PUBPOL 5200

International Human Rights Law and Policy

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025.

This course will address major challenges in international human rights law, policy, and practice. Specific topics include children's rights, women's rights, LGBTQI+ rights, the rights of refugees and migrants, the rights of people with disabilities, the rights of minorities and freedom from discrimination, freedom from torture, the right to life, the death penalty, modern slavery, and the right to sustainable development. We will also discuss the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporations with respect to human rights, as well as the impact of actions (and inactions) by states and institutions in the "Global North" on the realization of human rights in states in the "Global South".

When Offered Fall.

• Develop a strong understanding of the legal framework and sources of law (treaties, customary international law, UN institutions and machinery) governing international human rights law and policy, as well as a strong introduction to the substance of many internationally recognized human rights.
• Build a strong foundation regarding the leading human rights challenges facing people around the world; explore how comparative policy analysis can be helpful in designing effective responses.
• Develop a keen understanding of how international human rights principles and mechanisms are created and how they work in practice, with an emphasis on political factors and empirical evaluation of the efficacy of various mechanisms.
• Develop the legal reasoning tools necessary to analyze U.S. legal sources (statutes, regulations, judicial and administrative opinions and guidance) as they relate to international human rights obligations of the U.S.
• Design a creative, compelling, and politically viable constitutional, legislative, or administrative solution to a pressing human rights challenge in a jurisdiction of your choosing, based on in-depth research and analysis of a particular human rights issue in a particular location.

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