“We believe that that memory must open a channel to human rights. Why human rights? Because we realize that when a people is threatened, it doesn’t remain threatened alone. When a group is singled out, it affects all other groups.” – Elie Wiesel
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HUMAN RIGHTS AT UCONN
Examining the most pressing human rights questions and preparing the next generation of human rights leaders.

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Highlighted Events

2025 Gladstein Visiting Professor of Human Rights Diego García-Sayán

Gladstein Visiting Professor of Human Rights Lecture

Transnational Corruption & Human Rights

April 9, 2025 • Storrs, CT

Join us for a public lecture by the 2025 Gladstein Visiting Professor of Human Rights, Diego García-Sayán. A former President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Dr. García-Sayán will explore the vital link between human rights and the fight against transnational corruption and organized crime. He will discuss how judicial independence is essential for international cooperation, information exchange, and effective legal action, as outlined in the UN Convention Against Corruption. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear from a leading expert in international human rights and justice.

Learn more about the Gladstein Visiting Professor

The Inaugural Genocide Awareness Lecture will be delivered by Dr. James Waller.

Inaugural Genocide Awareness Lecture

Our Walled World: Identity & Separation in Deeply Divided Societies

April 22, 2025 • Storrs, CT

Dr. James Waller, the Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice and a renowned expert in genocide and atrocity prevention, delivers the inaugural Genocide Awareness Lecture at UConn, commemorating Genocide Awareness Month. Offering a comprehensive analysis of how deeply divided societies construct physical, symbolic, and hidden walls that foster isolation and fear, Dr. Waller examines these divisions through a global comparative lens. Emphasizing the critical need for greater integration, Waller will propose strategies that dismantle the barriers perpetuating the 'us' and 'them' fault lines of our fractured societies.

Learn more about the Genocide Awareness Lecture

UConn Today News

Busy city street full of traffic
Challenging Convention: Human Rights-Centered Engineering at UConn

At UConn, the Engineering for Human Rights Initiative is changing the way our engineers are taught to approach all kinds of projects

Minnie Negoro uses a potter's wheel during a ceramics course on December 5, 1967. (Courtesy of UConn Archives and Special Collections).
Benton Exhibit Honors Minnie Negoro, Pioneering UConn Ceramics Professor

UConn historians curated the exhibit to honor Negoro’s impact on the University and her personal experience with a dark chapter of American history — the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII

James Waller, Yvette Young, Ruchira Gupta, Aida Salazar, Michele Palmer, and Elise Delacruz at The Dodd Center for Human Rights
Award-Winning Authors Share Stories of Human Rights, Impact on Children in Visits to Hartford and Storrs

‘I knew the power of great literature in influencing me’

Human rights activist Jo Becker stands in front of a screen showing her presentation.
Investigate, Expose, and Change – Jo Becker on Advocating for Children’s Rights

Human rights advocate shares insights with UConn audience

In the News

AI Odyssey at Hartford Public Library’s Albany Library

October 17, 2024

A partnership between the Hartford Public Library, University of Connecticut, and the Connecticut/Baden-Württemberg Human Rights Research Consortium culminated in a two-day event, AI Odyssey, aiming to bridge the digital divide in AI and support teens learning to harness innovative technologies.

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Checking In With The U.S. Treasurer

November 1, 2023

Human Rights graduate student Sage Phillips ’22 (CLAS), ’24 MA, speaks with U.S. Treasurer Lynn Malerba ’08 MPA, Chief of the Mohegan Tribe, on the significance of her role as both a tribal leader and senior U.S. official, as well as the values of representation and inspiration.

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