Rights Beyond Words: Mapping Human Rights Scholar-Organization Partnerships

Wednesday, February 16, 2022
2:00pm - 3:30pm
Virtual Event

Presenters:

Zehra Arat is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at UConn. She studies human rights, with an emphasis on women’s rights, as well as processes of democratization, globalization, and development.

Shareen Hertel is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at UConn, jointly appointed with the Human Rights Institute. Her research focuses on changes in transnational human rights advocacy, with a focus on labor and economic rights issues.

Overview:

For this February edition of the HRI Colloquium Series, we will consider NGO-Scholar Engagement, the topic of an upcoming paper from Zehra Arat & Shareen Hertel.

Abstract:

For a sneak preview of their talk, here is the abstract of their forthcoming work: "For many human rights scholars, human rights is more than intellectual curiosity; it is the motivation for their work. They try to use their research and expertise to improve human rights conditions and work with policy makers and advocacy groups. This paper explores the complexities of partnerships between scholars and human rights organizations and groups (HROGs). Focusing primarily on the experience of social science and humanities scholars with a range of HROGs, we identify areas of tension, as well as the political implications of such engagement. The paper thus marks a critical step toward developing a more formal typology of such relationships that can be used to further explore variation in human rights outcomes stemming from such collaboration."

This event is virtual and will be hosted on Zoom. Click the link above to register to attend. The Colloquium will be recorded.

Human Rights Implications of UConn’s Future Climate Venture Studio

Friday, February 17, 2023
12:30pm - 2:00pm
Hybrid Event

Dodd Center for Human Rights - Room 162 & Zoom

About This Event:

The Economic & Social Rights Group welcomes you to join us for a roundtable discussion centered on how human rights issues intersect with the work of one of UConn's newest ventures in climate research. 

The Future Climate Venture Studio brings together UConn, a national and global leader in interdisciplinary climate research; R/GA Ventures, a venture studio operator and early-stage investor; CT Next, Connecticut’s innovation agency; and additional partners from energy finance, venture capital, and technology.

The Studio’s mission is to identify, support, and collaborate with the startups addressing the most critical dimensions of the climate challenge, including decarbonization, alternative energy, planetary resilience, social impact, and more.

Our Discussants:

Abhijit (Jit) Banerjee, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship,
Office of the Vice President for Research

Lyle Scruggs, Ph.D.
Professor,
Department of Political Science

Oksan Bayulgen, Ph.D.
Department Head & Associate Professor,
Department of Political Science

Michael Rubin, Ph.D.
Director, Human Rights Research & Data Hub
Assistant Research Professor, Human Rights, Engineering & Business

This event will be hosted both in-person and on Zoom. All are encouraged to join us. Register for updates and the Zoom link.

This event is hosted by the Research Program on Economic & Social Rights at the Human Rights Institute.

Human Rights Day 2021

Human Rights Day | Civics Education and Democracy Today: Bringing Human Rights Close to Home

Friday, December 10, 2021
3:00–4:00pm

Join us for the virtual event.
Register Now

In recognition of this year’s International Human Rights Day – Friday, December 10, 2021 – Dodd Human Rights Impact and the Neag School of Education will host a roundtable focused on supporting the advancement of civics and human rights education in public schools.

With opening remarks from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, the roundtable will discuss how our students, teachers, schools, and universities can advance democracy and human rights. In particular, we’ll explore how to better foster student voice and democratic participation through civics, human rights education and school-community partnerships.

Welcome & Introduction
Professor Jason Irizarry
Dean, Neag School of Education

Professor Jason Irizarry

Opening Remarks
Miguel Cardona
U.S. Secretary of Education

US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona

Roundtable Discussion Featuring
Former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd
Assistant Professor Glenn Mitoma, Director of Dodd Human Rights Impact
Abigail Esposito, Conard High School teacher
Tyler Gleen, Teacher Education M.A. Student, Neag (’22)
Zoe Maldonado, Civic Leadership High School Student (’23)

The day’s events are also part of President Biden’s December 2021 Summit for Democracy, offering an opportunity to listen, learn, and engage with diverse voices committed to a global democratic renewal.

The roundtable is the first event of Dodd Impact’s new initiative Human Rights Close to Home – a three-year pilot program that hopes to directly engage key stakeholders, including educators and youth, in the development and implementation of a model of human rights education for civic action.

Pandemics and Portals: Rights In An Era Of Tech Innovation

Thursday, November 18, 2021
4:00pm – 5:30pm
Virtual Event

About the Lecture

Sushma’s ESRG Lecture will draw on her co-authored book (along with Bill Schulz, former executive director of Amnesty International USA and Carr Center Senior Fellow), The Coming Good Society: Why New Realities Demand New Rights (Harvard University Press 2020). Drawing on their vast experience as human rights advocates, the authors challenge us to think hard about how rights evolve with changing circumstances. To preserve and promote the good society – one that protects its members’ dignity and fosters an environment in which people will want to live – we must at times rethink the meanings of familiar rights and consider the introduction of entirely new rights.

Speaker Bio

Sushma Raman is the executive director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. She brings over two decades of global experience launching, scaling, and leading social justice and philanthropic programs and collaboratives, building capabilities of grassroots human rights organizations and their leaders, and teaching graduate courses in the public policy schools at UCLA, USC, Tufts Fletcher School, and Harvard Kennedy School. Sushma has worked at the Ford Foundation, where she helped launch and scale social justice and women’s funds around the world, and at the Open Society Foundation, where she was a Program Officer on the founding staff for US Programs on immigrant and refugee rights. She was a Fellow with the German Marshall Fund and the UCLA Luskin School, and is currently a member of the board of RFK Human Rights, established by the family of Bobby Kennedy. She has taught graduate courses on economic justice; inter-sectoral leadership; philanthropy and nonprofit management; global civil society, the NGO sector, and the state; and policy communications for decision-makers.

Sponsored by the Research Program on Economic and Social Rights at the Human Rights Institute.

Human Rights Film+ Series: American Insurrection

Thursday, February 10, 2022
4:00pm - 5:30pm
Virtual Event

About This Event

In advance of the discussion, please watch the film. American Insurrection is available to stream online, free through PBS FRONTLINE.

Virtual Discussion Event – February 10 at 4:00pm - 5:30pm

The Human Rights Film+ Series presents American Insurrection, a PBS Frontline production directed by Richard Rowley with correspondent A.C. Thompson. Join us for an insightful and provocative discussion about the film, the events of January 6th, and the violent movements that threaten to upend the foundations of American democracy.

Film Synopsis: American Insurrection (2021, 85 mins) examines the individuals and ideologies behind a wave of extremist violence that culminated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the United States Capitol, and where the movement may be headed a year after the attack.

Discussants:

  • Senator Christopher J. Dodd, former U.S. Senator from Connecticut
  • A.C. Thompson, Senior Reporter with ProPublica and Frontline Correspondent
  • Aaron Hiller, Chief Counsel for the House Committee on the Judiciary
  • Emily Kaufman, Researcher for the Anti-Defamation League

Moderator:

  • Glenn Mitoma, Director, Dodd Impact

This event is sponsored by the Human Rights Institute, Dodd Impact, the Department of Digital Media and Design, and the Department of Journalism.

Contractual Deterrence and the Ethical Supply Chain

Tuesday, November 30, 2021
1:00pm - 2:15pm
Virtual Event

Workshop on Contractual Deterrence and the Ethical Supply Chain

Presenter: Robert Bird, University of Connecticut School of Business

Discussant: Gastón de los Reyes, Glasgow Caledonian New York College

A harmful byproduct of the global economy is the proliferation of abuses in global supply chains. Too often lead firms and suppliers do not effectively collaborate. Lead firms require human rights and sustainability standards while also demanding extremely low cost goods and fast production deadlines. Suppliers faced with the impossible choice of financial survival or compliance with ethical standards, attempt to evade lead firm demands. The result is an illusion of governance that prioritizes investigations over actual changes and perpetuates “slow violence” against local environments and vulnerable populations.

To respond to this problem, this manuscript proposes a new paradigm I call ‘contractual deterrence.’ Contractual deterrence leverages a centuries-old theory of criminal deterrence, reinterprets it to incorporate a modern understanding of sanctions and rewards, and applies the theory to the contractual context of the modern global supply chain. Contractual deterrence is based upon three prongs: that enforcement of ethical supply chain standards must be predictably certain, equitably significant, and swiftly implementable. This manuscript explores these prongs and shows how the theory advances sustainability and human rights literatures. This manuscript also argues for a new multistakeholder theory of social responsibility that challenges western-dominated thinking and encourages a joint and equal partnership between lead firm and supplier in order to address pressing problems facing supply chains today.

The Business and Human Rights Workshop is dedicated to the development and discussion of works-in-progress and other non-published academic research. The paper will be distributed to registered participants prior to the Workshop. This event will not be recorded.

This event is sponsored by the Business and Human Rights Initiative, a partnership founded by Dodd Human Rights Impact, the UConn School of Business, and the Human Rights Institute.