Coming soon in 2025, JD candidates at UCLA Law can apply to The Promise Institute Europe’s new exchange program with the Amsterdam Law School, which will offer students from both institutions the chance to study abroad for a semester.
Holding Corporations Accountable for Human Rights Violations: The Case Doe v. Chiquita Brands in the Context of the Justice and Peace Process in Colombia
Holding Corporations Accountable for Human Rights Violations: The Case Doe v. Chiquita Brands in the Context of the Justice and Peace Process in Colombia
Hear from attorney Marissa Vahlsing of EarthRights International as she shares a behind-the-scenes look at Doe v. Chiquita.
The first in a series of trials on the matter, this case has been in litigation for over 17 years but ultimately the plaintiffs — victims of terrorism, torture, and extrajudicial killing by Colombian paramilitary squads acting with financing from Chiquita — prevailed and were awarded $38M by a jury.
Vahlsing will discuss the opportunities and pitfalls in litigating Colombian tort claims in U.S. courts, what this victory means for the plaintiffs, the justice and peace process in Colombia, and the future of holding corporations accountable for their complicity in human rights violations. She will be joined by advocates in Colombia.
- Marissa Vahlsing
- U.S. Litigation Director, EarthRights International
- U.S. Litigation Director, EarthRights International
- Daniel Marín López
- Political and Legal Scholar, National University of Colombia
- Political and Legal Scholar, National University of Colombia
- Juan Pablo Guerrero
- Subdirector of Programs, CINEP (Colombia)
This event is co-sponsored by Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular/Programa por la Paz (Cinep/PPP), UCLA's Latin American Institute, and the Area of Global Debates at the Universidad de los Andes School of Law.
Tuesday, December 3
12:00 PM Pacific Time
Online Only
*The event will be in Spanish with simultaneous English interpretation*
Prof. Rick Abel will discuss his forthcoming book on judicial independence as seen in the various cases against Donald Trump. He will evaluate how judges decide these cases and what the effect on the rule of law in America has been.
Prof. Stephen Gardbaum will moderate, putting these cases in a comparative perspective with other democratic systems.
Speakers
- Prof. Rick Abel
- UCLA Law's Michael J. Connell Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus
- Distinguished Research Professor
- Prof. Stephen Gardbaum
- UCLA Law's Stephen Yeazell Endowed Chair in Law
Friday, October 25, 2024
12:15 PM Pacific Time Zone
Hybrid: Online and In-Person at UCLA School of Law, Room 1457
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The global refugee protection system is in crisis. Refugees are too often forced to risk their lives in order to access safety; most refugees are ‘warehoused’ rather than being able to lead independent lives; the burdens and responsibilities of protection are unpredictable and fall disproportionately on the world’s poorest countries. In this talk, Professor Hathaway offers his vision of a practical yet principled way out of the current morass.
Speakers
- Prof. James Hathaway
- Degan Professor Emeritus of Law, University of Michigan
- Prof. Hiroshi Motomura, Moderator
- Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA Law
- Faculty Co-Director, Center for Immigration Law and Policy
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
12:15 PM Pacific Time Zone
In-Person Only, UCLA Law Room 1314
PLEASE NOTE THE ROOM CHANGE! IN SPITE OF WHAT PRIOR FLYERS POSTED IN HALLWAYS SAID, THIS EVENT WILL NOW TAKE PLACE IN ROOM 1314. ALL REGISTRANTS WILL ALSO RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE LOCATION IN THE DAY AHEAD OF THE EVENT.
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This event is co-sponsored by UCLA Law's Center for Immigration Law and Policy, International and Comparative Law Program, Williams Institute, International & Human Rights Law Association, and the International Refugee Assistance Project.
In November, Palestinian human rights organizations, together with Palestinians in Gaza and the U.S., filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court in Northern California against President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin alleging failure by U.S. officials to prevent and complicity in genocide against them, their families, and the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza due to ongoing support for the Israeli government.
After a historic hearing in January at which plaintiffs and an expert in Holocaust and genocide studies testified, the district court found that there is a plausible case of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and urged the Biden administration to reconsider its "unflagging support" for the Israeli government - before dismissing the case under the political question doctrine. In July, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal.
This panel will discuss the factual underpinnings and legal claims of the plaintiffs’ case against the Biden administration, and the larger legal and advocacy efforts to hold the United States accountable to its legal and moral obligations in Gaza.
Speakers
- Katherine Gallagher
- Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights
- Diala Shamas
- Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights
- Plaintiff
- Catherine Sweetser, Moderator
- Deputy Director, The Promise Institute for Human Rights
Thursday, September 26, 2024
12:15 PM Pacific Time
UCLA Law, Room 1347
Register NowOn Wednesday, October 2 at 12:15, we will be hosting Joseph B. Sweeney, former Associate General Counsel at the CIA, who will be speaking on state secrets privilege. This event promises to be an invaluable opportunity for those of you interested in national security, constitutional law, and the complex issues surrounding government secrecy.
The Promise Institute for Human Rights, the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project, and the Iran Digital Archive Coalition invite you to an in-person event on Friday, September 20, 2024 from 2:00 – 5:30 PM PT at The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles, California.
Two years after the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini and the emergence of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, victims and survivors have yet to see justice for the atrocity crimes and human rights violations committed against them. In response to this accountability gap, a coalition of open source investigation experts and human rights groups came together to preserve, verify and analyze vulnerable digital artifacts recording serious human rights violations committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran against protesters.
The work of the Iran Digital Archive Coalition has contributed to the preservation of over two million pieces of content housed at Mnemonic, has submitted material to the investigation and findings of the UN’s International Fact Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, and has published reports verifying digital content indicating the commission of several different violations, including enforced disappearance and gender persecution.
In light of this work, the Iran Digital Archive Coalition will be hosting an event to discuss ongoing efforts and the pathway forward to achieve accountability for human rights violations carried out during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. The event will begin with a brief introduction to the Iran Digital Archive Coalition, followed by a conversation with Afsoon Najafi, sister of Hadis Najafi who was shot and killed by Islamic Republic of Iran security forces during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. Representatives of the Iran Digital Archive Coalition will then participate on a panel to present the findings of each of their organization’s reports on recent human rights abuses. Following a short break, we will be joined by Elahe Tavakolian, who took to the streets during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests and was shot and blinded by Islamic Republic security forces. Finally, the event will conclude with a conversation between Sara Hossain, Chair of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran and Actor and Activist, Nazanin Boniadi.
Register Now
Please join us for a timely event that examines U.S. abortion restrictions in contrast to global trends toward greater abortion protections. Panelists will look to other countries as well as international human rights norms for clarity – and discuss how to bring international standards to bear in the fight for abortion rights at home.
Speakers
- Elise Keppler
- Executive Director, Global Justice Center
- Lara Stemple
- Assistant Dean, Faculty Affiliate of UCLA Law's Center for Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy
- Irum Taqi
- Director of Global Policy, Guttmacher Institute
- Grace Meng - Moderator
- Executive Director, UCLA Law's David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law & Policy
- Executive Director, UCLA Law's David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law & Policy
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
12:15 PM Pacific Time
In-Person at UCLA Law in Room 1430 and Virtually on Zoom
The Williams Institute's 2024 NYC Fall Salon will take place on Thursday, September 12 from 6:00-8:30 PM at the Meta office in Hudson Yards.
We invite you to join our discussion on the current state of LGBTQ+ law and policy and what’s at stake in the upcoming November election and beyond.For tickets to our 2024 NYC Fall Salon, please visit: https://bit.ly/NYCFallSalon24RSVP ends on September 4, 2024.
For more information, please contact Williamsdev@law.ucla.edu.