ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS
The Graduate Program in Intercultural Human Rights started in August 2001 with the LL.M. Program in Intercultural Human Rights. Today it has expanded into a powerful tool of education and scholarship consisting of the following components:
• MASTER OF LAWS (LL.M.) PROGRAM IN INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS
Globally unique LL.M. program offering in-depth instruction on the protection of human dignity across political, social, economic, and cultural lines; Faculty of worldwide distinction: top United Nations experts, chief legal advisors, judges, scholars and practitioners; Diversity and intercultural dialogue, with students and faculty from all over the globe; Doctoral studies available to graduates. More information available at: www.stu.edu/humanrights.
• DOCTOR OF THE SCIENCE OF LAW (J.S.D.) PROGRAM IN INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS
In academic year 2005-2006 we proudly introduced our Charter J.S.D. Class. More information available at: www.stu.edu/humanrights.
• INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW
The Intercultural Human Rights Law Review is an annual journal committed to exploring new directions and perspectives in the struggle for human rights, justice, and equality. Its fourth issue is to be published in June 2009. For more information about the law review and for submissions please visit http://www.stu.edu/ihrlr.
• SUSAN J. FERRELL INTERCULTURAL HUMAN RIGHTS MOOT COURT COMPETITION
The Fourth Annual Competition was held on January 31 and February 1, 2009. This year's problem revolved around indigenous peoples' rights to self-government, enhanced interrogation techniques, expulsion of human rights defenders, and the legality of the use of force. The competition was won by the team from Florida International University, which narrowly defeated the team from the National University of Jodhpur, India. The best memorial was submitted by Howard University. More information available at: www.stu.edu/imc.
• DIPLOMACY MONITOR
The St. Thomas University School of Law through specially developed software monitors the global output of communiqués, official statements, press briefings, and news releases from hundreds of diplomacy-related websites in near real-time and channels it into a synthesized information stream for scholars, diplomats, journalists, researchers, students and others interested in the interaction among nations - an indispensable resource in the research of state practice for purposes of, inter alia, determining the content of customary international law. More information at: www.diplomacymonitor.com.
• SYMPOSIA
On October 24, 2008, the Graduate Program in Intercultural Human Rights and the Intercultural Human Rights Law Review organized a symposium on "The Cuban Embargo and Human Rights." Speakers included W. Michael Reisman, Myres S. McDougal Professor of International Law & former President, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Yale Law School, who was also honored as the first recipient of the IHRLR Human Rights Award; Antonio Jorge, Professor, Departments of International Relations, Economics, and Political Science, Florida International University; Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff, Director, former Chargé d' Affaires, European Commission Delegation in Havana, Cuba; Eckart Klein, Professor of Law & former Member, United Nations Human Rights Committee, University of Potsdam Faculty of Law, Germany; Nicolás J. Gutiérrez, Jr., Esq., Borgognoni & Gutiérrez, LLP, Miami, Florida; Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol, Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor of Law, Fredric G. Levin College of Law, University of Florida; Armando Perez Roura, Director, Radio Mambí, Miami
Daniel Wilkinson, Deputy Director, Americas Division, Human Rights Watch; Maria Dolores Espino, Professor, Department of Accounting, St. Thomas University; Katrin Hansing, Associate Director, Cuba Research Institute, Florida International. The Hon. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member, Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, held the Keynote Dinner Address.
On February 12, 2009, the Graduate Program in Intercultural Human Rights and the Coalition of Catholic Organizations against Human Trafficking hosted a symposium on "Human Trafficking: Global and Local Perspectives." Key papers presented at these events will be published in Volume 4 of the Intercultural Human Rights Law Review. Sessions examined:
- Human Trafficking: A Human Rights or a Criminal Law issue?
- The Necessity of a Victim-Oriented Approach to Human Trafficking
- Trafficking Initiatives in South Florida
- Research and Training Needs in the Field and Incipient Responses
Speakers included:
Professor Dr. Federico Lenzerini, University of Siena School of Law, Siena, Italy; Professor Dr. Ryszard Piotrowicz, University of Aberystwyth, Department of Law and Criminology, Wales, United Kingdom; Dr. iur. Roza Pati, Executive Director & Adjunct Professor of Law, St. Thomas University School of Law; Ann Marie Villafaña and Karlyn J. Hunter, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Southern District of Florida; Dr. Elzbieta M. Gozdziak, Research Director & Editor, International Migration, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University; Mark Kielsgard, Human Rights Expert, Ana Isabel Vallejo, Supervising Attorney, Lucha: A Women's Legal Project, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center; Professor Dr. Johnny McGaha, Director, Esperanza Project, Florida Gulf Coast University; Professor Dr. iur. Siegfried Wiessner, Director, LL.M. /J.S.D. Program in Intercultural Human Rights, St. Thomas University School of Law.
Other Noteworthy Events and Publications
Professor Dr. iur. Siegfried Wiessner, the Director of the Graduate Program of Intercultural Human Rights, has been elected Chairperson of the International Law Association Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the ILA's Biennial Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August, 2008.
He also published an article on Indigenous Sovereignty: A Reassessment in Light of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, at 41 VANDERBILT J. TRANSNAT'L L. 1141 (October, 2008), available at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3577/is_4_41/ai_n31027078.
Dr. iur. Roza Pati, the Executive Director of the Graduate Program of Intercultural Human Rights, has completed her Doctorate of Law (Dr. iur.) degree summa cum laude at the University of Potsdam Faculty of Law, Germany in December, 2008.
Her dissertation on "Due Process and International Terrorism" will be published by Martinus Nijhoff Publishers as Volume 1 of a newly-established series entitled "Studies in Intercultural Human Rights." For details, see http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=210&pid=31414.
Reviews:
"Thanks to Pati's rigorous research and balanced and wise appraisal, her book will be indispensable for scholars and decision makers." Michael Reisman, Professor, Yale Law School & former President, Inter-American Commission of Human Rights
"This book should be read by everyone who is interested to know more about the narrow borderline separating legally acceptable from unacceptable measures in the fight against international terrorism." Eckart Klein, Professor, University of Potsdam Faculty of Law & former Member, United Nations Human Rights Committee
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