Go On! AI annual meeting in San Francisco

(Go On! is an occasional item on symposia and other events of interest)

Amnesty International USA will host its Annual General Meeting this weekend, March 18-20, in San Francisco. Registration details here; full agenda here. (photo at right is from last year's meeting)
Amnesty is convening a special session for human rights lawyers on Friday, March 18 at the Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason Street, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The event is free, but registration is recommened. Topics will include:

• the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act,


• the Torture Victims Protection Act,


• the Alien Tort Statute,


• corporate accountability for complicity in human rights violations, and


• applying actions from international human rights mechanisms in U.S. courts.

Here is the full schedule:

9:00 – 9:30 Welcome and Opening Remarks: Jessica Carvalho Morris (left), Vice-Chair AIUSA Board of Directors and Director of the International and Foreign Graduate Programs, University of Miami School of Law
9:30 – 11:00 Civil Actions to Hold Human Rights Violators Accountable: Successes, Obstacles, and Future Challenges

• William S. Dodge, Professor of Law at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law

• IntLawGrrl Chimène Keitner, Associate Professor of Law at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law (right)

• Andrea Evans, Litigation Director, Center for Justice and Accountability (left)

11:00 – 12:30 No Safe Haven: Criminal and Administrative Enforcement

• IntLawGrrl Pamela Merchant, Executive Director, Center for Justice and Accountability (left, at podium)

• IntLawGrrl Beth Van Schaack, Associate Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law (below left)

• Theresa Harris, AIUSA Board of Directors and Executive Director of the World Organization for Human Rights USA (right)

12:30 – 2:00 Lunch

2:00 – 3:30 Corporate Accountability: Emerging Standards

• Paul Hoffman, Schonbrun, Seplow, Seplow, Harris, Hoffman & Harrison, LLP

• IntLawGrrl Natalie Bridgeman Fields, Founder and Executive Director of Accountability Counsel (right)

• Morton Winston, Founding Chair of the AIUSA Business & Human Rights Group

3:30 – 4:00 Discussion and Closing Remarks

Hope to see you there!

Go On! Religion & International Law

Santa Clara University School of Law's annual international law symposium will be on the topic of "Religion & International Law."
The event will be Friday, Feb. 18 and Saturday, Feb 19, 2011 in the California Mission Room, Benson Center, Santa Clara University.
The Symposium homepage is here. Online registration may be undertaken here (MCLE credit is available). The papers and proceedings will be published in our Journal of International Law.
The Symposium is organized around a series of papers by our main presenters as well as commentary from other experts. The full schedule is here.
Speakers and commentators include (full bios are here):
► Lama Abu-Odeh (Georgetown) (top right)
► Peter Danchin (U. Maryland)
► Haider Hamoudi (Pittsburgh)
► IntLawGrrls guest/alumna Saira Mohamed (Berkeley Law) (top left)
► Anissa Helie (John Jay College of Criminal Law & International Solidarity Network of Women Living Under Muslim Laws)
► Dr. Hisham Hellyer (Warwick)
► Asifa Quraishi (Wisconsin) (middle right)
► Brett Scharffs (Brigham Young)
► Shadi Mokhtari (American) (middle left)
► Dr. Manisuli Ssenyonjo (Brunel University)
► Seval Yildirim (Whittier) (bottom right)
► IntLawGrrl Karima Bennoune (Rutgers-Newark) (bottom left)
The keynote speaker is Robert Steiple, the first ever U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.
Hope to see you there!

Black Women Teaching International Law (IV)

Back in the Spring I began posting ad hoc lists of Black women who teach international, comparative, foreign, immigration, refugee, and asylum law at United States law schools in response to a friend’s inquiry. Part of IntLawGrrls “Experts at Law” series, the earlier posts can be found here.
African-American, African, and African-descended women have made important strides in all aspects of internationalism since the days of the international foremothers depicted in IntLawGrrls' pages. Some early examples appear in A Retrospective: Blacks in U.S. Foreign Policy, edited by yours truly, IntLawGrrl Hope Lewis (TransAfrica Forum, 1987) (a historical photo essay available for download here and here).
The list is growing, and, one hopes, will continue to do so as a result of increasing attention to diversity in hiring, course assignment, and promotion practices as well as growing African-American interest in international law. See Professor Henry J. Richardson, III’s recent book analyzing the early history of such links, The Origins of African-American Interests in International Law (Carolina Academic Press, 2008).
Thanks to colleagues far and wide for their suggestions.
► Jena Martin Amerson (left), Associate Professor of Law, West Virginia University College of Law (International Business Transactions)
► Joyce A. Hughes (above right), Professor of Law, Northwestern University School of Law (Immigration Law, Refugees and Asylum Law). In 1971, Professor Hughes became the first African-American woman appointed to a tenure-track position at a majority law school, the University of Minnesota School of Law.
► Judith A.M. Scully (right), Professor of Law, West Virginia University School of Law (International Human Rights Seminar: South Africa)

Go On! Shadi Sadr To Speak on Human Rights in Iran

Each year, Santa Clara University School of Law accepts nominations for and awards the Katharine and George Alexander Law Prize to recognize a person from anywhere around the world

who has used his or her skill, knowledge, and abilities in the field of law to correct an injustice. The hope of the donors is that the Prize will not only give the public a higher regard for the legal profession but will also be an inspiration within the legal profession and a recognition of the good work of so many in the law.

This year's recipient is Shadi Sadr, an Iranian human rights lawyer (right and below left). The award will be given Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the Performing Arts Center. Her talk is open to the public. More details on the event are available here.

Sadr’s advocacy focuses primarily on women’s rights in Iran. Besides representing journalists, women, and human rights defenders in criminal cases, she co-founded the “Stop Stoning Forever” campaign and established Raahi ("Institution for a Better Life"), an organization that was dedicated to improving women’s rights more generally until it was shut down by the government. Through legal representation and public pressure, she has obtained the release of three women originally sentenced to death by stoning and stopped the implementation of the same sentence with respect to five other women (although the sentence could be reinstated at any time). Iran (along with Nigeria and Afghanistan) is one of a handful of countries that still allow convicted defendants to be stoned to death, especially in cases involving so-called honor crimes (photo at right, credit).

The contested elections in Iran in 2009 heralded unprecedented public protests and repression by the authorities targeted at human rights defenders, pro-democracy activists, students leaders, and journalists. (See this report by Amnesty International). After demonstrating for Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Sadr was arrested by plainclothed officials and held in solitary confinement. She was released on bail and fled to Germany. She was eventually convicted in absentia for

acting against national security and harming public order

and sentenced to 6 years in prison and 74 lashes.

In addition to the Alexander prize, Sadr has received other recognition for her work. In March 2010, Sadr received the International Woman of Courage award from the U.S. State Department, an honor initiated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Sadr declined to attend the award ceremony. Instead, she dedicated the award to Shiva Nazar Ahari, a human rights activist held at the time in Evin prison. Sadr indicated in her recorded speech that she hoped her absence would bring recognition to Ahari's case. Ahari was later released on $500,000 bail.

In 2009, she received the Human Rights Defenders Tulip from the Netherlands (left) and, along with three other Iranian women activists, the Lech Walesa prize, given from the Lech Walesa Institute Foundation to a person, institution or social movement that works for solidarity, freedom and democracy. In 2005, Ms. Sadr received the “Ida B. Wells” prize for showing courage in journalism.

Hope to see you there!

Go On! Proving International Sex Crimes

The Forum for International Criminal and Humanitarian Law in connection with Yale University and the University of Cape Town is hosting a seminar on "Proving International Sex Crimes" in New Haven on Oct. 15-16, 2010.

Professor Morten Bergsmo (University of Oslo, Visiting Professor at Georgetown Law Center) (right) is organizing the seminar and will also serve as a moderator for IntLawGrrls' workshop two weeks later on Gender and International Criminal Law at ASIL's Tillar House.

The purpose of the Yale seminar is to

advance the discourse on international gender crimes by addressing one of its weakest links, the effective enforcement of individual criminal responsibility for such violations, in particular for those with higher responsibility.

Key questions to be explored include:

• What are the legal requirements for such crimes for the different forms of participation in their commission?
• Which requirements are conduct-specific and which refer to the context in which the conduct occurred?
• How have the different legal requirements been proved in cases?
• Where do the main difficulties lie and what are the typical excuses?
• What is the significance of 'systematic' sexual violence, sexual violence as a 'tool or instrument of warfare', and sexual violence as 'persecution'?
• What can be learned from the prosecution of other international crimes for the prosecution of sex crimes?

The full program is available here.

Speakers include our colleagues:

IntLawGrrl Kelly Dawn Askin (Open Society Justice Initiative)

IntLawGrrl Beth Hillman (Hastings School of Law, Visiting Professor at Santa Clara University School of Law) (left)

Elisabeth Wood (Yale University) (right)

David Cohen (U.C. Berkeley)

Hope to see you there!

Oslo Conference Results

Academics at the University of Oslo have posted the results of the Conference of women international law scholars held recently entitled: "The Creation of International Law: An Exploration of Normative Innovation, Contextual Application, and Interpretation in a Time of Flux." IntLawGrrl Alumna Cecelia Bailliet - who has posted on international kidnapping - organized the conference and will transform the proceedings into a book on the topic. Our coverage of the conference can be found here and here. Stay Tuned!

Go On! State Responsibility & Intimate Violence

(Go On! is an occasional item on symposia and other events of interest)
Our readers in the United Kingdom and environs might be interested in the following event, at London's Chatham House, on international law and intimate violence:
The Principles of State Responsibility and Systemic Intimate Violence, Wednesday, 22 September 2010, 17:00 to 18:30.
Featuring:
► Professor Bonita Meyersfeld, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, School of Law and Head of the law school's Gender, Centre for Applied Legal Studies, who will: argue that systemic intimate violence is an appropriate concern for international law; survey important recent legal developments at the UN, European, inter-American, and Pan-African levels; and discuss her new book on this subject, Domestic Violence and International Law (2010).
► Gauri van Gulik (left), Women's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch, who will respond from the perspective of a practitioner working on these issues.
To register, e-mail amartin@chathamhouse.org.uk, stating your name and professional affiliation. Members should include their membership number.

The Creation of International Law

Greetings from Oslo, where a number of IntLawGrrls (members, guests, and alumnae) are participating in a conference organized by Cecilia Bailliet and others at the University of Oslo Faculty of Law on The Creation of International Law: An Exploration of Normative Innovation, Contextual Application, and Interpretation in a Time of Flux.

Participants include the following women in international law (IntLawGrrls have a * next to their names):

► Henriette Aasen - University of Bergen
► Montserrat Abad - Carlos III University of Madrid
► Sumudu Atapattu (above left) - University of Wisconsin
► * Karima Bennoune (left) Rutgers School of Law, Newark
► * Rebecca M. Bratspies (right, in black) - CUNY School of Law
► Catherine Brölmann (below, in blue) - University of Amsterdam


►* Doris Buss - Carleton University
► Rosemary Byrne (right, with scarf) - Trinity College Dublin
► Christine Byron - Cardiff Law School (below left, in purple)
►* Hilary Charlesworth (below, in white) - Australian National University

► *Fiona de Londras (below) - University College Dublin
► Katherine Del Mar (below right) - University of Geneva
► Malgosia Fitzmaurice - Queen Mary University of London School of Law
► Anne Hellum - University of Oslo
► Agnieszka Jachec-Neale (below right, in front of window) - School of Oriental and Asian Studies
► Edda Kristjansdottir - Amsterdam Law School
► Catharine MacKinnon - Harvard Law School/U. Michigan Law School
► Claudia Martin - AU Washington College of Law
► *Fionnuala Ni Aoláin - U. Minnesota School of Law
► Phoebe Okawa (right) - Queen Mary University School of Law
► *Hari M. Osofsky - U. Minnesota School of Law
► Inger Johanne Sand - University of Oslo
► Kirsten Sandberg (right, in green) - University of Oslo
► Birgit Schlütter - Norwegian Center for Human Rights
► Hitomi Takemura - NUI Galway & Kyusha International University
► * Beth Van Schaack - Santa Clara University School of Law
► Maria Varaki - PhD candidate, NUI Galway; Irish Centre for Human Rights

Stay tuned for additional postings from the conference.

Camille A. Nelson named Dean of Suffolk Law

Camille A. Nelson (photo), Professor of Law at Hofstra University Law School, is slated to become the 12th Dean of Suffolk University Law School beginning September 1, 2010. She is the first woman, the first African-American, and the first person of color to hold that position in the university's history. (See Boston.com article here.)

Professor Nelson, listed in my recent posts on "Black Women Teaching International Law" (part of our "Experts at Law" series), has taught Contracts, Sports Law, Comparative Criminal Law, Transnational Law, and Critical Race Theory. (On other law deans with international law expertise, see IntLawGrrls' prior posts here, here, here, and here.)

International foremother "Miss Lou" is particularly pleased to report that Professor Nelson has transnational roots in the Caribbean, Canada, and the United States of America. Nelson's book, co-edited with Charmaine A. Nelson, her sister, is titled Racism, Eh?: A Critical Inter-Disciplinary Anthology of Race and Racism in Canada.

Professor Nelson is highly respected and regarded throughout the legal academy as a leader, a scholar, and a champion of social justice and public service.

Heartfelt congratulations!

Black Women Teaching International Law (U.S.), Part III

There's room for optimism. After my previous posts here and here on Black Women who teach international, comparative, foreign relations, or immigration/refugee/asylum law, the names kept rolling in. This is great news for the legal academy and, one hopes, a promise of more to come.

The gender, race, and cultural diversity we see when doors once closed begin to open produces many benefits. Given the state of global affairs, we need the expertise and perspectives of talented women and men of all colors to work on the pedagogy, critical analysis, practical implementation, and progressive development of international and transnational law as much as we ever did. Here's Part III.

Bridgette Baldwin (photo, right), Associate Professor of Law, Western New England College School of Law (International Criminal Justice)

Barbara Bernier (photo, right), Professor of Law, Florida A & M University College of Law (International Human Rights of Women, Law and Policy in the Caribbean)

Janai S. Nelson (photo, left), Assistant Professor of Law, St. John's University School of Law (Comparative Elections Law)

Kimberly Jade Norwood (photo, right),

Professor of Law, College of Law, and Professor of African and African-American Studies, Washington University at St. Louis (Comparative Products Liability)

Janice D. Villiers (photo, left), Associate Professor of Law, St. John's University School of Law (Immigration Law, Asylum Law)

Finally, an update. Professor Lolita K. Buckner Inniss, previously listed here, reports that she now holds the Joseph C. Hostetler Baker and Hostetler Chair in Law at Cleveland-Marschall School of Law!