Human rights

From Cambodia’s forests to its rivers, from its idyllic rice fields to the capital’s pulsing heart, forces of radical change are transforming the landscape of the country – and the dreams of its people. A River Changes Course intimately captures the stories of three families living in Cambodia as they strive to maintain their traditional ways of life amid rapid development and environmental degradation. Award winning filmmaker and director Kalyanee Mam will offer introductory remarks, and take questions from the audience following the film screening. 

Featuring Khalil Shikaki from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, Shai Feldman from Brandeis University's Crown Center for Middle East Studies, and Abdel Monem Said Aly from the Regional Center for Strategic Studies in Cairo, this panel is part of the series "Middle East Dialogues: Conversation on the Arab/Israel conflict".

"The Prosecutor" examines the International Criminal Court, its successes, and its critics. It follows the work of the Court's first prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, and the challenges  he and the Court have faced in seeking to prosecute some of the world's most notorious human rights offenders.  

In his book with co-author Ann Heindel, John Ciorciari examines the contentious politics behind the tribunal's creation, it's flawed legal and institutional design, and the frequent politicized impasses that have undermined its ability to deliver credible and efficient justice and leave a positive legacy.

About the event In a conversation moderated by Susan Waltz, Margo Picken and John Ciorciari will discuss the positive and negative effects of the UN-backed Khmer Rouge trials that began several years ago in "extraordinary chambers" of the courts of Cambodia. Will they bring "closure" to the country's dark past?

Free and open to the public. About the event: 20 years have passed since the political violence in Rwanda occurred touching the lives of millions as victims, perpetrators, bystanders and refugees. While there has been a reasonable amount of attention given to the topic, there have been only a few rigorous efforts put forward to understand what took place. Interestingly, the understanding of what took place has shifted in certain respects from the earlier investigations.

Speakers: Major Ian Fishback, West Point Colonel (ret) Paul Yingling In 2007 Colonel (ret) Paul Yingling published an influential article in the Armed Forces Journal criticizing senior leadership for perceived failures in the conduct of the post-invasion Iraq War occupation. Yingling served three tours in the Iraq War, first as executive officer of 2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery in OIF 1, later as the effects coordinator for the 3rd ACR from March 2005 to March 2006, during OIF III, and finally as J5 for TF 134 (Detainee Operations) from April 2008 to July 2009.

Free and open to the public. Reception to follow. Join the conversation on Twitter: #policytalks About Cecilia Muñoz Cecilia Muñoz (AB '84) is the Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council, which coordinates the domestic policy-making process in the White House. Prior to this role, she served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs where she oversaw the Obama Administration's relationships with state and local governments. Before joining the Obama Administration, Cecilia serv

America's unmet challenges are huge: from energy policy to nuclear weapons, climate, health care (yes, still), a sagging infrastructure and a soaring deficit. Yet every one of them is eminently solvable. The answers are well known. So what explains, for example, thirty-five years of inaction on energy policy and even longer on health care? Why do we still approach nuclear weapons as though the Cold War continues when it ended 20 years ago? Is the policy gridlock that afflicts us the symptom of a vibrant and engaged - if polarized - society? Dr. Jessica Tuchman Mathews, President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace addresses these critical issues in the 2010 Citi Foundation lecture.

Lord John Alderdice is an appointed life Member of the British House of Lords of the British Parliament at Westminster. Recently the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party in the House of Lords elected him as its new Convener (Chair) and in this position Lord Alderdice will provide an essential link between backbench Liberal Democrat peers and Liberal Democrats in Government. He is also a Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist at the Centre for Psychotherapy which he established in Belfast, United Kingdom.

Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA. The war in Iraq and the fight against Al-Qaeda have posed major challenges to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the foundation for the global movement for human rights. Increasingly, to many critics the war on terror has become a war on human rights, providing cover and sanction for repressive governments around the world, undermining human rights globally and compromising US national security.

Catherine Bertini's career spans public service at international, national, state, and local levels and includes private sector leadership and university teaching.

Charlayne Hunter-Gault was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Georgia in 1962. She is one of television's premier journalists and correspondents and a two-time Emmy winner. Hunter-Gault received the Peabody Award for her work on Apartheid's People, a NewsHour series on South Africa, Hunter-Gault is best known for her 20-year position (1977-1997) with the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. The Peabody award recognizes distinguished service in broadcast journalism.

The Critical Race Theory (CRT) Discussion Series is co-sponsored by the Ford School and the University of Michigan Law School. Graduate and professional students are invited to join us for our second session, "Activism and Sports." Lunch will be provided.

The Ford School welcomes human rights scholar Alejandro Castillejo-Cuéllar, associate professor and chair of Anthropology Department at the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.

A presentation and Q&A on the Iran deal featuring two White House officials, including one of the Administration's negotiators.From the speakers: This presentation will lay out the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated between six major world powers and Iran after nearly two years of highly technical and painstaking sessions. Presenters include Paul Irwin, one of the negotiators, who will detail what the deal does and how it addresses international concerns about Iran's nuclear program, and Matt Nosanchuk, Associate Director for Public Engagement and Liaison to the American Jewish Community and on International Issues, and a native Detroiter.

The IPC is honored to convene this panel of intellectuals, human rights professionals and policy experts. Panelists have in depth experience with the conflicts, negotiations and political settlements in Colombia, South Africa, Guatemala and Nigeria.

The International Institute and the International Policy Center host a panel discussion with foremost experts on the Middle East and the threat of ISIS.  

Dr. Gottschalk is a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania specializing in American criminal justice politics. In her presentation, she will examine why the carceral state, with its growing number of outcasts, remains so tenacious in the United States.

Providing an interdisciplinary platform to discuss how we can uplift the world’s most vulnerable citizens, young Millennial women, through international research public health initiatives, and social justice activism. This talk also serves as a media release for the first ever survey results on ‘What Syrian Girls Want.'

The Critical Race Theory (CRT) Discussion Series is co-sponsored by the Ford School and the University of Michigan Law School. Graduate and professional students are invited to join us for our third session, "Big Data, Incivility, and Social Media." Lunch will be provided.

Indo-Pacific Conference organized by International Policy Center and Center for Japanese Studies features a keynote by Susan Thornton, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Please join Professor Susan Collins, the Ford School DE&I Officer, Stephanie Sanders and Global Engagement Program Manager, Cliff Martin for an info session about this exciting opportunity in global engagement.