International Human Rights Clinic
Not all projects will have direct client representation, but some will. Clinic projects are selected to build the knowledge and skills necessary to be an effective human rights advocate, while exploring the opportunities and limitations of human rights institutions and the diversity of practice.
Students work in teams on one or more projects throughout the year, and all students will have direct contact with their clients or with supervising attorneys in client NGOs. Some travel to Washington, D.C., is required, but is scheduled on a flexible basis to accommodate student schedules. Students are required to check in with their clients or their supervising attorneys on a weekly basis.
Class discussions during the fall semester focus on human rights law concepts, ethical and professional dilemmas that may arise in human rights lawyering, critical examinations of human rights movements and campaigns, and the design of integrated advocacy strategies. Classes are not required on a regular basis during the spring semester, although periodic class sessions are scheduled on a flexible basis in the spring to share case developments and provide ongoing skills-building opportunities. The clinic provides substantial opportunities throughout the year to network with human rights practitioners and to develop practical skills, including international human rights research and writing; litigating human rights claims in international forums; advocating before the U.S. government and international organizations; and documenting and publicizing human rights violations. Projects for 2016-17 may focus on one or more of these themes: protecting the fundamental human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in hostile countries outside of the United States; advocacy and litigation before regional human rights bodies in the Inter-American or African human rights systems; ensuring access to development opportunities financed by the World Bank in cases before the World Bank Inspection Panel; and advocacy before the U.N. human rights institutions and treaty bodies.
Faculty
In the News
- 1.25.20 Clinic and NGOS File Amicus Brief Over Illegal Detention of Environmental Defenders in Honduras
- 12.8.20 Clinic Report Backs Human Rights of Gay Men in Nigeria
- 5.6.20 Clinic Students Help Shape UN Guidance in Science, Human Rights
- 11.20.19 Students Help Organize Conference Looking at Future of Human Rights Reform
- 4.16.19 Clinic Students’ Research on Migrants Aids UN Meeting in Geneva
- 4.4.19 Clinic Students on Colombia Trip Study Legal Remedies for Air Pollution
- 11.19.18 Clinic Opposes Pardon for Human Rights Criminal
- 6.4.18 Camilo Sánchez Joins Faculty as International Human Rights Clinic Director
- 10.11.12 Students Team Up with Alum to Educate Guatemalan Women About Their Rights
- 10.14.11 Law Students Support UN Official's Investigation of Violence Against Women in the United States
- 3.16.11 International Human Rights Clinic Students Research Women's Rights in Iraq
- 6.3.10 Supreme Court Rules in Case that Included Work by International Human Rights Clinic Students
- 5.18.10 Haiti’s Women at High Risk for Rape Following Earthquake, Professor Finds
- 3.3.10 International Human Rights Clinic Contributes to Supreme Court Brief in Torture Case
- 2.24.10 UN Special Rapporteur Visits Law School
- 6.19.09 Clinic Students Help Iraqi Lawmakers Through Work for NGO
- 3.19.08 Human Rights Program Conference to Explore Chinese Legal Reform
- 3.17.08 Human Rights Clinic Participates in Inter-American Commission Hearing
- 7.31.07 Human Rights Clinic Passes Reality Test in Suriname