Human Rights Institute Events Podcasts
Portable Justice: The Challenges of Pursuing Justice for Global Migrants
Cathleen Caron, Executive Director and Founder of Global Workers Justice Alliance
April 6, 2011 - Migration for work does not always result in permanent resettlement in the country of employment. Although no global statistics exist, return migration is not uncommon. Workers go home for a variety of reasons. Temporary work visas expire, unauthorized workers are deported, family emergencies compel workers to leave, or sometimes they go home simply because they want to. There are many challenges to ensure that workers who leave the country of employment still have the opportunity to challenge their employers in court. Portable justice, the right and ability of workers to access justice in the countries of employment even after they have departed, is a key, under addressed element to achieving justice for today’s global migrants. In this talk, Cathleen Caron, the founder and current director of Global Workers, discusses her organizations work, and how temporary worker programs today fail and are creating a disposable, disempowered workforce.
National Human Rights Institutions in Africa
Tseliso Thipanyane, South African Constitutional & Human Rights lawyer
February 16, 2011 - Decades after the adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the acknowledgment by African heads of State and Government of their duty to promote and protect human rights, the advancement of human rights in the African continent, notwithstanding progress in some countries, remains poor and continues to face challenges of poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization of women and children, armed conflict, crime, corruption, bad and undemocratic governance and degeneration of human rights in many states. In this talk, Tseliso speaks candidly about the role of national human rights institutions established in 32 African states and the challenges they face in the advancement of international human rights standards in the African continent. He speaks in particular about the challenges he faced during his time as CEO of the South African Human Rights Commission.
Chinese Migrants in Africa
Howard French, veteran journalist and photograher
February 15, 2011 - Veteran New York Times correspondent and photographer Howard French is in the midst of a year-long project to research Chinese migration to Africa. He is looking at the impact of Chinese migrants on agriculture, industry, and commerce, but not through a distant lens. Rather, he is seeking to tell the stories of the workers themselves—and the African communities where they now reside. Through these stories, he hopes to identify ways for African civil society to maximize the benefits of Chinese migration, mitigate the pitfalls, and safeguard the rights of Africans and Chinese alike. In this talk, Howard discusses how he arrived at this research and gives a first-hand account of some of the discoveries and connections that he has made thus far.
The U.S., Human Rights, & the Universal Periodic Review
February 2, 2011 - In November 2010, the United States underwent the first ever comprehensive review of its human rights record. This review was part of a new U.N. Human Rights Council process known as the Universal Periodic Review. This discussion explores how U.S. participation has impacted domestic human rights as well as U.S. standing in the international arena. Speakers Gillian Sorensen (United Nations Foundation) and Sarah Paoletti (U. Pennsylvania Law School) break down the UPR process, discuss opportunities for domestic human rights advocates presented by the review, and discuss how the Obama Administration's approach to human rights and the U.N. compares with prior Administrations.
Closing Europe’s Doors: EU Controls Against Asylum-Seekers
Bill Frelick, Human Rights Watch Refugee Program Director
January 19, 2011 - In response to the flows of migrants and asylum seekers from less developed regions seeking entry into industrialized states, industrialized states are using increasingly blunt instruments to interdict and deflect migrants and asylum seekers before they set foot in their territories. Bill Frelick will discusses three reports he has authored during the past three years that have documented how EU member states engage in "partnerships" with neighboring states that, in effect, dump asylum seekers and migrants into countries that have proven incapable or unwilling to provide protection to the migrants. Bill asserts that the EU and its member states have abdicated their responsibilities under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights when they externalize migration controls that fail to distinguish refugees, unaccompanied children and other vulnerable people.
Sexual Rights in India
Arvind Narrain, Alternative Law Forum
December 7, 2010 - Arvind Narrain, founding member of the Alternative Law Forum (ALF) in Bangalore, India, discusses the struggle for sexual rights in India, the specifics of a battle to eliminate "Article 377" (the provision that criminalizes homosexual acts), and their place in broader human rights challenges facing India. At ALF, Arvind divides his time between litigation on the criminal side and research and advocacy on sexuality and minority related issues. He has been a critical figure in the struggle for sexual rights in India. The ALF has been lawyers to “Voices Against 377” one of the major parties in the litigation “Article 377”.