International Human Rights Clinic
Student Work
Student Work
The International Human Rights Clinic works to protect the human rights of clients and communities around the world. Through supervised practice, students learn the responsibilities and skills of human rights lawyering.
Students are at the heart of the International Human Rights Clinic. Under the close supervision of six full-time and additional part-time seasoned practitioners, more than 40 Harvard Law School students are involved in some 20 projects each term. Mirroring the approach of practicing advocates, students work in small project teams, developing lawyering and ethical skills and receiving intensive mentoring and feedback from experienced clinicians. Whether writing a legal submission, briefing policymakers, building a coalition, engaging with media, or negotiating a treaty, the Clinic employs a problem-solving approach, introducing students to challenges they will confront in their human rights careers. In-house trainings and simulations supplement project work to hone specific skills, such as interviewing. Clinical seminars round out the experience by providing a space in which to study and reflect on the problems posed in human rights practice and scholarship.
CLINICAL HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICE
The International Human Rights Clinic’s practice spans a wide range of issues, including arms and armed conflict; business and human rights; women’s rights; accountability litigation, including through the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Alien Tort Statute; right to privacy; human rights and the environment; transitional justice; and many more. Our clinicians have expertise in numerous regions, including the Americas, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Southern Africa. We have particular experience in certain countries, including Burma/Myanmar and South Africa. Projects are selected through a consultative process and are typically conducted in partnership with other civil society groups. In carrying out our practice, the Clinic employs a variety of lawyering methods that are tailored to the needs of each project.
ClinicTalks
ClinicTalks
International Human Rights Clinic
The International Human Rights Clinic’s practice spans a wide range of issues, including arms and armed conflict; business and human rights; women’s rights; ,human rights and the environment; and transitional justice.
How to Register
How to Register
The International Human Rights Clinic is offered in the Fall and Spring semester. You can learn about the required clinical course component, additional requirements and requisites, as well as the clinical registration process itself, by reading the course catalog description and exploring the links in this section.
The clinic also offers a 3L-only clinic option in the fall (International Human Rights Clinic – 3L Leadership Training). This option is for students who have already completed a semester of the International Human Rights Clinic.
Application Deadline for Advanced Option (3L Only):
April 7, 2020
In the News
In the News
- Continue Reading
Mamani: Lessons and Learning From a Decade-Long Struggle for Justice
Continue Reading about Mamani: Lessons and Learning From a Decade-Long Struggle for JusticeSince the fall of our 2L years, we have worked together on Mamani et al v. Sánchez de Lozada and Sánchez Berzaín, a federal lawsuit against the former president of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, and the former Minister of Defense, Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, for their respective roles in planning and ordering security forces to use deadly military force against unarmed civilians to suppress popular protests against government policies. Our time on Mamani contributed significantly to our lawyering skills and career paths, and shaped our identities as lawyers.
- Continue Reading
"I want to be able to help develop transitional justice norms"
Continue Reading about "I want to be able to help develop transitional justice norms"Radhika Kapoor, LL.M. ’19 immersed herself in clinical opportunities at HLS. Last fall, for HLS Advocates for Human Rights, one of the law school’s student practice organizations, she led a team monitoring the trial of Laurent Gbagbo, the former president of the Côte d’Ivoire, for crimes against humanity. In the law school’s International Human Rights Clinic, she worked on two projects, both conflict-related and related to gender, but through very different lenses.
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Contacts
International Human Rights Clinic
6 Everett Street
Suite 3139 (WCC)
Harvard Law School
(617) 495-9362
hrp@law.harvard.edu
Visit Clinic’s Website