Symposium 2010
A Critical Juncture: Human Rights and U.S. Standing in the World under the Obama Administration
March 5, 2010 at the University of Iowa College of Law in Levitt Auditorium
The Journal of Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems (TLCP) is pleased to announce this year’s annual international law symposium, entitled A Critical Juncture: Human Rights and U.S. Standing in the World Under the Obama Administration. The symposium will take place on March 5, 2010 at the University of Iowa College of Law in Levitt Auditorium, Boyd Law Building, in Iowa City, Iowa.
The Symposium will examine two core related issues:
I. Human Rights
In light of the policies and actions of the current U.S. Presidential Administration and the shift in understanding of and approach to human rights between the Bush and Obama Administrations, the symposium will examine issues of:
1. U.S. counter-terrorism, including torture, extraordinary renditions, and secret prisons, and the topic of prosecutions of violations of U.S. and international laws relating to this issue;
2. the human rights of women, such as the possible ratification of CEDAW, President Obama’s rescinding of the “global gag rule,” and other so-called moral restrictions on foreign aid;
3. foreign aid diplomatic peace efforts more broadly, such as the Obama Administration’s approach toward the Iraqi refugee crisis, efforts to resolve the India-Pakistan conflict in Kashmir, and others;
4. U.S. military actions and the use of military drones in Afghanistan, among others.
II. U.S. Standing in the World and the Obama Administration’s Relationship to Public International Law
The symposium will examine the Obama Administration’s stance toward international law relating to issues of:
1. the relationship of the United States to constitutionalism and global governance in international law;
2. the relationship of the United States to International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which together with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are thought to comprise the International Bill of Rights;
3. the international perspective on the role of the United States in the International legal community (leader, rogue, or something in between?), among others.
Distinguished Participants in the symposium
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Manfred Nowak, University of Vienna, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture
GUEST EDITOR
Alexander Somek, Guest Editor, Professor of Law at the University of Iowa College of Law
DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS
Adrien Wing, University of Iowa College of Law, Presenting on Women’s Rights under the Obama Administration
Jürgen Bast, Heidelberg Institute for Public Law, Constitutionalism and Global Governance in International Law - Will the United States Join In?
Tung Yin, Lewis and Clark Law School, Presenting on the use of military detention and military prosecution in the Obama and Bush Administrations
Ali Khan, Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law, No-Win Situations for Obama's Foreign Policy: US Foreign Policy and Relationship to the Muslim World.
Barbara Stark, Hofstra University School of Law, At Last? Ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) as a Self-Executing Treaty
Donald Jackson, Texas Christian University, The United States and the First Ten Years of the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court
Harry Rhea, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Paris 1919 and Rome 1998: Two Presidents, Two Treaties, Two Senates, and Same Dilemma
Maria Grahn-Farley, Associate Professor of Law, Albany Law School, The United States and International Child Rights
Brian Farrell, Dean of Academic Achievement, University of Iowa College of Law, Access to Habeas Corpus: A Human Rights Analysis of American Practices
TLCP would like to thank the following organizations and businesses for their generous support:
The University of Iowa College of Law |
The University of Iowa Graduate & Professional Allocations Committee |
The University of Iowa International Programs |
The University of Iowa Student Assembly Budgeting & Allocating Committee |
The International Law Society at the University of Iowa College of Law |
The Philanthropic Education Organization (PEO), Iowa City Chapter |
LexisNexis |
Hills Bank & Trust Co. |
Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions |
Support the Symposium
Find out how you or your organization can contribute to the TLCP symposium.
