The City University of New York Law Review presents, “Looking Forward: Rhonda Copelon’s Legacy in Action and the Future of International Women’s Human Rights Law.”

The Symposium will highlight current applications and extensions of Rhonda Copelon’s groundbreaking work through current, cutting-edge implementations of international women’s human rights law. International and U.S. practitioners and human rights advocates will discuss their current work regarding topics such as: Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Rape as a Form of Torture, and Domestic Implementation of International Human Rights Law. Professor Rhonda Copelon was a trail-blazing human rights lawyer and activist, one of the world's foremost legal scholars of the rights of women, and founder of the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic at CUNY School of Law. Her extensive work on women’s human rights has had a formative influence in shaping discourse on human rights under international and domestic law.

The program will feature four panels and will bring together leading international and U.S. experts to discuss current implementation of Rhonda Copelon’s pioneering work in the realm of international human rights, sexual and reproductive rights, and gender violence. Panel four Domestic Implementation of International Human Rights Law will feature CCR Senior Staff Attorney Pam Spees.

When: March 30, 2012

Time: 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Where: The Graduate Center, The City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue, New York City

CLE Credits Provided: There is a $15 fee for those seeking CLE credit. A fee waiver for economic hardship is available upon written request to Angela Perez: [email protected].

Registration for the event: http://lookingforward.eventbrite.com/

Panel One: Sexual Rights Developments under International Law. This panel will explore cutting-edge developments in international law for upholding sexual rights based on gender identity, sexual orientation, and sex work/ sexual exchange, as well as ongoing challenges and obstacles to securing rights in these areas.

Featuring: Rosa Celorio, Legal Advisor, Special Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women, Inter-American Human Rights Commission; Scott Long, Visiting Fellow, Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School; Andrea Ritchie, Director of Streetwise and Safe, co-author of Queer (In)justice; Jessica Stern, Director of Programs, International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission; Moderated by Ruthann Robson, University Distinguished Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law

Panel Two: Reproductive Rights. From the struggle to end the shackling of pregnant women, to court battles to overturn anti-choice regimes, this panel will discuss current legal challenges and successes for reproductive rights domestically and internationally. Specifically, participants will discuss judicial and legislative trends and reproductive rights violations in the U.S., Latin America, Africa, and Europe.

Featuring:  Marianne Mollmann, Senior Policy Advisor, Amnesty International; Nancy Northup, Executive Director of the Center for Reproductive Rights; Monica Roa, Director, Women’s Link Worldwide; Cindy Soohoo, Professor of Law and Director of the International Women’s Human Rights Clinic, CUNY School of Law; Moderated by Caitlin Borgmann, Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law

Panel Three: Rape as a Form of Torture. This panel will explore groundbreaking achievements in expanding the notion of rape as a form of torture under international law, including the State’s obligation to address sexual violence committed by private actors. Panel participants will review new developments in the International Criminal Court, the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, and UN treaty bodies.

Featuring: Felice Gaer, Vice Chair of the UN Committee Against Torture; Nigel Rodley, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, UN Human Rights Committee; Patricia Viseur-Sellers, Former Legal Adviser for Gender-Related Crimes in the Office of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia; Blaine Bookey, Staff Attorney, Center for Gender and Refugee Studies; Moderated by Penny Andrews, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, CUNY School of Law

Panel Four: Domestic Implementation of International Human Rights Law. This panel will examine innovative litigation regarding the implementation of an international human rights framework in a domestic context. Topics include the use of international human rights law to create change from the local level to the federal courts and innovative tactics to advance Economic and Social Rights.

Featuring: Catherine Albisa, Executive Director, National Economic & Social Rights Initiative; Carrie Bettinger-Lopez, Professor of Law and Director, Human Rights Clinic, University of Miami School of Law; Pam Spees, Senior Staff Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights; Joey Mogul, Partner, People’s Law Office; Moderated by Julie Goldscheid, Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law

Co-Sponsored by:
The City University of New York Law Review, Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), The International Women's Human Rights Clinic at CUNY Law School, and MADRE

The City University of New York Law Review: Scholarship for Social Justice is edited and published by the students of the CUNY School of Law. The Law Review aims to inform the legal community of recent developments in social justice and public interest law and provide a forum for practitioners whose clients might otherwise lack meaningful representation in the legal system. For more information, visit www.cunylawreview.org/.