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END OF THE YEAR NEWSLETTER 2015
A Summary of Committee Activities
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I. THE ABA SIL INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE
The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) is concerned with all matters involving the response to and amelioration of instances of assaults on human dignity through the oppression of civil and political rights, as well as efforts to create and foster legal, business, and cultural systems and institutions that give meaningful protection to human rights.
More specifically, the SIL IHRC:
- Monitors the drafting and adoption of international covenants;
- Advocates for foreign human rights lawyers persecuted for their work;
- Investigates cases of alleged human rights abuses throughout the world;
- Educates the bar, policy makers, and the public at-large about global human rights issues
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II. ABA SIL IHRC LEADERSHIP (Y2015-16)
- Co-Chairs: Greg MacKenzie, Tammie Smith-Long, and Stephanie Williams
- Immediate Past Co-Chairs: Elizabeth Turchi, Joe Federici
- Senior Advisors: Robert Lutz, Elizabeth Turchi, Cara Lee Neville, Gigi Nikpour
- Vice Chairs: Jimena Conde, Viviana de la Peña Escobar, Justy Erharbor, Ayesha Khan, Nick Leddy, John M. Mbaku, Ryan McClure, Will Pons, Kathleen "Katie" Shay, Tanya Sukhija, David Taylor, Margaret "Peggy" Taylor, Catherine Vernon, Luke Wilson
- Steering Committee Members: Daniel Appelman, Kay Bridger-Riley, Sara Blackwell, Timothy Burns, Cindy Buys, Michele Curtis, Garry Farley, Julie Gharagouzloo, Kimberly Goins, Lisa de Gray, Tracy Hannan, Alejandra Franco, Sharon James, Paul Johnson, Eva Nudd, Deepali Lugani, Meredith Parenti, Charlotte Ricketts, Vasco de Jesus Rodrigues, & Stephanie Snow
Visit the IHRC blog to learn more about our leadership team and steering committee members.
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III. RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS & ACTIVITIES
- July 1: SIL Y2015-16 Leadership Appointments
- July 30 - August 4: 2015 ABA Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL)
- July 31: IHRC receives four awards at the Annual Meeting 🏆
- 2015 Outstanding Committee Award
- 2015 Best Committee Program (Greg MacKenzie)
- 2015 Best Use of Social Media (Stephanie Williams)
- 2015 Best Use of Website (Stephanie Williams)
- August 3: IHRC Election Monitoring Resolution with Report (R&R) is adopted by the ABA House of Delegates. Resolution #114 urges observation of elections in the United States by observers duly selected by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and other international organizations.
- September 29: IHRC Co-Chairs submits Committee Business Plan to Section.
- October 20-24: ABA SIL 2015 Fall Conference (Montréal, Canada)
- October 23: IHRC presents a 2-part program, When Governments Fail: Corruption, Mismanagement and the Case for Accountability. Portions of the panel discussion are broadcast in real-time over the internet to more than 120 people via Periscope and Twitter.
- November 3: IHRC co-sponsors International Environmental Law Committee panel discussion on Accountability & Sustainability: Views from Practice on Regional & Global Environmental & Social Performance Standards
- December 1: IHRC submits papers for 2015 The Year-in-Review
- December 4: IHRC Teleconference on The Global Refugee Crisis: A True Account of a Syrian's Journey to Safety
- December 29: Arms Trade Treaty Resolution with Report (ATT R&R) Subcommittee submits final draft for review.
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The following people deserve acknowledgment for their exemplary work, assistance with committee programs, and commitment to human rights.
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Elizabeth Turchi, Senior Advisor - Immediate Past Co-Chair who volunteered 100s of hours of services and exhibited extraordinary leadership, all while working at The Hague in Geneva, Switzerland; Co-Recipient of the 2015 Best Committee Award
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Greg MacKenzie, Co-Chair -Moderator, presenter and co-organizer of the widely-praised Freedom of Press and the Law program presented at the ABA SIL Fall 2014 Conference (Buenos Aires, Argentina); Recipient of 2015 Committee Programs Award
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Stephanie Williams, Co-Chair - Social Media and Social Networking Guru who created the IHRC's social media presence across the web and works tirelessly to leverage the power of social media to advance the cause of human rights; Recipient of 2015 Best Use of Social Media & Best Website Awards
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Will Pons, Vice Chair - Active committee member who, in response to a request from ABA Center for Human Rights (via Amnesty International), drafted a Statement on behalf of Dr. Mohammed al-Roken, the UAE human rights lawyer and law professor who was arbitrarily arrested and detained on July 17, 2012 . Mr. Pons Statement will be used in future media campaigns aimed at pressuring UAE to release Dr. Mohammed al-Roken, who is currently serving his 1263rd day of incarceration. His current whereabouts are unknown.
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Tammie Smith-Long, Co-Chair - Brainchild of idea to use of technology and social media application to live-stream portion of committee panel discussion at 2015 SIL Fall Conference; Recipient of the 2015 Best Committee Award
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Nick Leddy, Year-In Review Vice Chair & Committee Editor - Exemplary work related to the collection and submission of YIR articles. Did we mention that Mr. Leddy is a busy Assistant District Attorney at New York County District Attorney's Office who somehow found the time to edit the Contributing Authors Guidelines and assist in recruiting committee authors via email and social media.
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Senior Advisor Robert Lutz, and ROL Vice Chair David Taylor - Regional and legal expertise, compassion and advocacy regarding the unprecedented crackdown on human rights lawyers in China; work on the committee's statement regarding the 300+ human rights lawyers who have been detained or disappeared.
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Gigi Nikpour, Senior Advisor - Former Teleconference Vice Chair and active committee member who uses her legal, social media and graphic arts skills to bring awareness to human rights issues that would otherwise go unnoticed; assistance with the Communication and Website Subcommittee work, specifically management of IHRC’s Twitter and (new) Instagram accounts.
- 2015-16 Arms Trade Treaty R&R Subcommittee, specifically Immediate Past Co-Chair Joe Federici and Vice Chairs Will Pons, Kathleen "Katie" Shay, & Luke Wilson for the incalculable hours donated to this project and commitment to a more peaceful global community. We will keep members posted on the progress of this R&R.
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Global Refugee Crisis, Part 1 Teleconference Participants, specifically Jacob Joseph, former IHRC Vice Chair, Current Middle East Committee Vice Chair, and Speaker; Jacob Khoury, Speaker and Syrian refugee currently residing in Germany; Niki Dasarathy, MENA ROL Senior Program Manager, Speaker; Sophie Wilmot, SIL Programs Associate, assistance with logistics and marketing; and Stephanie Williams, Co-Chair, event coordinator, moderator, and promoter.
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2014-15 Election Monitoring R&R Subcommittee. steered by Vice Chair Catherine Vernon, who played a crucial role in the adoption of our committee's R&R, Resolution #114, by the House of Delegates at 2015 ABA Annual Meeting.
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A BIG TENT: COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS (AUG 2015 - DEC 2015)
ABA Center for Human Rights, Indian Law Committee, ABA Division & Section Chairs, ABA Governmental Affairs Office, International Antitrust Committee, International Environmental Law Committee, International Criminal Law Committee, International Judicial Affairs Committee, International Refugee Law Committee, Lawyers Interest Network, Middle East Committee, ROL Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Division, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues Network, UN & International Organizations Committee, US Lawyers Abroad
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A huge thanks to all who have supported our work or invited us to support yours!
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IV. Top 10 IHRC Social Media Post of 2015
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V. A GLIMPSE AT 2016
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Immediate Areas of Focus
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Global Refugee Crisis
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Advocacy for Detained / Disappeared Human Rights Lawyers
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Advocacy for Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims
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Human Trafficking Subcommittee
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Arms Trade Treaty R&R
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Russian Law Student Skype Program
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Bringing Human Rights Homes (Domestic Violations)
* There may be additional committee programs added or co-sponsor opportunities accepted for the SIL Spring 2016 Conference.
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