Human Rights Institute publishes press release about its Student Paper Symposium, where Columbia Law Students presented scholarship to top academics and advocates

Columbia Law Students Present Scholarship to Top Academics and Advocates at Columbia Law School Human Rights Student Paper Symposium

May 7, 2018, NEW YORK - Columbia Law School students presented new scholarship on human rights law, advocacy, and theory at the Annual Columbia Law School Human Rights Student Paper Symposium, held at Columbia Law School. Now in its second year, the spring scholarship conference brought students, faculty, and leading human rights practitioners into dialogue about key human rights challenges. The event was co-sponsored by the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Human Rights Clinic, Human Rights Law Review, Rightslink, and the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law.

During the half-day symposium, nine student authors presented their original work to a panel of international law, civil liberties, and human rights academics and practitioners. Papers covered a range of topics, including de-facto regimes and effective power in international human rights law, state responsibility for aiding torture, victims’ identity and intersectionality in international criminal law, gender-based sexual violence, responsibility under international criminal law for indoctrination to hatred in education systems, and informed consent in human rights research. Through this exchange, student participants received feedback from peers, professors, and human rights advocates, including experts from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the Columbia Center on Global Legal Transformation, and the Columbia Human Rights Institute, among others.

“The Human Rights Student Paper Symposium provides students with the opportunity to share their scholarship with leading academics and advocates, and to receive detailed feedback as their prepare their papers for publication,” explained Sarah Knuckey, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Faculty Co-Director of the Human Rights Institute, and Director of the Human Rights Clinic. “The range and depth of work presented this year was impressive.”

In her closing remarks, incoming Rightslink Co-President Emma DiNapoli ’20 highlighted the importance of the event “given the current state of human rights in this country and worldwide, as leaders retreat from international legal obligations and threaten the rule of law,” DiNapoli said. “The work discussed today highlights urgent issues on crimes committed by states, corporate accountability, constitutional law, and gender-based violence, among other pressing topics, and engaging and demonstrating leadership on these human rights challenges is imperative.”

Reflecting on his experience as a student presenter, LL.M. Human Rights Fellow, Daron Tan ’18 noted, “The symposium is a wonderful opportunity for students interested in human rights scholarship and advocacy. Through participating, I was able to share my research and receive invaluable feedback from faculty members and practitioners. I also found it incredibly useful to have a forum to learn from the fascinating research that my peers in the human rights community are working on.”

The students who presented at the conference were Alexandra Bodo (J.D.) ’19, Anna Dannreuther (LL.M.) ’18, Daron Tan (LL.M.) ’18, Katherine Ebright (J.D.) ’18, Kathryn Witchger (J.D.) ’18, Madeline Wardleworth (LL.M.) ’18, Sophia Wistehaube (J.D.) ’19, Sophie Tarazi (J.D.) ’19, and Tom Nachtigal (LL.M.) ’18.

The Columbia Law School faculty and lecturers that served as panelists included Katharina Pistor, David Pozen, Rose Cuison-Villazor, Kayum Ahmed, Sarah Knuckey, Benjamin Hoffman, and Nyaguthii Chege.

Outside human rights practitioners who joined as panelists included Richard Dicker, Director, International Justice Program, Human Rights Watch; Sarah Jackson, Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Great Lakes region, Amnesty International; along with Human Rights Institute staff Rahma Hussein, Kate Kelly, Anjli Parrin, and Michel Manzur.

The Columbia Law School Human Rights Student Paper Symposium aims to foster the development of student scholarship and stimulate debate on human rights challenges and opportunities. Organized annually, it welcomes submissions that critically engage with and advance knowledge and debate about human rights issues, whether related to the law, policy, advocacy, theory, methods, and/or practice of human rights. For a list of selected papers and session topics of the 2018 Symposium, click here.

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The Human Rights Institute advances international human rights through education, advocacy, fact-finding, research, scholarship, and critical reflection. It works in partnership with advocates, communities, and organizations pushing for social change to develop and strengthen the human rights legal framework and mechanisms, promote justice and accountability for human rights violations, and build and amplify collective power.

Founded in 1998 by the late Professor Louis Henkin as the anchor for human rights within Columbia Law School, the Human Rights Institute promotes engagement and knowledge of human rights within the law school, throughout the University, and around world. Across the many substantive areas of its work, the Institute builds bridges between scholarship and activism, develops capacity within the legal community, engages governments, and models new strategies for progress.

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