Welcome Letter

Welcome to the 2014-15 academic year from the

Program on Human Rights!

The Program on Human Rights (PHR) is based in the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL).  We want to introduce you to PHR’s new website where you can keep up-to-date with our research reports and publications, events  and courses, Weekly Debates and student fellowships.  We also encourage you to sign up for our mailing list by clicking on the link at the bottom of the homepage.


img 3560 Human Trafficking Research, China/Burma/Thailand:Roundtable picture at Peking University
Human Trafficking Research

China, Myanmar, and Thailand Research

The Program on Human Rights continues with its multidisciplinary research of human trafficking of children, bride trafficking, and unsafe labor migration along China’s shared border with Myanmar and neighboring Thailand focusing.  So far, we have conducted four in-country workshops in China, Thailand, and Myanmar. A more detailed report on this project can be found here

In 2014-15, we will expand the research focus on human trafficking beyond Myanmar, China and Thailand to include countries in the ASEAN + 8 group.  We will be working  with academic institutions, research bodies, international organizations such as UNICEF, regional organizations such as ASEAN, sub-regional groups such as COMMIT, national funding agencies such as USAID, and not-for- profit advocacy groups.


Human Trafficking in the 21st Century

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Helen Stacy’s current research HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY will be released in 2015 as a book within Stanford University Press’ Human Rights series. Her trafficking research builds upon her 2009 book HUMAN RIGHTS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (also with SUP) that argues in support of regional human rights institutions. This new book was sparked initially by observing West Africa’s ECOWAS and Southern Africa’s SADAC anti-human trafficking initiatives and also considers anti-trafficking responses in ASEAN countries, EU nation states, and cross-border issues between the U.S. and Mexico.  HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY considers cross-border trafficking (defined as the sale of people for forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation, as soldiers, and as organ “donors”) in global black markets and discusses how communications technologies ― Internet, mobile phones, and social media – and philanthopists and NGOs anti-trafficking responses.


Human Rights Events and Courses

Freedom From Slavery Forum

Our first public human trafficking event is “Frontlines of Freedom: National and International Experts Address Modern-day Slavery” from 1-4pm on September 14, 2014 at the Bechtel Conference Center in Encina Hall. This event is part of the Freedom from Slavery Forum in partnership with the anti-trafficking organization, Free the Slaves, and sponsored by the Elkes Foundation. More event information is here.

Winter Speaker Series

This year our Human Rights Winter Speaker Series is US Human Rights NGOs and International Human Rights held from 5:30-7pm on Wednesdays in Encina Hall.  It is open to the university community and is offered as a 1-unit course (IPS 271A, POLISCI 203 and cross-listed with MED 225, ETHICSOC 15R).  Speakers include those who lead human rights NGOs, philanthropic enterprises, corporate partnerships, U.S. human rights aid, and corporate actors in overseas human rights issues. You can learn more about the course here.

UNICEF Speaker Series on Children’s Human Rights

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Guest Lecture, Qing Gu (UNDP, Bejing): “China’s 2014 National Congress”[[{"fid":"215791","view_mode":"crop_870xauto","fields":{"format":"crop_870xauto","field_file_image_description[und][0][value]":"PHR with Gu Qing at UNDP China","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_credit[und][0][value]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"PHR with Gu Qing at UNDP China","field_related_image_aspect[und][0][value]":"","thumbnails":"crop_870xauto","pp_lightbox":false,"pp_description":true},"type":"media","attributes":{"height":584,"width":870,"style":"padding: 5px; margin-left: 5px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; float: right; width: 870px; height: 584px;","class":"media-element file-crop-870xauto"}}]]

Qing Gu is Team Leader of the Poverty, Equity and Governance Team of the United Nations Development Program in China. She is an expert on civil society development, rule of law, public administration reform as well as poverty reduction and equity. The event will be on November 19th at 12:00pm in Encina Hall, Room E008. More information will be listed on PHR’s Event page.

Human Trafficking: Historical, Legal, and Medical Perspectives

Stanford is in the third year of offering a Winter Course titled Human Trafficking: Historical, Legal, and Medical Perspectives (HISTORY 5C, HUMBIO 178T, SOMGEN 205) taught by Katherine Jolluck, Rebecca Walker, Suzanne Lippert, and Stephen Sonnenberg (more information).

Human Rights Courses

Human Rights courses at Stanford this year: there are many being offered to both undergraduate, graduate, and professional students this year. Refer to this chart to see the courses offered.


PHR and Ethics and Society Summer Research Fellowships

PHR and the Center on Ethics and Society continue to support the work of undergraduate students with several undergraduate fellowships for international human rights internships over the summer. You can learn more about the Fellowship application process and past fellows here.


SHREI-Stanford Human Rights Education Initiative

The 2014 Stanford Human Rights Education Initiative (SHREI) Symposium was a big success. The symposium videos, presentations, and handouts are now available on the SHREI website here. More information will be posted about the 2014-2015 SHREI initiatives soon. Please contact Molly Aufdermauer (mollyauf@stanford.edu) for any questions.


We hope to see you. Looking forward to a great year!

Helen Stacy, Director, Program on Human Rights

Laura Hackney, Program Associate

Kathleen Barcos, Administrative Associate

 

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