CICS 2008 Human Rights Lecture: When does a problem become a human rights issue? Personal reflection on the evolution of the Human Rights Movement

Susan Waltz, professor of Public Policy, is a 2008-2009 Human Rights Fellow at University of Michigan.

Waltz has been active in international human rights work for more than 25 years. Early in her career she worked as an area expert and human rights advocate to stop torture and political imprisonment in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Libya. She has testified before the U.S. Congress on human rights practices in North Africa, and she has testified as expert witness for North African refugees in U.S. immigration courts.

From 1993-1999, Waltz served on the International Executive Committee of Amnesty International and in 1996 became the first American to chair that governing board. Since that time she has headed a working group on military transfers for Amnesty International-USA and has been involved with international efforts to promote a small arms trade treaty. Waltz has also served on the National Board of the American Friends Service Committee since 2000.

Waltz's publications include Human Rights and Reform: Changing the Face of North African Politics (1995), a series of articles on the origins of international human rights standards, and an analysis of U.S. policy on small arms transfers.

Sponsored by CICS and the Institute for the Humanities.

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