LBJ CONFERENCE

HUMAN RIGHTS OPPORTUNITIES

The field of human rights offers numerous educational and career opportunities.  There are study abroad programs in human rights, graduate programs in human rights, law school human rights programs, and human rights fellowships. There are also meaningful and rewarding jobs in the human rights field, including with nongovernmental organizations, government agencies, private companies, think tanks, and regional and international organizations.

Moreover, the study of human rights provides expertise and skills that are of benefit for numerous other professions.

Study Abroad

The International Human Rights Exchange is a full-semester, interdisciplinary program in human rights that is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.  Students enrolled in the program take classes at the University of the Witwatersrand, live in a residence hall on the main campus, and undertake an internship at a civil society organization in Johannesburg.

Graduate Schools

Several graduate schools, in the US and elsewhere, offer advanced degrees in human rights.  Among the better known programs are the following:

• Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, MA in Human Rights
  

• University College London, Institute for Human Rights, MA in Human Rights
  

• University of Connecticut, University of Connecticut, Human Rights Institute, Graduate Certificate in Human Rights

• University of Denver, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, Center on Rights Development, MA in International Human Rights
  

• University of Essex (UK), Human Rights Centre, MA in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights
  

• University of Pennsylvania, Graduate Certificate in Human Rights
  

Law Schools

Numerous law schools have human rights programs that offer courses in human rights law, as well as clinical and internship opportunities. They include:

• American University, Washington College of Law, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law 
  

• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Human Rights and Genocide Clinic
  

• Columbia Law School, Human Rights Institute
  

• Cornell Law School, International Human Rights Clinic
  

• CUNY School of Law, International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic
  

• Fordham Law School, Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic and Crowley Program in International Human Rights, Leitner Center for International Law and Justice
  

• Georgetown Law Center, Human Rights Institute
  

• Harvard Law School, Human Rights Program
  

• Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Law, Minerva Center for Human Rights
  

• New York University School of Law, Center for Human Rights and Global Justice
  

• Northeastern University School of Law, Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy
  

• Northwestern University School of Law, Center for International Human Rights
  

• St Thomas University School of Law, Human Rights Institute
  

• Stanford Law School, International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic
  

• UCLA School of Law, International Human Rights Program
  

• University of Notre Dame School of Law, Center for Civil and Human Rights
  

• University of Southern California School of Law, International Human Rights Clinic
  

• University of Texas at Austin School of Law, Human Rights Clinic
  

• Yale Law School, Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights
  

A large number of law schools, both in the US and abroad, also offer an LL.M (Master's) in human rights law.  Such programs are not only open to lawyers, they are also open to students without a legal background.  Below are some of the schools that offer this degree or related degrees in human rights law; for more information and a more comprehensive list of schools, visit this site.

• Åbo Akademi University (Finland), Institute for Human Rights, Master's Degree Programme in International Human Rights Law
  

• The American University in Cairo (Egypt), Graduate Diploma in International Human Rights Law (1-year program)
  

• The American University in Cairo (Egypt), Master's in International Human Rights Law (2-year program)
  

• American University, Washington College of Law, LL.M. in International Human Rights Law
  

• Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights (Switzerland), LL.M. in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
  

• Harvard Law School, LL.M. International Human Rights Concentration
  

• Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel), Faculty of Law, LL.M in Human Rights and International Law
  

• Kathmandu School of Law (Nepal), LL.M. in Human Rights and Gender Justice
  

• Lund University (Sweden), Faculty of Law, Master's in International Human Rights Law
  

• Northwestern University School of Law, LL.M. in International Human Rights Law
  

• Nottingham Trent University (U.K.), Nottingham Law School, LL.M. in Human Rights
  

• Saint Thomas University School of Law, LL.M./J.S.D. in Intercultural Human Rights
  

• University for Peace (Costa Rica), Master's in International Law and Human Rights
  

• University of Aberdeen (U.K.), School of Law, LL.M. in Human Rights
  

• University of Bristol Law School (U.K.), LL.M. in Human Rights Law
  

• University College London, LL.M in Human Rights
  

• University of Essex (U.K.), School of Law, LL.M. in International Human Rights Law
  

• University of Hong Kong (China), Master of Laws in Human Rights
  

• University of Pretoria (South Africa), Faculty of Law, Centre for Human Rights, LL.M. in Human Rights & Democratisation in Africa
  

• Utrecht University School of Law (Netherlands), LL.M. in International Law of Human Rights and Criminal Justice
  

• University of Notre Dame Law School, LL.M. in International Human Rights Law
  

• Queen's University of Belfast (U.K.), School of Law, LL.M. in Human Rights Law
  

Careers

There are lots of different ways to work in the human rights field, including via positions with nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, media outlets, intergovernmental organizations and government. Possible human rights careers include human rights advocate, public defender, documentary filmmaker, human rights lawyer, field investigator, aid worker, and professor of human rights.

Many students of human rights are not planning to pursue a career that is specifically focused on human rights, but are instead planning to apply the knowledge and skills they have gained via the study of human rights to other careers. Graduates with a minor or certificate in human rights may follow a range of career paths, including in diplomacy, social work, medicine, public health, urban planning, corporate responsibility and journalism. There is growing demand in these professions for expertise on human rights issues.

The study of human rights is particularly good preparation for future lawyers, because of the field's grounding in the discourse of rights and emphasis on effective advocacy.  In addition, many students of human rights, given their heightened awareness of rights violations, power imbalances, and injustice, are drawn toward careers in government and politics, and seek to use their skills to institute policy reforms either domestically or internationally.

If you would like more detailed information about careers in human rights, watch some of the following videos, in which human rights professionals discuss their educational and career trajectories, how they got their first jobs in the human rights field, and what kind of work they do -

• Careers in Human Rights: An Alumni Forum, The New School, April 7, 2011 (panelists begin at the 0:06:45 mark)

• NGO/IGO Careers and Human Rights, Santa Clara University, October 6, 2011 (panelists begin at the 0:02:50 mark)

• International Human Rights Careers Seminar, Castan Centre, March 29, 2011 (panelists begin at the 0:02:15 mark)

• Domestic Human Rights Careers Seminar, Castan Centre, March 30, 2011(panelists begin at the 0:03:40 mark)

You can also learn about what it's like to work at specific organizations, and how to get jobs there -

• International Rescue Committee: Work with Us, June 15, 2007

• Human Rights Watch, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) For Job-Seekers
  

HUMAN RIGHTS COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

The following courses are being offered by the Human Rights Program in Spring 2012 -

Human Rights and Access to Medicine, HR 364

Prof. Philip Alcabes, Weds, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

In their vulnerability to treatable diseases, the rich and the poor live in different worlds. Every year, millions of people in developing countries die of illnesses that they would likely have survived were they living in Europe or the United States. A key factor in the enormous global disparities in death rates is poor people’s lack of access to needed medicines.

This seminar will examine access to medicine as a human right. It will explore the scope and meaning of the human right to health care, examining its practical application in the developing world.  It will take up some of the most pressing and significant questions relating to access to products like vaccines, antibodies, and pain relievers:  Do pharmaceutical companies have a moral or legal obligation to make their products available globally, including to the world’s poorest?  Do governments like Brazil have a right to facilitate broad access to medicines by making low-cost generic substitutes?  And what is the role of  corporate power, patent protections, global rules on trade, and international human rights standards in all of this?

Human Rights and Development, HR 345

Prof. Rona Peligal (deputy director, Africa Division of Human Rights Watch), Mon/Thurs, 9:45-11 am

Is development a human right? Is poverty a violation of rights? This seminar will explore the linkages between global poverty, human rights and development from a historical, theoretical, practical, and policy-making perspective. It will examine the emergence of the “human rights and development” trend over the last two decades, and will consider how the rights ideal has impacted poverty and development in Africa.

The course will navigate several fault lines: between civil/political rights and social/economic ones; between rights and development; between states and citizens, and between Africa and the West, among others.

Human Rights Internship, HR 250

Hours to be arranged

Curious about the work that human rights organizations do in the United States or abroad? Would you like to gain valuable work experience supporting their efforts? Consider undertaking an internship with a nongovernmental human rights organization in NYC.  Internships are available with organizations working on a wide variety of human rights topics, from immigrants’ rights to women’s rights to the right to free expression.

Please note that this course is limited to students who are pursuing the minor in human rights.

International Justice, HR 356

Prof. Joanne Mariner, Tues, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

At the opening of the 1945 trial of leading Nazi war criminals, chief prosecutor Robert Jackson explained why once-powerful defendants like Hermann Goering were in the dock.  “The common sense of mankind demands that law shall not stop with the punishment of petty crimes by little people,” he said.  “It must also reach men who possess themselves of great power and make deliberate and concerted use of it to set in motion evils which leave no home in the world untouched.”

Since that time, the world has seen many people with great power commit acts of great evil.  This seminar will explore the legal and policy options available in the wake of such massive violations of human rights.  It will examine international legal mechanisms such as the International Criminal Court, national processes such as trials and truth commissions, and hybrid approaches such as the Cambodia Tribunal.

Introduction to Human Rights, HR 200 (Section 1)

Prof. Jack Hammond, Tues/Thurs, 5:35-6:50 pm

This course will examine the foundations and practice of international human rights. The course will be interdisciplinary, bringing to bear philosophical, legal, social-science, and literary approaches to human rights. Following an overview of the international human rights system, we will read sources on human rights using each of these approaches. We will examine the historical and philosophical origins of contemporary human rights standards, the nature and causes of human rights violation and protection, and the relation between universalism and the rights claims of particular groups such as women and indigenous peoples.

Introduction to Human Rights, HR 200 (Section 2)

Prof. Daniel Wilkinson (deputy director, Americas Division of Human Rights Watch), Monday, 2:45-5:15 pm

In recent decades, the international human rights movement, once perceived as marginal and even quixotic, has gone mainstream.  Major political, religious, and business leaders like Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, George Soros and the Dalai Lama have voiced support for efforts to secure and protect human rights.  The United Nations has called the promotion of human rights one of its most essential goals.  Indeed, some have called human rights the organizing principle for contemporary international action.

So what are human rights, and what is the meaning and impact of their current prominence?  How are human rights formulated and how can they be enforced? This course will address these questions by exploring human rights in theory and in practice.  It will examine the historical and philosophical origins of contemporary human rights standards, the uses and limitations of the international human rights treaty system, and the relationship between international human rights obligations and domestic human rights enforcement.

Other courses

Other Human Rights cognate courses include -

Women and the Law, POLSC 219
Overview of how local, state and federal laws treat people on the basis of sex.
Prereq: ENGL 120 (or equivalent).

Immigration Policy, POLSC 221
The course focuses on the political development of federal immigration policy, and on historical and contemporary issues in policy design and implementation. The course also surveys recent findings and debates arising from empirical analyses of immigration policy.
Prereq: ENGL 120 (or equivalent).

Political Theory of Human Rights, POLSC 316
A critical analysis of the intersection of academic and practical discourse of human rights with the central concerns of political theory, particularly as it engages relationships between ethics and power as well as theory and practice.
Prereq: ENGL 120 (or equivalent) and any course in Pol Theory.

International Law, POLSC 375
Case studies addressing the nature, sources, practices and efficacy of international law, principles and rules.
Prereq: ENGL 120 (or equivalent). 

HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAM FAQ

Q. Why should I join the Human Rights Program?

A. The study of human rights will allow you to follow world events intelligently and knowledgeably. It will give you a critical framework for understanding and analyzing government policy, international relations and corporate behavior. A minor or certificate in Human Rights will enhance your analytic skills, give you an introduction to international law and institutions, and help you in your future career.  It will help you stand out when you apply to jobs, law school, or graduate school.

Q. How can I apply to the Human Rights Program?
A. Students can apply by filling out an minor or certificate declaration form available at Roosevelt House, room 4.04.

Q. What are the HRP’s academic requirements?
A. You must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher to join the program.

Q. How many credits are required to obtain a minor in Human Rights?
A. The minor consists of five courses -- Introduction to Human Rights (HR 200), a 3-credit internship, and three cognate courses -- for a total of 15 credits.

Q. Can I double-count courses toward both my major field of study and the minor in Human Rights?
A. Yes, the Human Rights Program allows you to count one course toward both your major and the minor.  The other two cognate courses must, however, be from a different discipline than your major.

Q. How do I pursue the certificate in Human Rights?
A. In addition to completing the five courses required for the minor, students who seek the 24-credit certificate must complete an additional three courses (for a total of eight courses).  Those courses are an Internship Seminar (done during or after the human rights internship), a Capstone Seminar (which includes a term paper), and an additional cognate course.

Q. Can I double-count courses toward both my major field of study and the certificate in Human Rights?
A. Yes, the Human Rights Program allows you to count two courses toward both your major and the certificate.  The other three cognate courses must, however, be from a different discipline than your major.

Q. I don't know how to get a human rights internship or where to apply -- will the Human Rights Program help me?
A. Yes, students enrolled in the minor or certificate program receive extensive assistance in applying for and obtaining internships. Because of the multiplicity of nongovernmental organizations in NYC working on human rights issues, Hunter students are well placed to get meaningful and rewarding internships.  To inform students of the range of internship opportunities in NYC, the Human Rights Program has put together a detailed guide to human rights internships. 

Q. Can I use courses in this program to fulfill general education, pluralism & diversity, writing and major requirements?
A. Yes, many of the program’s courses have been approved for such purposes.  For example, Introduction to Human Rights (HR 200) satisfies both pluralism & diversity requirements and writing requirements.  Check the online course catalog for details.

Q. What if I am a transfer student; how many courses can I bring from another school into the program?
A. Students must take the Introduction to Human Rights course and the Capstone Seminar at Hunter College. All transferred courses must be approved by the HRP's director.

Q. Where are classes held?
A. The Introduction to Human Rights course (HR 200), as well as the Internship Seminar, the Capstone Seminar, and several of the cognate courses, are held in state-of-the-art classrooms at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute on East 65^th Street.  Additional courses are held at Hunter’s main campus on 68^th Street.

Q. Who took the powerful photos on your website?
A. The photos are by Frank Fournier, a photographer with the Contact Press Agency.  A deeply humanistic photographer, Fournier has produced work on infants with AIDS in Romania, rape victims in Sarajevo during the Bosnian civil war, the genocide in Rwanda, the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and many stories in Central America and Africa.

HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAM EVENTS

The Human Rights Program's public events enable human rights leaders, policy makers, journalists and scholars to engage with students, faculty and the larger community.

Over the past year, the Human Rights Program has hosted discussions on a wide range of current issues, including the problem of hunger in the world today, the U.N. reform process, the development of the notion of a Responsibility to Protect, the role of documentary film in communicating human rights themes, the treatment of undocumented immigrants in the United States, and the options for justice in transitional societies in the Arab world.

All Human Rights Program events are held at Roosevelt House unless otherwise noted.

Upcoming Events

Torture, Empire and Democracy: A conversation between Prof. Marnia Lazreg and Prof. Jinee Lokaneeta on the use of torture by liberal democracies

Wednesday, April 25, 1-3 pm

What is the status of torture in liberal democracies?  Profs. Lazreg and Lokaneeta will explore the legal and political discourses on torture in India, colonial Algeria, and the United States, and will discuss how Western powers and other democracies have not only practiced systematic torture, but have at times tried to justify and legitimate its use.

Panelists: Marnia Lazreg, Professor of Sociology at Hunter College; Jinee Lokaneeta, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Drew University. Moderator: Joanne Mariner, Director of the Human Rights Program at Hunter College.

Recent Events

Education Under Fire

April 18, 2012

Discriminating on the basis of religion and political ideology, the government of Iran systematically denies disfavored groups access to higher education.  Among those barred from learning are members of the Baha’i faith, whose Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was recently shut down by the Iranian authorities.  The Iran government’s repressive actions are in clear violation of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes education as an inalienable right of every human being.

The 30-minute documentary film Education Under Fire, screened on April 18, gives compelling evidence of the Iranian government’s violation of the right to education. The film tells how the Iranian government launched a coordinated attack against BIHE in May 2011, raiding dozens of homes, confiscating computers and educational materials, and detaining professors and administrators, some of whom continue to languish in prison without charge. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion of the situation in Iran.

Speakers: Hadi Ghaemi, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran; Daniel Perell, Baha’i International Community to the United Nations, and Nika Saeedi, graduate of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE)

Moderator: Joanne Mariner, Hunter College Human Rights Program

Critical Consideration: Asian American Writers and the Decade since 9/11

March 13, 2012

The impact on Asian American communities in the decade since 9/11 has taken many visible and invisible forms -- including detention and deportation, displaced Chinatown workers and residents, and racial and religious profiling and surveillance -- yet Asian Americans are frequently left out of public discussions surrounding the aftermath of 9/11. Please join us for a discussion featuring KUNDIMAN and THE ASIAN AMERICAN LITERARY REVIEW, two Asian American arts and literature organizations that have responded to this living history by producing projects that bring attention to Asian American experiences in the decade since 9/11.

AALR Editor-in-Chief Lawrence-Minh Bui Davis will be on hand with Elizabeth Ouyang and Sonny Singh, contributors to the AALR SPECIAL ISSUE: COMMEMORATING THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF SEPTEMBER 11, featuring testimonies, essays, and dialogues by Asian American scholars, educators, activists, artists, and poets on the before and after of the decade since 9/11.

Poets Marlon Esguerra, April Naoko Heck, Eugenia Leigh, Zohra Saed, and Purvi Shah will perform and discuss work from TOGETHER WE ARE NEW YORK: ASIAN AMERICANS REMEMBER & RE-VISION 9/11, a unique community history and public remembrance arts project produced by KUNDIMAN, the country’s leading organization for Asian American poetry and poets. The show combines poems based on interviews with Asian American community members about 9/11 and the decade since with audio clips from the interviews.

Churchill's Secret War: Author Madhusree Mukerjee in conversation with Hunter Professor Manu Bhagavan

October 26, 2011

Madhusree Mukerjee, a former editor at Scientific American and the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, discussed her groundbreaking new book, Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India during World War II.  Based on a meticulous investigation of original documents, the book reveals Winston Churchill's partial responsibility for the horrific death toll of Bengal’s 1943 famine. It describes how Churchill’s mismanagement of the crisis—facilitated by dubious advice from scientist and eugenicist Lord Cherwell—devastated India and set the stage for the massive bloodletting that accompanied independence.

After presenting her findings and reading some excerpts from her book, Mukerjee discussed Churchill’s record in India with Manu Bhagavan, an associate professor of history at Hunter College.

Arab, Muslim and South Asian Communities Ten Years after 9/11

October 27, 2011

What has been the lasting impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Arab, Muslim, and South Asian communities in the United States?  After the terrorist attacks in the United States a decade ago, these communities faced mistrust, discrimination, and racial and ethnic profiling. Fears of "homegrown terrorism," fueled by irresponsible congressional rhetoric, have provided cover for bigotry and Islamophobia, leaving some members of these communities feeling targeted and besieged. What strategies can be used to vindicate their human and civil rights and reassert the values of diversity, tolerance, and religious freedom?

Speakers: Talat Hamdani (9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows), Ramzi Kassem (CUNY School of Law), and Umair Khan (New York State Senate).

Other Past Events

Jamie Fellner, the founding director of Human Rights Watch's U.S. Program, and now a senior counsel with the organization, spoke to students and faculty at a Human Rights Program event in March 2011.  Lucas Guttentag, the founding director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, and now a senior research scholar and lecturer in law at Yale Law School, gave a talk in April.  That same month, the Human Rights Program held a panel discussion of documentary film and human rights with director and screenwriter Hampton Fancher, Hunter College film and media studies professor Steve Gorelick, and Human Rights Watch deputy director Andrea Holley.

In May 2011, the program put together a panel on "Tumult, Transition, and Transformation in the Arab World," with Prof. Ruti Teitel, an expert on human rights and transitional justice, and Habib Nassar, an expert on transitional justice in the Middle East. In June, Canadian political leader Lloyd Axworthy spoke to students about the "Responsibility to Protect," focusing, in particular, on the case of Libya.