonstrated commitment to using law progressively to advance public health and human rights objectives.
To Apply
Please email resume and cover letter with salary requirements before to: humanresources@sorosny.org. Include job code in subject line: SPO-LAHI
OR
Open Society Foundations
Human Resources – Code SPO-LAHI
400 West 59th Street
New York, New York 10019
FAX: 212.548.4675
For more information visit: http://www.soros.org/about/locations/new-york/spo-plahi-20110310
Ph.D. RESEARCHER
Media Law Section of the Department of Communication Studies, Center for Journalism Studies and at the Law Faculty, the Human Rights Centre, Ghent University
The Media Law Section of the Department for Communication Studies of Ghent University together with the Human Rights Centre at the Law Faculty of Ghent University are looking for a Ph.D. researcher to work during 4 years on the topic of “Interferences with freedom of expression and ‘chilling effect’ ”.
The goal of the research project is to analyse the impact of the notion of the ‘chilling effect’ on freedom of expression as referred to by the European Court of Human Rights and within other international, regional or national human rights systems. The research projects includes the analysis of applications of laws and interferences with freedom of expression relating to political speech, defamation, protection of journalistic sources, newsgathering, media reporting, investigative journalism, ngos reporting on matters of public interest or contributing to public debate, freedom of artistic expression and freedom of academic speech. The research project will develop and apply a methodology in order to identify and describe different kinds and consequences of chilling effect in the domain of public debate, media, journalism, art and academic research. The project will also specifically focus on the issue of minor offences, investigative journalism and chilling effect.
The researcher will work under the supervision of Prof. Dirk Voorhoof (www.psw.ugent.be/dv). Co-supervisor is Prof. Eva Brems.
.
Starting date: 1 September 2010
Ph.D. grant ca.1570-1750 Euro net/month (tax free)
Profile
- law degree obtained with good (preferably excellent) grades
- fluency in written and spoken English
- good research and writing skills
- good social skills
- knowledge of and insight in human rights law, preferably with special interest regarding media law, information law, journalism studies or free speech issues.
More information can be obtained from prof. Dirk Voorhoof, dirk.voorhoof@ugent.be
More information about Ghent and Ghent University, see www.ugent.be
Please e-mail your CV with the contact details of two references, a letter of motivation and a sample of your writing skills (preferably in English) to prof. Dirk Voorhoof, dirk.voorhoof@ugent.be by 1 June 2010.
ASYLUM COORDINATOR STAFF ATTORNEY
Portland, Maine
*Salary:* 42,000.00 – 50,000.00
*Type:* Full Time – Experienced
The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) seeks a full-time staff attorney who will coordinate ILAP’s asylum program. ILAP is Maine’s only nonprofit provider of comprehensive immigration legal aid to low-income individuals statewide. DUTIES Manage ILAP’s asylum program and ILAP’s Pro bono Immigration Panel, including: coordinate asylum intake process and placement of cases with volunteer attorneys; recruit, train and supervise volunteer attorneys; maintain relationships with Maine law firms and the Bar in order to strengthen pro bono panel recruitment and retention; provide case management of cases placed with volunteer attorneys; ensure updating of ILAP’s pro bono panel web portal; provide full representation to a limited number of asylum clients; assist in providing consultations and conducting legal intake as needed and directed by ILAP’s Supervising Attorney; perform such other tasks and assume such other responsibilities deemed appropriate by the Supervising Attorney and the Executive Director. For more information about ILAP, see www.ilapmaine.org .
*Requirements:*
Required: J.D.; member in good standing of any state Bar; prior experience handling immigration matters, particularly asylum and removal defense; excellent writing and interpersonal skills; high detail orientation; strong organizational skills; demonstrated commitment to public interest law or to working with low-income populations. Preferred: At least 3 years experience representing asylum seekers in the U.S.; prior experience mentoring and supervising volunteers, particularly other attorneys; fluency in written and spoken French desirable. To apply, submit resumé and writing sample to bstickney@ilapmaine.org. Applications accepted until 3/11/2011 or until position is filled.
Required Education: Juris Doctorate
*NOTES:* US Residents Only.
Additional Salary Information: Salary depends on experience. Benefits comparable to other legal aid agencies in Maine, including health, dental, retirement etc.
VOLUNTEER LEGAL ADVOCATE
(Positions based in Ecuador, Thailand, Tanzania)
POSTED: 2/21/11
Asylum Access, a US-based international refugee rights organization, is seeking experienced legal professionals to serve as Volunteer Legal Advocates (VLAs) in its offices in Quito, Dar es Salaam and Bangkok.
Asylum Access envisions a world where refugees are seen as people with rights, not just people with needs. Asylum Access believes that by empowering refugees to assert their human rights, we can support the creation of effective, lasting solutions for refugees around the world. Asylum Access achieves this partly through the work of national and international volunteers that join the VLA program.
VLA’s have the opportunity to help make refugee rights a reality in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Our global VLA team is made of lawyers and highly-qualified law students who commit to spending at least 6 months in Asylum Access offices abroad. They provide direct legal advice and representation to refugees seeking asylum or other legal status. VLAs receive intensive training in international refugee law, and practice before local offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees or local refugee status adjudicators. Volunteers may also have the opportunity to engage in policy advocacy at a national or international level.
The ideal applicant will be a legal professional with substantive knowledge of international human rights and refugee law, including client counseling and advocacy. The candidate should be able to build relationships and adapt legal strategies to fit new and/or challenging circumstances. Client service experience and past work with vulnerable populations is a plus.
Fluent professional English is essential. Professional-level Spanish is required for Asylum Access-Ecuador. For Asylum Access-Thailand, Thai, Tamil and Urdu are a plus. For Asylum Access-Tanzania, Swahili, French are a plus.
Please note that all Asylum Access VLA positions are unpaid; we are happy to work with successful applicants to arrange for funding or school credit where available. If selected, VLA’s are responsible for obtaining their visa and work permit, if applicable.
Interested applicants can view the full job description and application instructions:
Asylum Access Ecuador (Quito)
http://tinyurl.com/4s85rlr VLA Description and Application Instructions
Asylum Access Thailand (Bangkok)
http://tinyurl.com/486mu99 VLA Description and Application Instructions
Asylum Access Tanzania (Dar Es Salaam)
http://tinyurl.com/4addr4h VLA Description and Application Instructions
To learn more about the Asylum Access VLA program, visit our website
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
Project Manager
The Greenpeace International
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Last Date: March 20, 2011
http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_74085.shtml
Brazil Researcher
Human Rights Watch
Location: New York
Last Date: March 20, 2011
http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_74034.shtml
Interns
The International Commission of Jurists
Location: Geneva
Last Date: March 31, 2011
http://216.197.119.113/jobman/publish/article_74106.shtml
SOURCE: See more jobs at: http://www.DevNetJobs.org or by sending a blank email to:
developmentjobs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Educational Courses & Conferences
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Chile Summer Program
The Chile Summer Program 2011 is now accepting applications for late May to mid-July 2011. The deadline for applications is March 15, 2011. For more information, please see www.cwsl.edu/chile.
INTERNATIONAL SUMMER ACADEMY ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN SECURITY
BRINGING HUMAN RIGHTS HOME STRENGTHENING HUMAN SECURITY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL THROUGH HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
10 – 20 July 2011
ETC | EUROPEAN TRAINING AND RESEARCH CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
GRAZ | AUSTRIA
ETC’s International Summer Academy on Human Rights and Human Security has been held since 2001, first in Montenegro and Macedonia, and since 2003 in the Human Rights City of Graz.
Following different topics in the past ten years – ranging from human rights and human wrongs in the Balkans over a culture of human rights to the question of threats that transnational terrorist and criminal organisations bring for the peacebuilding and reconstruction process in the Western Balkan region – it has never lost the focus on the interdependency of human rights, human security and human rights education. The 10th summer academy (re)turns to the local level, resuming different approaches to human rights implementation in cities and towns, discussing progress and setbacks and giving examples not only of the Human Rights City of Graz. The programme is designed to raise awareness on human rights challenges and possible solutions by means of human rights education and education for democratic citizenship, to strengthen democratic and human rights principles, to contribute to bringing the scientific discourse closer to civil society and to build future relations and in!
clude the participants in existing networks.
The programme further provides an introduction to the concept of human security which is set into relation to societal factors such as poverty and exclusion, but also racism and right-wing extremism and their effects on “old” and “new” minorities. Concluding the summer academy, human rights education strategies will be reviewed in relation to the goals of human security and the respect for human and minority rights.
APPLICATION DEADLINE 31 March 2011
INFORMATION AND APPLICATION
http://www.etc-graz.at/typo3/index.php?id=1118#c2421
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: HREA distance learning courses
Short certificate courses [application deadline: 15 April 2011]:
- Business and Human Rights (11 May-21 June 2011) NEW!
- Human Rights and Transitional Justice (18 May-28 June 2011)
- International Trade and Human Rights: Balancing the Act (16 May-26 June 2011)
- Minority Rights, Indigenous Peoples and International Law (18 May-28 June 2011)
- The European System of Human Rights Protection and Promotion (16 May-26 June 2011)
- The United Nations Human Rights System (11 May-21 June 2011)
Applications can be submitted online. For further information about each course please click on the course link above. For a listing of all upcoming courses, please visit www.hrea.org/courses
4th ANNUAL ADVANCED TRAINING COURSE ON MONITORING ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
The Project on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights organizes annually professional training courses on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Project has extensive experience in organizing two types of training aimed at providing professionals with tailored knowledge on the protection of ESC rights according to their level of experience. The “Training Course on Understanding Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” is designed to introduce participants to ESC rights, while the “Advanced Training Course on Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights” is aimed at providing more practical tools to advanced professionals in this area.
On this occasion, the Project proudly announces the organization of the 4th annual Advanced Training Course on Monitoring Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Training Course will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 9-13 May 2011.
The course is designed for professionals with advanced experience in working on ESC rights. The course will most benefit representatives from NGOs, national human rights institutions, governmental authorities, academia, international organizations, and United Nations bodies.
The course aims to enhance the work of professionals by training them on specific aspects related to monitoring ESC rights. The course will also instruct participants on how advocacy tools, including, for example, human rights indicators, budget analysis or litigation activities can be effectively used to build monitoring policies that would be addressed not only to domestic institutions, but also to international mechanisms mandated to protect and promote ESC rights.
For more information about the course, please see http://www.adh-geneva.ch/professional-training/professional-training-in-escr/at, where you can also register on-line. Or write us at escrtraining@adh-geneve.ch.
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
Reminder
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