Description
This course analyzes the international and
domestic laws and institutions that protect the fundamental rights of all human
beings. The course also describes and evaluates the principal mechanisms and
strategies for holding governments accountable for violating those rights.
Students engage with thought-provoking issues that
arise at the intersection of human dignity, state sovereignty, and international
justice. Cutting-edge topics include:
genocide and humanitarian intervention, the right to life and capital
punishment, the right to health and HIV-AIDS, counterterrorism, and LGBT rights.
Students also learn about the international, regional and national mechanisms for
monitoring government conduct and redressing violations of human rights, such
as United Nations political and expert bodies, international courts, domestic
criminal prosecutions, and truth commissions.