Established in 1998, the International Human Rights Law Clinic is engaged in cutting-edge research, policy work, and advocacy. The clinic has developed this work through human rights projects that utilize innovative approaches to promote the rights of victims and survivors of these abuses. It has
played a key role in efforts to bring to justice perpetrators of atrocities under dictatorships and circumstances of mass violence;
promoted rights that traditionally have been ignored and undervalued, such as economic, cultural and social rights; and
increased attention by judges, public officials, and activists in the United States to international human rights norms and institutions.
The clinic provides legal support for these efforts. It sponsors projects that address these emerging issues through synergies created by an interdisciplinary approach. This cooperative effort draws on the considerable energy and resources of Boalt students, faculty and staff as well as the university as a whole.
In addition, the clinic consistently collaborates with activists and human rights organizations, as well as international and governmental agencies, to develop ongoing partnerships that promote human rights advancement and enforcement.
The clinic currently works in the following areas:
Since 1998, the clinic has pioneered a rights-based strategy to combat poverty. It creatively surmounts barriers to enforcement of economic, social, and cultural rights while building the capacity of local groups to make use of these rights.
The clinic promotes compliance by the United States with international human rights standards in its efforts to combat terrorism. Its current work on this area includes:
NEW! UC Berkeley Report Details Shattered Lives of Released Guantánamo Detainees
The clinic and UC Berkeley's Human Rights Center have released their report detailing how detainees released from U.S. detention in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba and Afghanistan live shattered lives as a result of U.S. policies in the "war on terror." The report, "Guantánamo and Its Aftermath: U.S. Detention and Interrogation Practices and Their Impact on Detainees," based on a two-year study, reveals in graphic detail the cumulative effect of Bush Administration policies on the lives of 62 released detainees.
The clinic works to end and prevent atrocities, hold governments and their agents accountable for them, and assist societies rebuilding after mass violence. Projects include:
