NDLS Partners with African Commission to Promote Human Rights
Two graduates of Notre Dame’s LL.M. program in International Human Rights Law—one from the Midwest and another from Kenya—have just returned from a trip aimed at increasing cooperation with human rights advocates in Africa.
Sean O’Brien, assistant director of Notre Dame Law School’s Center for Civil and Human Rights (CCHR) and Muthee Kiunga, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Center, attended an October conference on strategic partnering for human rights in Africa. Sponsored by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the event in Kampala, Uganda drew government, academic and civil society participants committed to promoting and protecting human rights in the region.
“The African Commission is charged by all its 53 member states with developing norms and giving content to what we mean when we talk about human rights,” O’Brien explained. Individuals whose rights have been violated can bring cases before the Commission and seek reparations. “It’s an institution that can actually force a state to justify its behavior with regard to human rights, and those types of forums around the world are few and far between.”
“What we would like to be able to do is strengthen the ability of the Commission to reach reasoned and thoughtful conclusions, and help train its lawyers through our LL.M. program. That was one of the things we brought to the table in Africa,” said O’Brien, a triple Domer who received his LL.M. in 2002. “They would then return from Notre Dame and bring their new capacities back to Africa and the Commission.”
Each year, the LL.M. program provides full scholarships for 15 to 20 practicing lawyers from around the world who wish to study human rights law from a comparative perspective. At Notre Dame, they build a stronger academic foundation for their advocacy work and return to their countries “to continue the fight,” said Kiunga, a Kenyan human rights lawyer who graduated from the program in 2005.
All courses in the LL.M. program are open to J.D. students interested in human rights law. Building relationships both in and outside the classroom, American and international participants experience what Kiunga calls “a mutually reinforcing kind of interaction.” As practicing lawyers with human rights organizations, LL.M. students expose J.D. students to real-world issues. They also open doors for those who wish to find jobs and internships around the world, O’Brien adds.
To learn more about the LL.M. program and the Center for Civil and Human Rights, visit their website.
