Research Programs
Human Rights Program
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Henry Steiner: Eyeing the World
December 16, 2016
Professor Emeritus Henry J. Steiner recently spoke to a standing room only crowd at Harvard Law School about his new book 'Eyeing the World,' which features photos taken by Steiner, a human rights scholar and the founder of the law school’s Human Rights Program, over the last 50 years during his travels around the world.
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Another ‘Angry Granny’ on Climate Justice
November 18, 2016
In a recent conversation at HLS with Dean Martha Minow, Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and U.N. special envoy on El Niño and climate change, told the story of how she came to be an “Angry Granny” on the topic of climate change, starting with her discussions with people in the most deeply affected communities.
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Celebrating National Pro Bono Week at HLS
October 25, 2016
In late October Harvard Law School celebrated National Pro Bono Week with a number of events to honor the outstanding work of lawyers who volunteer their time to help people in their communities.
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Big ‘thinks’ come in small packages: HLS Thinks Big
July 1, 2016
In late May, four Harvard Law faculty — Scott Brewer, Gerald Neuman '80, Esme Caramello '99, and Urs Gasser LL.M. '03 — shared snapshots of their latest research with the Harvard Law School community as part of the HLS Thinks Big speaker series.
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Deborah Anker and Phil Torrey weigh in on the 4-4 Supreme Court tie that dealt a major blow to President Obama’s executive actions to grant relief from deportation to undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.--putting, according to Anker, 'hundreds of thousands of people at risk of deportation, including parents of U.S. citizens or legal residents.'
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In a report issued last week, the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Watch call for countries to retain meaningful human control over weapons systems and ban fully autonomous weapons, also known as 'killer robots.'
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Lessons from a post-9/11 world: Law School instructor advocates for torture survivors
April 15, 2016
Clinical Instructor Deborah Popowski '08 has led the effort to hold psychologists accountable for their involvement in torture of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
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Fighting for disarmament: Docherty calls for stronger regulation of incendiary weapons
January 2, 2016
For Bonnie Docherty, a lecturer on law and a senior instructor at the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, the battle to protect civilians from suffering caused by armed conflicts continues.
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Company’s remedies for rape in Papua New Guinea deeply flawed
December 4, 2015
A controversial process created by one of the world’s largest gold mining companies to compensate women for rapes and gang rapes in Papua New Guinea was deeply flawed, said human rights investigators and legal experts at Columbia and Harvard Law Schools in a study released in November.
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For French scholar, hope survives terror
November 19, 2015
It was with tragic timeliness that Professor Patrick Weil discussed “After the Paris Attacks: What Is the Future for French Society?” on Wednesday, November 18 at Harvard Law School.
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Torture through a viewfinder: Photo exhibit at HLS shines light on Syrian government
October 26, 2015
As the humanitarian crisis in Syria deepens, a panel at Harvard Law School explores the role of photography in documenting and raising international awareness about torture, mass killings, and other atrocities committed by the Assad regime.
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Myanmar: New report finds police used excessive force during crackdown on protesters in Letpadan
October 14, 2015
Myanmar police officers used excessive force during a crackdown on protesters and arrested more than 100 individuals in Letpadan, Bago Region in March, according to a new report released today by Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic and Fortify Rights.
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Undermining Injustice, One Prison Visit at a Time
September 22, 2015
Fernando Delgado ’08 and his students in the International Human Rights Clinic put prisoners’ voices in Brazil at the heart of a human rights case.
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Susan Farbstein appointed Clinical Professor
May 20, 2015
Susan Farbstein '04 has been appointed Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where she has been an assistant clinical professor at HLS since 2012.
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Acknowledge, Amend, Assist: Addressing Civilian Harm Caused by Armed Conflict and Armed Violence, a 28-page report released this week by Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program and Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), seeks to advance understanding and promote collaboration among leaders in the field.
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What’s So Bad About a 10-Mile Walk to School? Two views of educational challenges in South Africa
April 20, 2015
In recent blog posts, two students from the Harvard Law School's International Human Rights Clinic shared their experiences working on education and transport-related issues in rural South Africa.
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The International Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Watch recently released 'Mind the Gap: The Lack of Accountability for Killer Robots,' a 38-page report that details significant hurdles to assigning personal accountability for the actions of fully autonomous weapons under both criminal and civil law.
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Harvard Law champions entrepreneurship and innovation
April 15, 2015
For law students interested in entrepreneurism and startups—as entrepreneurs themselves, as lawyers representing startups, or both—there is a wealth of growing and intersecting opportunities at Harvard Law School and across the university.
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At HLS, a major conference on African women’s leadership
March 27, 2015
"Powering the African Dream," a two-day series of roundtable discussions on the role of African women in in the United Nations' post-2015 Development Agenda and the Beijing +20 Review Process, was held at Harvard Law School on March 9-10.
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Ferencz receives HLS Medal of Freedom (video)
November 14, 2014
Benjamin B. Ferencz ’43, known for his role as chief prosecutor in the Nuremburg Trials and for his work promoting an international rule of law and the creation of an International Criminal Court, has been awarded Harvard Law School’s highest honor: the Medal of Freedom.
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Clinic investigation: Senior Myanmar officials implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity
November 10, 2014
On Nov. 7, the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School released a legal memorandum, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Eastern Myanmar, which examines the conduct of the Myanmar military during an offensive that cleared and forcibly relocated civilian populations from conflict zones in eastern Myanmar.