All events open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Monday, October 20th, 12:30 p.m. Room 110 Boalt Hall. Lunch will be served. FROM ARMY CHAPLAIN TO PRISONER: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT FROM THE FRONT LINES OF GUANTANAMO Cap. (Ret.) James Yee, U.S. Army
A graduate of West Point, Captain James Yee served as Muslim Chaplain in the U.S. Army for the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay where he advised camp commanders on detainee religious practices and objected to the cruel and degrading abuses to which the prisoners were subjected. Captain Yee was himself arrested and imprisoned in 2003 on
charges of spying, espionage, and aiding the prisoners. Although all charges against Mr. Yee were later dropped and he was released and reinstated to duty, he resigned from the U.S. Army in 2005 with an Honorable Discharge as well as a second Army Commendation medal for "exceptionally meritorious service." Since leaving the army, Captain
Yee has written a book entitled "For God And Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire," and travels the country lecturing on his own harrowing ordeal, Guantanamo Bay, Islam, Asian-American Diversity Issues, national security, and civil liberties.Co-sponsored by Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights and the Human Rights Center.
October 7, 12:45 p.m. Goldberg Room, Boalt Hall Malgosia Fitzmaurice Department of Law University of London
The main focus of the presentation will be the possible development of a human right to a clean environment within the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights and Political Freedoms by the European Court of Human Rights is Strasbourg. This Convention does not have an explicit human right to a clean environment. It was developed on the basis of the jurisprudence of the Court, which based itscase-law in this respect on the general principles of adjudication such as the margin of appreciation and the balancing of interests test. Malgosia Fitzmaurice holds a chair of public international law at the Department of Law, Queen Mary, University of London. She specializes in international environmental law and the law of treaties. Professor Fitzmaurice published widely on both subjects. In July 2001, she was invited to deliver keynote lectures on “International Protection of the Environment” at the Hague Academy of International Law. In 1996, Professor Fitzmaurice delivered a paper at the 50thanniversary of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. She lectured widely in the United Kingdom and abroad at various universities, such as Utrecht and Brussels and at the World Bank in 2001. Part of the California Center for Environmental Law & Policy Fall 2008 Speaker Series.
September 22, 12:45pm. Room 115 Boalt Hall. HUMAN RIGHTS AND BIGLAW? Kathleen Kelly ’03 Clinical Teaching Fellow, International Human Rights Clinic, Stanford Law School
After graduating from Boalt in 2003, Kathleen Kelly worked for Thelen, Reid, Brown, Raysman, and Steiner, LLP in the commercial litigation practice group. While at the firm, Kathleen founded Spark, a San Francisco non-profit organization designed to engage young professionals in raising money for and awareness about global issues that affect women. Also while working for Thelen Reid, Kathleen represented asylum applicants from Mexico, Peru, Rwanda, Guatemala, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. While at Boalt Kathleen participated in the International Human Rights Law Clinic and speaks five languages. She will discuss her career path and how to stay involved in human rights work while working at a large law firm. Co-sponsored by the Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights.
April 10, 12:45 p.m.: The First Lawyer Inside Guantanamo: Gitanjali Gutierrez, Center for Constitutional Rights
Gita Gutierrez, the first habeas attorney to meet with clients at Guantanamo Bay, will discuss her work with the CCR on Guantanamo, the American government's use of torture and harsh interrogation practices, and the future of military commissions for detained enemy combatants. She was a member of the legal team in /Rasul v. Bush/ before the Supreme Court in 2004 and is part of the legal team litigating the Al Odah v. Bush appeal presently before the Supreme Court. Lunch will be served! Co-sponsored by the Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights and the Human Rights Center. Boalt Hall Room 100.
April 3, 2008, 5:00 p.m.: American Values and the War on Terror: Military Dissenters
American practices in pursuing the “war on terror” have compelled some military officers to speak out in defense of constitutional protections and international law. They have raised objections to abusive interrogations and unfair court proceedings of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other U.S. military installations. Panelists include Col. (Ret.) Lawrence B. Wilkerson, U.S. Army, former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell; military prosecutor Lt. Col. V. Stuart Couch, U.S. Marine Corps; and Lt. Col. Stephen E. Abraham, Army Reserve. Co-sponsored by the Human Rights Center. Maude Fife Room, 315 Wheeler Hall
February 28, 2008, 5:00 p.m.: Panel Discussion in “American Values and the War on Terror” series: “’But Jack Bauer does it...’: Does TV persuade us that torture's okay?”
Since 9/11, portrayals of torture in television programs and movies have become far more common. The perpetrators also have changed: while previously the “bad guys” tortured the “good guys,” now heroes more often use torture to pry urgent, life-saving information from the villains. These scenes have had unforeseen ramifications on wartime military practice. Soldiers reportedly have employed specific, brutal interrogation techniques in imitation of what they have seen on episodes of “24” and similar shows. This panel will examine how torture is portrayed in popular culture and its effects on public attitudes and the actions of U.S. interrogators. Panelists include former interrogator Spc. (Ret.) Tony Lagouranis, U.S. Army; Professor Margaret Stock, U.S. Military Academy (West Point); Richard Walter, chair of the screenwriting department at UCLA School of Film, Television, and Digital Media; and David Danzig, director of the Prime Time Torture project at Human Rights First. Co-sponsored by the Human Rights Center. Boalt 110.
February 7, 2008, 7:00 p.m.: Keynote Address for “American Values and the War on Terror” series by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Antonio Taguba, United States Army
Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba led an inquiry into conditions at the Army's Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and is the author of a scathing report that detailed the sadistic abuse of inmates there. As a result of his efforts to bring these practices to light, he was encouraged to retire, which he did in January 2007 after thirty-four years of active duty. He will discuss his role in exposing the unethical activities of the military personnel in Iraq and the cost of these revelations to him personally and to America’s reputation abroad. Co-sponsored by the Human Rights Center. International House, Chevron Auditorium.
General Taguba was interviewed while on
campus as part of the series "Conversations with History"
now available online.
January 28, 2008 (Monday), 5:00 p.m., Boalt Hall Room 100: Presentation: "How Not to Counter Terrorism," by Coleen Rowley, former FBI agent.
Coleen Rowley is a former FBI agent, a whistleblower, and one of Time Magazine's People of the Year in 2002. She became a public figure in May 2002 when the public learned she had written FBI Director Robert Muller about FBI intelligence failures just weeks before the September 11 attacks. Since then she has written extensively about civil liberties, criticized the US investigations and detentions of Muslims and South Asians after 9/11, and spoken out against torture as illegal and ineffective. Co-sponsored by Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights, Beatrice Bain Research Group, Muslim Identities/Communities Townsend Working Group, and the Depatments of Women and Gender Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Asian American Studies.
November 8, 2007, 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.: Reception and Panel Discussion: “From Accomarca to Fujimori: Justice and Accountability in Peru after the Truth Commission”: Reception, Musical Performance, and Panel Discussion
After a reception featuring live Peruvian music, a distinguished panel will consider the human rights situation in Peru by examining of justice and accountability from the Accomarca massacre in the 1980s through the recent controversial extradition of former President Alberto Fujimori from Chile to face charges in Perú.Roxanna Altholz, Associate Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic, will moderate a discussion among Almudena Bernabeu, International Attorney at the Center for Justice & Accountability; Eduardo Gonzalez, a Peruvian expert at the International Center for Transitional Justice; and Francisco Soberón, founder and president of the Asociación Pro Derechos Humanos in Lima, Perú. Co-sponsored by the Center for Justice and Accountability and the Center for Latin American Studies. Reception and musical performance: Morrison & Foerster Lounge, Boalt Hall; panel discussion: Goldberg Room, Boalt Hall.
October 30, 2007, 6:30 pm.: Film Screening and Panel Discussion: “The Price of Sugar: Human Rights in the Dominican Republic”
The Price of Sugar” follows a charismatic Spanish priest, Father Christopher Hartley, as he organizes some of this hemisphere’s poorest people, challenging powerful interests profiting from their work. When he arrives in the Dominican Republic , he’s warned against entering the sugar plantations where most of his parishioners live. Breaking a centuries old taboo, he discovers shocking examples of modern-day slavery intrinsic to the global sugar trade. “The Price of Sugar” raises key questions about where the products we consume originate, at what cost they are produced and ultimately, where our responsibility lies. 90 minutes. English and Spanish with English subtitles. The screening will be followed by a question and answer session featuring Mariah Lafleur, Berkeley Public Health graduate student and a PeaceCorps volunteer on the Vicini plantations at the time of the filming and Roxanna Altholz, Associate Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at Boalt Hall and a key adviser in Inter-American Court ruling that recognized the right of Dominican-born children of Haitian ancestry to nationality and education. Co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies. Boalt 140.
October 12, 2007, 12:45 p.m., Presentation: “Preventing Mass Atrocities and Responding to Genocide”
Mark Hanis, Executive Director of the Genocide Intervention Network will speak on building a mass movement to respond to genocide. The Genocide Intervention Network envisions a world in which the global community is willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities. Its mission is to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide. Co-sponsored by the Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights and the Human Rights Center. Boalt 140.
September 27, 2007, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.: Film Screening and Panel Discussion: “Sentenced Home”
“Sentenced Home” explores the overlap between criminal justice and immigration policy in the United States. The film follows three young Cambodian refugees who were raised in inner city Seattle, made mistakes as teenagers that led to criminal convictions, and face deportation back to Cambodia, a homeland they barely remember. The panel discussion after the film will feature Many Uch, one of the young men featured in the film; Jay Stansell, Many Uch’s Federal Public Defender; Nicole Newnham, the filmmaker; and David Onek, Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice. Co-sponsored by the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice; Institute for Global Challenges and the Law; Asian American Law Journal; Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity; Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice; and the Student Advisory Board of the Henderson Center. Boalt 100.
September 26, 2007, 12:45-1:45 p.m., Brown Bag: “Human Rights and Forensic Anthropology: A Global Perspective”
Brown Bag lunch with Jose Pablo Baraybar, Founding President, Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo Peruano de Antropologia Forense), Former Chief Forensic Anthropologist, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Consultant, Peruvian Commission of Truth and Reconciliation. Co-sponsored by the Boalt Hall Committee for Human Rights and the Human Rights Center. Boalt 145.
