Reimagining Rights in the Americas Project
Reimagining Rights in the Americas is a project collaborating with grassroots organizations, leaders, scholars and social movements in the Americas to amplify their reform efforts and incorporate their perspective as part of an emerging, reimagined human rights framework.
Looking Back at the Visit of the Inter-American Commission to Visit UCLA
We hosted the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights at UCLA for their 186th Period of Sessions in March 2023, which was framed by our signature Reimagining Rights in the Americas Conference.
Los Angeles’ dynamism and global blend of cultures make it uniquely situated to launch re-envisioned human rights dialogues. The week brought local social justice issues and actors into conversation with the international human rights frame.
Indigenous Education Now!
Repairing Harms Suffered by Native American and Indigenous Students and Their Families
Los Angeles County has the largest urban Native American and Indigenous population in the United States and the nation’s second largest school district: Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
The Human Rights in Action Clinic has been supporting Indigenous Education Now!, the coalition of land-based tribes of Los Angeles County (the Tongva and Tataviam) and the communities of the Native American and Latin American Indigenous diasporas who have advocated for LAUSD’s implementation of meaningful tribal consultation and enhanced programs and services to ensure the success of Native American and Indigenous students in the District.
Spanish / Portuguese Speaker Series
The Inter-American System for Human Rights:
Lights, Shadows and New Paths
(El Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos:
Luces, Sombras y Nuevos Derroteros)
Material Challenges Faced by Indigenous Tribes and Afrodescendents in Defending Their Territories
(Desafíos en Materia de Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas y en
Defensa de los Territorios de los Pueblos Indígenas y Afrodescendientes)
Mapping Los Angeles’ Latin American Indigenous Diaspora
Los Angeles County is home to more Indigenous language communities than almost any other county in the nation, yet which languages and how many people speak them remained anyone’s guess. Officials had presumed Indigenous speakers also spoke Spanish, which is often not the case. This left vast swaths of Los Angeles underserved and in the dark about crucial information.
CIELO worked tirelessly to advocate for language rights, opening access to essential services and public health for these communities.We joined CIELO, UCLA’s AISC and the UCLA Bunche Center in their remarkable endeavor: to map the Indigenous language communities of Los Angeles.
Learn More about This Pioneering ProjectStudent Opportunities
Questions? berra@law.ucla.edu
Fellowship Opportunities
Thanks to our collaborative agreement with the Special Rapporteur for Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, we are pleased to award a post-graduate fellowship opportunity with the Special Rapporteur to a graduating student who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to human rights in the Americas.
Human Rights in Action Clinic
Clinic students have the opportunity to participate in ongoing human rights work through:
- Collaborative Projects with Partner Organizations
- Litigation in the Inter-American System
- Advanced Clinics
- Independent Study
- Pro Bono Initiatives
Justice for Indigenous Land Defenders
We work closely with partners in Honduras to support a portfolio of cases involving Indigenous environmental defenders and others.