Human Rights Program

Research

Can Rights Discourse Diminish Support for Displaced Persons?
Kevin Cope
Human rights discourse has become central to the global debates about treatment of and solutions for refugees and displaced persons. Following the... MORE
The Global Evolution of Foreign Relations Law
Kevin Cope

Pierre-Hugues Verdier

Mila Versteeg
The constitutional rules that govern how states engage with international law have profound implications for foreign affairs, yet we lack... MORE
International Human Rights and Multinational Corporations: An FCPA Approach
Paul B. Stephan

Pierre-Hugues Verdier
Recent Supreme Court decisions have severely curtailed the reach of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), making it nearly impossible to hold multinational... MORE

Can Rights Combat Economic Inequality?
Mila Versteeg
In a highly influential book, Not Enough, Samuel Moyn argues that the modern human rights movement has failed to address economic inequality. Moyn... MORE
A Nationalist Backlash to International Refugee Law: Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Turkey
Kevin Cope
How do international laws affect citizens' willingness to accept refugees? In full and partial democracies, citizens' attitudes can influence... MORE
Beyond Physical Integrity
Kevin Cope
This concluding essay to the “Future of Human Rights Scholarship” special issue outlines how political scientists could draw on developments in law... MORE

The Global Language of Human Rights: A Computational Linguistic Analysis
David S. Law
Human rights discourse has been likened to a global lingua franca, and in more ways than one, the analogy seems apt. Human rights discourse is a... MORE
The Future of International Human Rights Law—Lessons from Russia
Paul B. Stephan
This paper is a contribution to an upcoming issue of Law and Contemporary Problems devoted to work originating in the Conference, “What’s Next for... MORE
The Political Economy of the Constitutional Right to Asylum
Mila Versteeg
The issues of mass migrations, displaced persons, and refugees from war-torn countries are not new, but they have become particularly prominent and... MORE

International Law, Constitutional Law, and Public Support for Torture
Mila Versteeg
The human rights movement has spent considerable energy developing and promoting the adoption of both international and domestic legal prohibitions... MORE
Disaggregating the Human Rights Treaty Regime
Kevin Cope
In their essay, "The Influence of History on States’ Compliance with Human Rights Obligations," Adam Chilton and Eric Posner conclude that modern... MORE
Do Constitutional Rights Make a Difference?
Mila Versteeg
Although the question of whether constitutional rights matter is of great theoretical and practical importance, little is known about whether... MORE

About

Protecting human rights is the foundation of law. The Human Rights Program at the University of Virginia allows students to explore the range of opportunities available in the human rights field, at home and abroad, through hands-on experiences. The program is the hub for human rights activities at the Law School, and cooperates with student groups, faculty members, the Public Service Center and Career Services, and human rights organizations to coordinate speakers, events, summer and postgraduate employment, and pro bono opportunities.

Through our HUMAN RIGHTS LISTSERV, we provide information about human rights–related jobs and fellowship opportunities. To join, contact Cindy Derrick.

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