The U.S. & the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights: 20 Years After Ratification March 16, 2012 ● 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Skadden Arps ● Four Times Square ● New York City
Co-Sponsored by:
Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute American Civil Liberties Union Foundation University of Pennsylvania Transnational Legal Clinic
The United States ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1992. As the U.S. government and civil society prepare for the fourth periodic review of the United States’ compliance with its obligations under the covenant, this program will examine the history and impact of U.S. ratification and engagement with the U.N. Human Rights Committee, which monitors its compliance with the covenant, and will look ahead at the possibilities for ensuring U.S. accountability for its human rights commitments.
Risa E. Kaufman
Lecturer-in-Law & Executive Director, Human Rights Institute, Columbia
Law School
9:30 – 10:00 A.M. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Michael O’Flaherty
Vice-Chairperson, U.N. Human Rights Committee & Professor of Applied Human Rights and Co-Director of the Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham
Introduction by: Jamil Dakwar Co-Chair of USHRN ICCPR Task Force;
Director, ACLU Human Rights Program
10:00 – 11:15 A.M. PANEL I: Introduction to the ICCPR *NYS CLE: 1.0 TRANSITIONAL AND NONTRANSITIONAL CREDIT, AREAS OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
This panel will provide the historical context from which to understand the ICCPR as a core Covenant within the UN Bill of Rights, an overview of the scope of protections under the treaty, and discussion of opportunities for engaging in advocacy with the treaty mechanism.
Panelists: Hadar Harris
Executive Director, Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, American
University Washington College of Law Hurst Hannum Professor Of International Law, Tufts Fletcher School Eric Tars
Director of Human Rights and Children's Rights, National Law Center
on Homelessness and Poverty
Moderator: Risa Kaufman
Lecturer-in-Law & Executive Director, Human Rights Institute, Columbia
Law School
11:15 – 11:30 A.M. BREAK
11:30 A.M. – 12:45 P.M.PANEL II: Impact of U.S. Ratification
*NYS CLE: 1.5 TRANSITIONAL AND NONTRANSITIONAL CREDITS, AREAS OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Panelists will discuss lessons learned from the 1992 Senate-conditioned ratification of the treaty, its implications on future ratification processes, and its impact on domestic and foreign human rights policies. The panel will also assess the judicial role in upholding the ICCPR and the value-added of the treaty in domestic litigation.
Panelists: Elisa Massimino
President and Chief Executive Officer, Human Rights First
Evelyn Aswad
Assistant Legal Advisor, Human Rights & Refugees Office, U.S. State Department Ralph Steinhardt
Professor of Law and International Affairs, George Washington University Steven Watt
Senior Staff Attorney, Human Rights Program, American Civil Liberties Union
Moderator: Wendy Patten Senior Policy Analyst, Open Society Foundations
12:45 – 1:15 P.M. Break
1:15 - 2:00 PM LUNCH & KEYNOTE
Sir Nigel S. Rodley KBE ’65
Member, U.N. Human Rights Committee & Professor of Law
and Chair, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex
Introduction by: Peter Rosenblum '92 Lieff Cabraser Clinical Professor in Human Rights & Faculty Co-Director, Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School
2:00 – 3:15 P.M. PANEL III: The Dynamics of Reporting: Internal & External
*NYS CLE: 1.5 TRANSITIONAL AND NONTRANSITIONAL CREDITS, AREAS OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Panelists will examine how the official governmental reporting process and engagement with the UN Human Rights Committee shapes and impacts domestic policy, as well as how the civil society shadow reporting process contributes to organizing and advocacy efforts.
Panelists: Robert K. Harris
Assistant Legal Adviser for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, U.S. State Department Karen Stevens
Acting Chief, Policy and Strategy Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice Andrea Ritchie
Police Misconduct Attorney Sarah H. Paoletti Co-Chair of USHRN ICCPR Task Force; Practice Associate Professor of Law
and Director, Transnational Legal Clinic, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Moderator: Devon Chaffee Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office
3:15 – 3:30 P.M. BREAK
3:30 – 4:45 P.M. PANEL IV: Roundtable: Issues in Interpretation and Implementation
*NYS CLE: 1.5 TRANSITIONAL AND NONTRANSITIONAL CREDITS, AREAS OF PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Participants in this interactive exchange will explore issues including lex specialis (ICCPR/IHL interplay); extraterritorial application of the treaty; possibilities for addressing economic, social and cultural rights through the covenant’s equality and non-discrimination provisions; and the relationship between ICCPR and other treaties.
Participants: Philip Alston
John Norton Pomeroy Professor of Law, NYU School of Law Harold Koh
Legal Adviser, U.S. State Department Cynthia Soohoo
Director, International Women’s Human Rights Clinic, CUNY Law School James Ross
Legal and Policy Director, Human Rights Watch
Moderator: Sarah Cleveland Louis Henkin Professor in Human and Constitutional Rights & Faculty Co-Director, Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School
4:45 – 5:00 P.M. CONCLUDING REMARKS
Jamil Dakwar
Co-Chair of USHRN ICCPR Task Force; Director, ACLU Human Rights Program
NYS CLE CREDIT: Columbia Law School has been certified by the New York State Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Board as an Accredited Provider of CLE programs. Under New York State CLE regulations, this live CLE program for both transitional and non-transitional attorneys will provide a maximum of six (6.0) credit hours to be applied toward the Areas of Professional Practice requirement. The CLE credit award is based on sessions attended in their entirety only, as reflected in the conference registers, which attorneys seeking credit must sign both prior to and following their attending program sessions both for the Morning Sessions and for the Afternoon Sessions. Attorneys attending only part of a session are not eligible for partial credit for it, although they are most welcome to attend it. On sign-out, at the Morning or Afternoon Sessions' conclusion or otherwise on departure, attorneys should also submit their completed Evaluation Form, provided at the Conference. Please note that the NYS Certificates of Attendance will be sent to the mailing address as it appears in the sign-in/-out registers unless otherwise noted there. Attorneys seeking credit for jurisdictions other than New York should consult the relevant jurisdiction’s/s’ guidelines for the reporting of such credit.
CONFERENCE MATERIALS: Conference materials will be distributed on CD to attendees. Printed review copies of the CD will be available at the conference. Printed copies:Registrants can request (via Registration, below) a printed copy.
REGISTRATION: Online pre-registration is necessary to attend and closes to all transactions at 5pm on Tuesday, March 13th. We regret that on-site registration will not be available at the Conference. Please note that conference rates are flat fees and cannot prorated according to attendance. Space is limited. The favor of notification of cancellations is requested, and confirmed reservations are transferrable. Kindly notify Sallie Locke of cancellations and transfers as soon as possible, and, if possible, by the close of the preregistration period. CLS Cancellation Policy
Directions to Skadden:
4 Times Square
New York, NY 10036 From Penn Station: Catch the 1,2,3 train to Times
Square -42 St
