Category Archives: on Human Rights Law

CfP: War, Memory, and Gender: An Interdisciplinary Conference

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Location: Mobile, Alabama
Conference Date: March 27-29, 2014
Deadline for Proposals: October 15, 2013

The past several decades have seen an explosion of scholarly interest in
the subject of war and gender. At the same time, the study of collective or
cultural memory, especially in connection with armed conflict, has become a
veritable cottage industry. This conference seeks to bring these two areas
of intensive study into dialogue with each other, exploring the complex
ways in which gender shapes war memory and war memory shapes gender.
Comprised of a select number of presentations (so that all participants
will be able to hear every paper), together with a keynote address by
Professor Jennifer Haytock (SUNY-Brockport) and a panel discussion
featuring women military veterans, the conference will address multiple
conflicts and nationalities from the perspectives of multiple disciplines. Continue reading →

Letters from Samoa: Climate Change & the Law

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Last week some of us from the Office of the Ombudsman attended a workshop on Climate Change and the Law. Climate change is an issue that has a specific and worrying relevance here in the Pacific, where populations live on small islands, some of which are low-lying, and all of which are subject to the extreme weather events of climate change. Only recently in December 2012, Samoa was hit by Cyclone Evan, which devastated large areas of the islands. There are many human rights that are affected by climate change, such as the right to life, the right to take part in cultural life, the right to use and enjoy property, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to food, the right to water, the right to sanitation, the right to development, the right to adequate housing, and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Other areas of rights that come into play are gender rights, education, and trade. This has been highlighted in such international documents as the Male’ Declaration on the Human Dimension of Global Climate Change (November 2007), and several Human Rights Council Resolutions: 7/23 (2008); 10/4 (2009); 18/22 (2011).

Presenters and attendees of the 2013 UNESCO/DLA Piper Climate Change and the Law Workshop in Apia, Samoa

Continue reading →

Letters from Samoa: A new post series on Invisible College

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‘Letters from Samoa’ will be a new series of posts on Invisible College. I am currently working as a Human Rights Legal Officer at the Office of the Ombudsman in Samoa, which is now tasked with the role of being Samoa’s National Human Rights Institute. I am in the role through Australian Volunteers for International Development, an Australian Government AusAID initiative. I will be posting on NHRI happenings, and human rights and criminal law related events and developments in Samoa.
See my first post on the opening of Samoa’s new Narcotics Lab.
You can also see an article about the first movements of the NHRI in the Samoa Observer.
I hope that our readers will find the posts interesting!

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS USHMM 2014-15 Fellowship Opportunities

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Accepting applications as of September 1
Applications due November 30

The Center awards fellowships to support significant research and
writing about the Holocaust and welcomes proposals from scholars in
all relevant academic disciplines, including history, political
science, literature, Jewish studies, philosophy, religion, sociology,
anthropology, comparative genocide studies, law, and others.

Fellowships in residence are awarded to candidates working on their
dissertations (ABD), postdoctoral researchers, and senior scholars. A
principal focus of the program is to ensure the development of a new
generation of Holocaust scholars. To this end, scholars early in their
careers are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants must be
affiliated with an academic and/or research institution when applying
for a fellowship. Immediate post-docs and faculty between appointments
will also be considered. Continue reading →

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Summer Research Workshops for Scholars USHMM

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JUNE-AUGUST 2014
Applications due October 11

The Center invites proposals from workshop coordinator(s) to conduct
two-week research workshops at the Museum during summer 2014. We
welcome proposals from scholars in all relevant disciplines, including
history, political science, literature, Jewish studies, philosophy,
religion, anthropology, comparative genocide studies, and law.

Summer Research Workshops provide an environment in which groups of
scholars working in closely related areas of study–but with limited
previous face-to-face interaction–can discuss a central research
question or issue; their research methodologies and findings; the
major challenges facing their work; and future cooperative scholarly
ventures. Continue reading →

Letters from Samoa: Samoa gets new Narcotics Lab

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Yesterday, Samoa’s new Narcotics Lab was officially opened by the Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi. The ceremony was presided over by the Attorney-General, Aumua Ming Leung Wai. The new laboratory is located at the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa, and is presently equipped with capabilities to test for marijuana, but this capacity will be increased in the future to other drugs. The Australian government has contributed to the funding of the new lab. The new lab will strengthen the abilities of the Samoa police with regards to enforcement of drug laws. I attended the opening with the Ombudsman, Maiava Iulai Toma, and my counterpart, Hai-Yuean Tualima, who is the Human Rights Education and Communications Officer here in the Office of the Ombudsman.

Pictured here are: Ombudsman, Maiava Iulai Toma, Hai-Yuean Tualima, (Human Rights Education and Communications Officer) and me outside the lab. View of the audience gathered for the opening, including the Australian High Commissioner Dr Stephen Henningham in orange in the front row. The Attorney-General and the Prime Minister.

Call for Papers: IAGS Eleventh Conference, Winnipeg, 2014

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Eleventh Conference of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, July 17-19, 2014, Winnipeg-Canada

CALL FOR PAPERS

Time, Movement, and Space: Genocide Studies and Indigenous Peoples

2014 marks an important year for Winnipeg and Canada. In this year, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights will open its doors to the general public. Established by Parliament through amendments to the Museums Act on March 13, 2008, which came into force on August 10, 2008, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) is envisioned as a national and international destination – a centre of learning where Canadians and people from around the world can engage in discussion and commit to taking action against hate and oppression. Also in this year, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada will release its final report, after five years of hearings and research into Canada’s history and legacy of the forced assimilation of Indigenous children through residential schools. Continue reading →

CfP: Understanding Atrocities: Remembering, Representing and Teaching Genocide

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PRELIMINARY CALL FOR PAPERS

We use ‘genocide’ and ‘atrocity’– words that overlap and mix – as we reach for an understanding of the full horror of one people’s attempts to eliminate another. Atrocity is an aspect of genocide, and is at the crux of most discussions on the topic, but from what is this sense of atrocity derived? We universally regard genocide as an atrocity, yet why does it persist? The Understanding Atrocities Conference aims to explore, among other things, the relationship between ‘atrocity’ and ‘genocide,’ and how they are interwoven and understood. By approaching the topic of genocidal atrocity within the themes of remembering, representing, and teaching, we hope to engender a discussion across, between, and among the disciplines. Continue reading →

Call for AJIL Agora Submissions: Transnational Human Rights Litigation After Kiobel

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The American Journal of International Law is calling for short submissions (maximum 3000 words, including footnotes) for a forthcoming agora on “Transnational Human Rights Litigation After Kiobel.” Contributions must not have been previously published in whole or in substantial part (on the web or elsewhere). Some of the chosen contributions will be published in the October 2013 issue of the Journal. Other selected contributions may be published electronically in a special ASIL online publication. All contributions must be submitted no later than June 15 in order to be considered. Contributions on U.S. law issues, and on comparative and non-U.S. dimensions, are welcome. The editors aim to publish a set of distinctive contributions, rather than many making similar points. All selections for publication in AJIL or in the ASIL online publication will be peer reviewed by a committee of the AJIL editorial board consisting of Carlos Vázquez (chair), Curtis Bradley, and Ingrid Wuerth, in consultation with Co-Editors in Chief José Alvarez and Benedict Kingsbury. Decisions on publication (including requests for revisions) will be made on a rolling basis, but in any case no later than June 30. Submit contributions to ajil@asil.org with “Kiobel Agora” in the subject line.