Podcasts about human rights center

State legislators from across the country are vowing to introduce legislation that makes it possible for residents to directly sue federal agents who violate their constitutional rights. State lawmakers also plan to introduce similar legislation in Illinois, Colorado and other states.Parts of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area are reopening to overnight camping today. With firefighters making good progress containing several wildfires in the region, the Forest Service is opening about 40 percent of the Boundary Waters to overnight visitors.The Forest Service says it's monitoring conditions daily for opportunities to open more of the wilderness. Many of the most popular entry points, including those at the end of the Gunflint Trail, remain closed. This summer, blood donations have hit a four-year low, worsening the ongoing emergency blood shortage. The American Red Cross declared a national "blood crisis" in early July as the number of donations have not kept pace with hospital demand. Extreme heat, poor air quality and widespread foodborne illnesses have led to lower donor turnout this season. The Red Cross for Minnesota and the Dakotas is asking individuals to donate all blood types, but there is an urgent need for O negative and O positive blood.St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her is under investigation for alleged sexual harassment. According to reporting by the Star Tribune, Police Chief Axel Henry has filed a complaint against Her for allegedly sending sexually suggestive text messages to a city employee.A new report finds that federal immigration agents misused force more than 400 times since last summer. Physicians for Human Rights and the Human Rights Center at the UC Berkeley School of Law went through hours of video, legal filings and news accounts in their investigation. According to the report, Minneapolis accounted for a quarter of all cases where federal agents misused force on protesters. Minnesota, other states, will push for ICE protectionsBack into the BWCA: Canoeing campers return to the wilderness after wildfire closureThe American Red Cross for Minnesota and the Dakotas declares blood crisis due to shortageSt. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her under investigation for sexual harassment allegations

Today I welcome author and physician Jonathan Hammel to discuss his powerful historical novel, The Jewish Hospital. Inspired by his grandmother—a wartime nurse who survived deportation and later founded the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine—Hammel spent a decade researching the incredible history of Berlin's Jewish Hospital. Operating under direct Gestapo supervision, the institution remained open throughout World War II, creating a deeply complex environment where Jewish medical staff treated patients under constant threat. Hammel beautifully blends rigorous research with narrative prose, relying on his own medical background to write about this claustrophobic reality with absolute authority. Our conversation also went into the profound ethical concept of "dual loyalty" in medicine and the immense emotional toll carried by healthcare workers. Because of these deep themes, the novel is quickly becoming a vital educational tool, earning spots on bioethics and medical school curricula at universities like Case Western and UPenn. Beyond his writing, Jonathan Hammel is a talented jazz pianist who released the solo album Shadowboxing for Comfort, and he previously hosted The Blood Flow Podcast. Great book, great chat!---Episode Links:Purchase The Jewish Hospital Jonathan's WebsiteListen to Shadowboxing for comfort on Spotify

00:08 — Sasha Schell, an investigative reporter who worked on a new report from UC Berkeley's Human Rights Center entitled Charting The Crackdown: the misuse of crowd-control weapons in immigration enforcement protests across the United States  00:33 — Annie Waldman, a reporter at ProPublica covering health care, recently out with deep dive into one of the most prolific producers and promoters of raw milk products, entitled “The Milkman” The post Investigation: widespread misuse of force at ICE demos. Also: the health toll of the growing raw milk industry appeared first on KPFA.

Justice Visions' new research project - GROUNDOC - focuses on the role of documentation in transitional justice processes. In this mini-series of the podcast, we explore documentation practices across a range of cases that are part of the GROUNDOC project. This episode focuses on Uganda where the transitional justice process can be traced back to the peace negotiations between the government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army, which provided for the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms including reparations, criminal accountability, truth seeking, and local justice processes. Yet, these measures are implemented amidst ongoing political repression and violence, the absence of a political transition, and democratic regression. In this complex context, we ask what the role of – grassroots – documentation is and can be.Co-hosts Amanda Rossini Martins and Büşra Cebeci, speak with Sarah Kasande, who works  on the case of Uganda. By shifting the conversation from state-led mechanisms to grassroots documentation practices, this episode explores grassroots actors' intentions, challenges, and complementarities.Sarah highlights the responses of civil society actors and victim groups to the stalled state-led transitional justice process:"After years of engaging with and supporting state-led transitional justice processes with limited substantive progress to show for it, civil society organisations,  and victims' groups have increasingly turned to community driven alternatives. These initiatives offer more realistic pathways for truth-telling, recognition, social repair, and prevention of future violence, filling out the void created by the stalled state-led process."Documentation efforts from a variety of actors, such as local NGOs, cultural institutions, and community groups, helped to make the scale and patterns of violence visible beyond the affected communities, leading to international advocacy campaigns and criminal accountability. For victims, particularly women and girls who suffered gendered harms that remain unaddressed and unacknowledged, documentation serves as a pathway to draw attention to the violations they suffered and their enduring impacts. At the same time, it resists efforts to minimize, silence, or erase their experiences. As Sarah explains:“Through documentation, women get to decide what to record, how to narrate the harm they experience beyond the narrow confines of these formal processes, and when to share their stories. This control allows them to reclaim the narratives that were previously shaped by violence, stigma, and exclusion. So documentation, in a sense, becomes a space where women assert voice, reclaim their dignity, and transform private suffering into collective knowledge and collective healing.”By unpacking the complex transitional justice landscape in Uganda and exploring the diverse documentation actors and practices, Sarah shapes the scope of this episode beyond what is commonly recognized as a transitional justice process, toward a more transformative process spearheaded by grassroots actors.Sarah Kasande is a PhD researcher at the Human Rights Center, Ghent University. Her research examines how innovations by grassroots actors in Northern Uganda reshape the goals and methods of transitional justice beyond state-centric models, toward an inclusive, victim-centered approach. She has over 14 years of experience as a human rights lawyer and transitional justice practitioner supporting peacebuilding and transitional justice initiatives in Uganda and other African contexts. Before joining the Human Rights Center, she served as Head of the Uganda Office of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ). She also led the Initiative for Transitional Justice in Africa.

Across many countries, legislative strategies are increasingly being used to roll back hard-won rights related to gender and bodily autonomy.This International Women's Day, we're asking: what can be done at national and multilateral levels to resist further erosion of sexual and reproductive rights worldwide?This episode explores the political and ideological forces behind the growing politicisation of Women's Sexual Health and Reproductive rights, the weaponisation of gender issues globally.Building on new evidence on efforts to undermine safe abortion - Sierra Leone, efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights in Kenya, and initiatives to reverse the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) in The Gambia - we examine the narratives that allow these agendas to gain traction and the role our institutions play in safeguarding rights.GuestsSara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, ODI Global (host)Aatif Somji, Senior Research Officer, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion ODI GlobalSatang Nabaneh, Director of Programs for the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton, and Member of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)Maria Antonieta Alcalde Castro, Incoming Director General of the International Planned Parenthood FederationRelated resourcesNavigating the politics of backlash: women's rights and repealing the FGM ban in The Gambia (Working Paper, ODI Global)Think Change episode 85: Algorithms and online misogyny – how do we fix a system built to harm women? (Think Change podcast, ODI Global)Research series: Navigating the politics of backlash to sexual & reproductive rights (Research series, ODI Global)

Three Buddy Problem - Episode 62: Lindsay Freeman, Director of the Technology, Law & Policy program at the Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law, joins the show to discuss her team's meticulous work to document the Wagner Group's chain of command, military operations in parts of Africa, and the broadcasting of war crimes on social media platforms like Telegram. (Recorded at LABScon 2025) Cast: Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (https://twitter.com/juanandres_gs), Ryan Naraine (https://twitter.com/ryanaraine) and Lindsay Freeman (https://x.com/lindsaysfreeman).

In a picturesque valley in the mountains of eastern Bosnia, thousands of white gravestones bear witness to a mass atrocity that still struggles for a place in Europe's conscience. Nearly 8,400 names are etched into a stone memorial, a stark reminder of the Srebrenica Genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces against Bosnian Muslims in July 1995 – 30 years ago this year. And yet, too many political leaders and others continue denying the scale and scope of the travesty that unfolded there.What has the world learned about genocide denial since Srebrenica? How has that denial echoed persistent efforts to negate or diminish the Holocaust? And how does denial and the politics around it tie into efforts to prevent a repeat elsewhere in the world?Viola Gienger, Washington Senior Editor at Just Security is joined by Sead Turcalo, Professor of Security Studies at the University of Sarajevo and author of Thirty Years After the Srebrenica Genocide: Remembrance and the Global Fight Against Denial, published in Just Security; Velma Saric, founder and president of the Post-Conflict Research Center in Sarajevo; and Jacqueline Geis, Senior Director at the consulting firm Strategy for Humanity and a Research Fellow at the Human Rights Center at the University of California Berkeley School of LawShow Notes:  Sead Turcalo's “Thirty Years After the Srebrenica Genocide: Remembrance and the Global Fight Against Denial,” published in Just SecurityJackie Geis' “From Open-Source to All-Source: Leveraging Local Knowledge for Atrocity Prevention,” published in Just SecurityVelma Saric's Post-Conflict Research Center and the associated blog Balkan Diskurs.Michael Schiffer and Pratima T. Narayan's “Trump Administration's Proposed Cuts to Accountability for Mass Atrocities Undermine Its Own Strategic Goal,” published in Just Security Menachem Z. Rosensaft's “Refuting Srebrenica Genocide Denial Yet Again, as UN Debates Draft Resolution,” published in Just SecurityJust Security's Bosnia-Herzegovina archives Just Security's genocide archive 

On today's episode, Lawfare Managing Editor Tyler McBrien sits down with Lindsay Freeman, Director of Technology, Law & Policy at the Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law, to discuss her recent Lawfare article, “War Crimes for Fun and Profit.” They talk about how and why so-called war influencers linked to private military companies such as the Wagner Group in the Sahel are posting “conflict content” online. They also address why this graphic and gory content, which often amounts to self-incriminating evidence of war crimes, has led to so little accountability. And finally, they discuss efforts to close that impunity gap, including an Article 15 submission that Freeman and her team at the Human Rights Center sent to the International Criminal Court last fall. Content Warning: This episode contains graphic depictions of violence. Listener discretion is advised.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Betsy Popken is the Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley School of Law where she directs the Climate Justice program, and leads a team that's conducting human rights impact assessments and evaluations of General large language models.She speaks with us about how digitalisation is disrupting traditional warfare around the world

En zuur nieuws voor de citrusvrucht. Israël verbiedt grootste hulpverlener in Gaza De vluchtelingenorganisatie voor de Palestijnse gebieden UNRWA mag niet langer werken in Israël. Honderdduizenden ontheemden in onder meer Gaza en de Westelijke Jordaanoever zijn van UNRWA afhankelijk om te overleven. Wat wil Israël hiermee bereiken en waarom komt deze maatregel nu? We vragen het Brigitte Herremans van het Human Rights Center aan de Universiteit van Gent. Arabisch dreigt te verdwijnen op Nederlandse universiteiten Op zowel de Universiteit Utrecht als de Universiteit Leiden dreigen verschillende taalopleidingen, zoals Chinees, Japans en Koreaans geschrapt te worden. En ook Arabisch dreigt te verdwijnen. En dat terwijl de Universiteit Leiden juist op het gebied van Arabisch een wereldreputatie heeft die al eeuwen teruggaat. Dus zijn er grote zorgen: niet alleen onder Arabisten, maar ook onder diplomaten en zakenlieden. Te gast is Carool Kersten, gerenommeerd Arabist verbonden aan de KU Leuven. Uitgelicht: Spaanse boeren bezorgd om citrusziekte Wetenschappers waarschuwen voor een plantenziekte die de productie van sinaasappels en andere citrusvruchten bedreigt. Het kan ertoe leiden dat sinaasappelsap een luxeproduct wordt. In Spanje zetten de sinaasappelboeren zich alvast schrap, vertelt redacteur Sonja Pleumeekers. Presentatie: Eva Koreman

In 2011, mass protests erupted in Syria against the four-decade authoritarian rule of the Assad family. The uprising, which became part of the larger pro-democracy Arab Spring that spread through much of the Arab world, was met with a brutal government crackdown. Soon after, the country descended into a devastating civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians and displaced over 13 million people, more than half of the country's prewar population. When the civil war broke out, groups of volunteers formed to provide emergency response to communities across Syria. In 2014, those volunteers voted to form the Syria Civil Defence, a national humanitarian organization widely known as the White Helmets. Since then, the group has expanded to become a nearly 3,000-strong network that has saved more than 128,000 lives in Syria.In their daring and life-threatening work, the White Helmets provide critical emergency services, including medical care, ambulances and search-and-rescue operations. They also document military attacks and coordinate with NGOs in pursuit of justice and accountability for the Syrian people. In Berkeley Talks episode 210, we hear from the director of the White Helmets, Raed al-Saleh, and from Farouq Habib, a founding member of the organization who serves as their deputy general manager for external affairs. They were part of a panel discussion, hosted by Berkeley Law's Human Rights Center on Sept. 19, 2024.“For us, as Syrian people, the most strategic and important work is on justice and accountability, our human rights work,” said al-Saleh, whose remarks were translated by Habib during the event. The group has become instrumental in exposing human rights violations and atrocities during the war. After they used GoPro cameras to record a double-tap strike in 2015 — when two strikes are launched in quick succession, often targeting civilians or first responders — the White Helmets recognized that the videos could be used to document these war crimes. “We realized that the footage … is not only important for media awareness and quality assurance, but it's even more important to document the atrocities and the violations of international human rights law and how to use that in the future to pursue accountability.”When asked later in the discussion how the White Helmets envision the future of Syria, al-Saleh replied that he wants to see “a peaceful Syria, where people can live with dignity and respect to human rights and support human rights everywhere.”Habib and al-Saleh were joined on the panel by Andrea Richardson, a senior legal researcher for investigations at Berkeley Law's Human Rights Center, and emergency physician and medical adviser Rohini Haar, a Berkeley Law lecturer and a research fellow at the Human Rights Center. The discussion was moderated by Andrea Richardson, executive director of the Human Rights Center. Learn more about Berkeley Law's Human Rights Center.Read the transcript and listen to the episode on UC Berkeley News (news.berkeley.edu/podcasts).Music by Blue Dot Sessions.Photo courtesy of the White Helmets. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israel withholds hundreds of deceased Palestinians' bodies as bargaining chips, depriving their families of the right to bury their loved ones and grieve. In this episode, Budour Hassan, a researcher at Amnesty International who focuses on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, and Adalah's General Director, Dr. Hassan Jabareen, discuss Israel's policies and practices of detaining and degrading the dead.   “Since collective memory and shared public grief have always been central to the Palestinian narrative, erasing this memory and freezing grief are seen as important pillars in Israel's architecture of repression”, wrote Budour Hassan in a report she authored during her previous role at the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center. The report, titled 'The Warmth of Our Sons', is available here. Budour and Hassan explore the colonial origins of this policy, the legal framework that supports it, Supreme Court's decisions on this policy and its application to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Israeli citizens. They also reflect on the impacts of this policy on the families and the Palestinian population at large.

In this podcast we talk with a human rights activist within the Women! Life! Freedom! movement about Narges Mohammadi and her lifelong work. She is the Iranian human rights activist that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 on Sunday 12 of September, for her lifelong work and activism on human rights and Women's rights in Iran. Most of her adult life Narges has been politically active- from publishing a book of political essays and joining the Defenders of Human Rights Center to being arrested multiple times for her criticisms of the Iranian government, her open support of feminist civil disobedience and the abolition of the death penalty in her country. Currently she is the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), headed by her fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi. A month ago, in October 2023, while still in prison and despite the condemnation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Narges was awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”. Yet, her work doesn't not stop even if she is in prison. Since November 2021 and during the Mahsa Amini protests in 2022, Narges has published multiple reports on the life conditions in Evin Prison and the human rights breaches that solitary confinement imposes. Her latest book “White Torture” centred around solitary confinement, has been translated to German, titled “Women! Life! Freedom!” and published this year.

How is the war in Ukraine changing to way we do Open Sources Intelligence (OSINT)? What are the ethical implications of OSINT? And what happens when AI erases evidence uncovered by OSINT, particularly on social media? MIGS hosted a Twitter Spaces conversation with Alexa Koenig (Co-Executive Director and Co-Faculty Director of the Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley) and Belkis Wille (Associate Director, Crisis and Conflict division, Human Rights Watch) The event was moderate by MIGS' Kyle Matthews and Liam Maloney.

Modern slavery, which encompasses 45 million people around the world, is intricately linked to the economy, politics, violence and war, gender and the environment. In this panel discussion, Kevin Bales, professor of contemporary slavery and research director of the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, talks about the impact of contemporary slavery with three UC Berkeley professors, Arlie Hochschild, professor emerita, Department of Sociology, Enrique Lopezlira, Ph.D., director, Low-Wage Work Program, and Eric Stover, adjunct law professor and faculty director, Human Rights Center. Slave-based activities, like brick making and deforestation, are estimated to generate 2.54 billion tonnes of CO2 per year – greater than the individual emissions of all the world's nations except China and the U.S. Globally, slaves are forced to do work that is highly destructive to the environment. This work feeds directly into global consumption in foodstuffs, in minerals – both precious and for electronics – construction materials, clothing, and foodstuffs. Most of this work is unregulated leading to extensive poisoning of watersheds, the clear-cutting of forests, and enormous and unregulated emissions of carcinogenic gases as well as CO2. Political corruption supports this slave-based environmental destruction and its human damage. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Science] [Business] [Show ID: 38615]

Modern slavery, which encompasses 45 million people around the world, is intricately linked to the economy, politics, violence and war, gender and the environment. In this panel discussion, Kevin Bales, professor of contemporary slavery and research director of the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, talks about the impact of contemporary slavery with three UC Berkeley professors, Arlie Hochschild, professor emerita, Department of Sociology, Enrique Lopezlira, Ph.D., director, Low-Wage Work Program, and Eric Stover, adjunct law professor and faculty director, Human Rights Center. Slave-based activities, like brick making and deforestation, are estimated to generate 2.54 billion tonnes of CO2 per year – greater than the individual emissions of all the world's nations except China and the U.S. Globally, slaves are forced to do work that is highly destructive to the environment. This work feeds directly into global consumption in foodstuffs, in minerals – both precious and for electronics – construction materials, clothing, and foodstuffs. Most of this work is unregulated leading to extensive poisoning of watersheds, the clear-cutting of forests, and enormous and unregulated emissions of carcinogenic gases as well as CO2. Political corruption supports this slave-based environmental destruction and its human damage. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Science] [Business] [Show ID: 38615]

Modern slavery, which encompasses 45 million people around the world, is intricately linked to the economy, politics, violence and war, gender and the environment. In this panel discussion, Kevin Bales, professor of contemporary slavery and research director of the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, talks about the impact of contemporary slavery with three UC Berkeley professors, Arlie Hochschild, professor emerita, Department of Sociology, Enrique Lopezlira, Ph.D., director, Low-Wage Work Program, and Eric Stover, adjunct law professor and faculty director, Human Rights Center. Slave-based activities, like brick making and deforestation, are estimated to generate 2.54 billion tonnes of CO2 per year – greater than the individual emissions of all the world's nations except China and the U.S. Globally, slaves are forced to do work that is highly destructive to the environment. This work feeds directly into global consumption in foodstuffs, in minerals – both precious and for electronics – construction materials, clothing, and foodstuffs. Most of this work is unregulated leading to extensive poisoning of watersheds, the clear-cutting of forests, and enormous and unregulated emissions of carcinogenic gases as well as CO2. Political corruption supports this slave-based environmental destruction and its human damage. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Science] [Business] [Show ID: 38615]

Modern slavery, which encompasses 45 million people around the world, is intricately linked to the economy, politics, violence and war, gender and the environment. In this panel discussion, Kevin Bales, professor of contemporary slavery and research director of the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, talks about the impact of contemporary slavery with three UC Berkeley professors, Arlie Hochschild, professor emerita, Department of Sociology, Enrique Lopezlira, Ph.D., director, Low-Wage Work Program, and Eric Stover, adjunct law professor and faculty director, Human Rights Center. Slave-based activities, like brick making and deforestation, are estimated to generate 2.54 billion tonnes of CO2 per year – greater than the individual emissions of all the world's nations except China and the U.S. Globally, slaves are forced to do work that is highly destructive to the environment. This work feeds directly into global consumption in foodstuffs, in minerals – both precious and for electronics – construction materials, clothing, and foodstuffs. Most of this work is unregulated leading to extensive poisoning of watersheds, the clear-cutting of forests, and enormous and unregulated emissions of carcinogenic gases as well as CO2. Political corruption supports this slave-based environmental destruction and its human damage. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Science] [Business] [Show ID: 38615]

Modern slavery, which encompasses 45 million people around the world, is intricately linked to the economy, politics, violence and war, gender and the environment. In this panel discussion, Kevin Bales, professor of contemporary slavery and research director of the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, talks about the impact of contemporary slavery with three UC Berkeley professors, Arlie Hochschild, professor emerita, Department of Sociology, Enrique Lopezlira, Ph.D., director, Low-Wage Work Program, and Eric Stover, adjunct law professor and faculty director, Human Rights Center. Slave-based activities, like brick making and deforestation, are estimated to generate 2.54 billion tonnes of CO2 per year – greater than the individual emissions of all the world's nations except China and the U.S. Globally, slaves are forced to do work that is highly destructive to the environment. This work feeds directly into global consumption in foodstuffs, in minerals – both precious and for electronics – construction materials, clothing, and foodstuffs. Most of this work is unregulated leading to extensive poisoning of watersheds, the clear-cutting of forests, and enormous and unregulated emissions of carcinogenic gases as well as CO2. Political corruption supports this slave-based environmental destruction and its human damage. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Science] [Business] [Show ID: 38615]

Modern slavery, which encompasses 45 million people around the world, is intricately linked to the economy, politics, violence and war, gender and the environment. In this panel discussion, Kevin Bales, professor of contemporary slavery and research director of the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, talks about the impact of contemporary slavery with three UC Berkeley professors, Arlie Hochschild, professor emerita, Department of Sociology, Enrique Lopezlira, Ph.D., director, Low-Wage Work Program, and Eric Stover, adjunct law professor and faculty director, Human Rights Center. Slave-based activities, like brick making and deforestation, are estimated to generate 2.54 billion tonnes of CO2 per year – greater than the individual emissions of all the world's nations except China and the U.S. Globally, slaves are forced to do work that is highly destructive to the environment. This work feeds directly into global consumption in foodstuffs, in minerals – both precious and for electronics – construction materials, clothing, and foodstuffs. Most of this work is unregulated leading to extensive poisoning of watersheds, the clear-cutting of forests, and enormous and unregulated emissions of carcinogenic gases as well as CO2. Political corruption supports this slave-based environmental destruction and its human damage. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Science] [Business] [Show ID: 38615]

Modern slavery, which encompasses 45 million people around the world, is intricately linked to the economy, politics, violence and war, gender and the environment. In this panel discussion, Kevin Bales, professor of contemporary slavery and research director of the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, talks about the impact of contemporary slavery with three UC Berkeley professors, Arlie Hochschild, professor emerita, Department of Sociology, Enrique Lopezlira, Ph.D., director, Low-Wage Work Program, and Eric Stover, adjunct law professor and faculty director, Human Rights Center. Slave-based activities, like brick making and deforestation, are estimated to generate 2.54 billion tonnes of CO2 per year – greater than the individual emissions of all the world's nations except China and the U.S. Globally, slaves are forced to do work that is highly destructive to the environment. This work feeds directly into global consumption in foodstuffs, in minerals – both precious and for electronics – construction materials, clothing, and foodstuffs. Most of this work is unregulated leading to extensive poisoning of watersheds, the clear-cutting of forests, and enormous and unregulated emissions of carcinogenic gases as well as CO2. Political corruption supports this slave-based environmental destruction and its human damage. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Science] [Business] [Show ID: 38615]

Modern slavery, which encompasses 45 million people around the world, is intricately linked to the economy, politics, violence and war, gender and the environment. In this panel discussion, Kevin Bales, professor of contemporary slavery and research director of the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham, talks about the impact of contemporary slavery with three UC Berkeley professors, Arlie Hochschild, professor emerita, Department of Sociology, Enrique Lopezlira, Ph.D., director, Low-Wage Work Program, and Eric Stover, adjunct law professor and faculty director, Human Rights Center. Slave-based activities, like brick making and deforestation, are estimated to generate 2.54 billion tonnes of CO2 per year – greater than the individual emissions of all the world's nations except China and the U.S. Globally, slaves are forced to do work that is highly destructive to the environment. This work feeds directly into global consumption in foodstuffs, in minerals – both precious and for electronics – construction materials, clothing, and foodstuffs. Most of this work is unregulated leading to extensive poisoning of watersheds, the clear-cutting of forests, and enormous and unregulated emissions of carcinogenic gases as well as CO2. Political corruption supports this slave-based environmental destruction and its human damage. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Humanities] [Science] [Business] [Show ID: 38615]

The term “spyware” refers to software that's designed to infiltrate, monitor, and extract sensitive information from a user's device without their knowledge or consent. Perhaps the most infamous example of the harm that spyware can do is the 2018 killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi government operatives, who used spyware to track Khashoggi before luring him to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was murdered. But spyware use is not just limited to repressive autocracies. It's frequently both developed and used by liberal democracies, a practice that has generated increasing concern over the past few years.To talk about spyware and its potential regulation under international law, Alan Rozenshtein, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota and Senior Editor at Lawfare, spoke with Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, a Regents Professor and the Robina Chair in Law, Public Policy, and Society at the University of Minnesota Law School, where she also directs the Human Rights Center. Most importantly for this conversation, she's also the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, a position she's held since 2017. As part of that role, she recently published a report on the Global Regulation of the Counter-Terrorism Spyware Technology Trade. Alan spoke with Fionnuala about her findings and what, if anything, can be done to make spyware compliant with human rights.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A United Nations effort that was created after the murder of George Floyd arrived in Minneapolis Tuesday. Three human rights experts appointed by the UN spent the morning hearing from people affected by systemic racism in policing and prisons. The UN panel is spending two weeks in the United States and making similar stops in cities including Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin is faculty director of the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota and a UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to make sense of the project.

As we prepare for Holocaust Remembrance Day, Maine Municipal Association, Maine Chiefs of Police Association, and several other stakeholders had the opportunity to receive an important history lesson in context from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.. In this episode, Rebecca Graham sits down with Noel March who facilitated  bringing a special law enforcement program out of D.C. to Maine through the Maine Community Policing Institute and the Maine Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was able to take part of The Museum's Law, Justice, and the Holocaust Program on the road to Maine, one of only two places outside Washington D.C. who have benefitted from the learning opportunity. The signature program, Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons of the Holocaust (LEAS), is presented in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League. Established in 1999 at the request of DC Metropolitan Police Department, the program is suitable for recruit, in-service, and command professionals in law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels. To date, this innovative program has reached more than 150,000 officers from the US and 80 countries worldwide.The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In 2023, that day is Tuesday, April 18. 

 As Americans continue to grapple with a post-Roe future, how should those seeking reproductive healthcare navigate rampant misinformation online?   Ray Suarez speaks with Alaa Mostafa from Reveal and Anabel Sosa, a journalist with the Human Rights Center investigations lab at the UC Berkeley School of Law, to untangle the spread of abortion misinformation on TikTok and YouTube.   Guests:     Alaa Mostafa, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting   Anabel Sosa, Human Rights Center investigations lab at the UC Berkeley School of Law   Host:    Ray Suarez   If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

The US midterms may be over, but the web of misinformation shaping global politics is everywhere…disrupting elections, destabilizing currencies, and dividing communities around the world. Identifying false information, like deep fakes and conspiracy theories, can be hard – and sites like Facebook and Twitter aren't making things any easier.   In this week's episode of On Shifting Ground, we look at the global relationship between misinformation, war, and peace. CEO of PeaceTech Lab, Sheldon Himelfarb, sits down with Ray to discuss what makes our present-day information crisis so unique – and dangerous. Then Alexa Koenig, Executive Director of UC Berkeley's Human Rights Center, breaks down “The Berkeley Protocol,” a new international standard for verifying online images in war zones, from Myanmar to Ukraine.   Guests:   Sheldon Himelfarb, CEO of PeaceTech Lab Alexa Koenig, Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley   Host: Ray Suarez   If you appreciate this episode and want to support the work we do, please consider making a donation to World Affairs. We cannot do this work without your help. Thank you.

We had a great conversation with Kyle P. Walker: Activist Concert Pianist and Educator as our guest of Season 3 Episode 6. Kyle, a strong advocate for social equality, believes music can speak to social issues better than verbal language. Having extensive experience both as a performing artist and journalist, he feels a strong responsibility and passion for raising awareness of social justice issues through music in an accessible and engaging way.In this episode, you will hear Kyle's thoughts on how music can speak towards current social issues, how he brings awareness to influential Black music through his innovative and inclusive programs, and more.[Kyle P. Walker – Activist Concert Pianist]A strong advocate for social equality, critically-acclaimed pianist Kyle P. Walker, believes music can speak to social issues better than verbal language can, the understanding of which he brings to both traditional Western repertoire and that of the living world-wide composers with whom he collaborates. Many of his performances have been featured on media broadcasts, including The Green Space at WNYC, WQXR's Mcgraw-Hill Financial Young Artists Showcase, Sunday Baroque, NPR's Public Radio East, CNN, and PBS. He has been featured in recitals at New York's Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and with an orchestra in Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Walker was featured in residency alongside the Boston-based ensemble Castle of our Skins at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The online series of free digital programs explore the ways some Black American composers have found inspiration in the rich tradition of spirituals. Walker is a pianist of DARA + KYLE, an innovative piano/cello duo, and 2021 recipient of the Chamber Music America “Ensemble Forward” career grant. The award-winning duo is committed to bringing excellence and respect to all under-represented composers in the canon. Walker also performs with The Harlem Chamber Players, an ethnically diverse collective of professional musicians dedicated to bringing high-caliber, affordable, and accessible live classical music to people in the Harlem community and beyond. As an advocate of social justice, Walker is a founding member and chamber musician of The Dream Unfinished, an activist orchestra that supports NYC-based civil rights and community organizations through concerts and presentations. As a teaching artist and educator, he has co-presented at the Human Rights Center, New York Society for Ethical Culture, and the Brooklyn Public Library. A dedicated educator, Walker is a member of the piano faculty at NYU Steinhardt's program in Piano Studies. In addition he is also on the faculty of the Lucy Moses School at Kaufman Music Center and on the chamber music faculty of The Artist Program at Suzuki on the Island. He has presented recitals, residencies, and masterclasses at various institutions such as The University of Dayton, The University of Virginia, Belmont University, Allen University, The Harlem School of the Arts, and The Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He has also co-presented extensive workshops alongside The Dream Unfinished, including the Carnegie Hall Music Educator Workshop, speaking about arts activism and building diverse curriculums for students to include composers that reflect the communities they serve. 

Host:Peter Neill Producer: Trisha Badger Music by Casey Neill Conversations from the Pointed Firs is a monthly audio series with Maine-connected authors and artists discussing new books and creative projects that invoke the spirit of Maine, its history, its ecology, its culture, and its contribution to community and quality of life. This month: Our guests this month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs are David Hopkins and David Greenham of the Maine Arts Commission. Guest/s: DAVID GREENHAM is the executive director of the Maine Arts Commission. Prior to stepping to that post, he was the Associate Director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, where he developed educational outreach programs, curated exhibits, and presented various HHRC programs to schools and communities throughout the state. In addition to his work at the Maine Arts Commission, David is an adjunct lecturer in drama at the University of Maine at Augusta and is a frequent contributor to the online Boston-based arts magazine The ArtsFuse. David is a member the boards of the New England Foundation for the Arts, the Cultural Alliance of Maine, the Friends of the Blaine House, and Ladder to the Moon/Amjambo Africa. DAVID HOPKINS has served on boards for the Farnsworth Museum, Waterman's Community Center on North Haven, and the North Haven Historical Society. He also served as commissioner of the Maine State Museum. In March of 2021 Governor Janet Mills appointed Hopkins chair of the Maine Arts Commission board. Born in Bangor, Maine, David grew up on North Haven Island then spent 30 years of his career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He now owns and operates Hopkins Wharf Gallery on the island of North Haven in midcoast Maine, where he lives. About the host: Peter Neill is founder and director of the World Ocean Observatory, a web-based place of exchange for information and educational services about the health of the ocean. In 1972, he founded Leete's Island Books, a small publishing house specializing in literary reprints, the essay, photography, the environment, and profiles of indigenous healers and practitioners of complimentary medicine around the world. He holds a profound interest in Maine, its history, its people, its culture, and its contribution to community and quality of life. The post Conversations from the Pointed Firs 11/4/22: Maine Arts Commission first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Now more than ever, humanitarianism is being conducted at a distance. As humanitarian efforts shift from in-kind and in-person assistance to cash- and information-based assistance, how does this change what humanitarian work looks like? Recorded on September 26, 2022, this "Matrix on Point" panel featured a group of scholars examining how technology raises new questions about the efficacy of humanitarian interventions, the human rights of recipients, and the broader power relations between donors and recipients. The panel was moderated by Laurel E. Fletcher, Clinical Professor of Law at the UC Berkeley School of Law, and Director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic. The panel included Daragh Murray, Senior Lecturer at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre & School of Law; Fleur Johns, Professor in the Faculty of Law & Justice at UNSW Sydney; and Wendy H. Wong, Principal's Research Chair, Professor, Political Science, The University of British Columbia. The panel was co-sponsored by the UC Berkeley School of Information, the Center for Technology, Society & Policy, and the Human Rights Center. This panel was presented as part of the Matrix On Point discussion series, an event series focused on cross-disciplinary conversations on today's most pressing contemporary issues. Offering opportunities for scholarly exchange and interaction, each Matrix On Point features the perspectives of leading scholars and specialists from different disciplines, followed by an open conversation. These events are free and open to the public.

​​Alexa Koenig is using Silicon Valley tech for the prosecution of war crimes. As the executive director of the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, she is proving how the device that each of us has in our pockets and which gives us the ability to bear witness to the world might be used to help secure international justice. At a time when atrocities from Ukraine to Uganda are being documented like never before, Koenig, a product of Marin, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco School of Law, is evolving the framework for professionals to use social media and other digital tools to strengthen human rights advocacy and accountability.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, we are confronted daily with images of atrocities. But what constitutes proof of a war crime in the digital age? It's a question a new generation of experts is answering. In December, the United Nations Human Rights Office teamed up with lawyers at UC Berkeley to release a new set of legal guidelines for gathering and verifying war crimes. The “Berkeley Protocol” establishes norms for authenticating open source and social media evidence of human rights violations, and it stands to usher in a new era for punishing those who commit these horrors. In the past, war crimes were proven with extensive witness testimony and conventional forensic evidence, often gathered slowly and well after the fact  by government agencies. Now, researchers can use an array of digital tools, including social media videos, satellite imagery, and geolocation, in real time. By codifying professional standards in the field, the Berkeley Protocol aims to shore up the admissibility of digital evidence in court and could change the future of prosecuting these heinous crimes.    On this week's episode of WorldAffairs, Ray Suarez talks with Alexa Koenig, executive director of the Human Rights Center and Investigations Lab at Berkeley Law, which has been at the forefront of this new legal frontier in human rights.

Around the world, more than 84 million people have been forcibly displaced. And that's only the number from last time it was counted. In the meantime, the war in Ukraine has unleashed another refugee crisis on top of the devastating ongoing crisis around the world. So how can we offer a warm home to those who were forced to flee theirs? What is the power of home? And how can we avoid this becoming the humanitarian issue of the decade? Through the lens of Global Goal 16, but touching on so many of the others, Gail and Loyiso hear powerful stories from around the world. Featuring:Jaz O'Hara, Human rights activist, founder of The Worldwide Tribe and host of the Asylum Speakers Podcast. Amali Tower, Founder and executive director of Climate Refugees.Ilwad Elman, Director of Programs and Development at the Elman Peace and Human Rights Center and Extremely Together Young Leader.Hamed Amiri, author of 'The Boy With Two Hearts'. Hosts:Gail Gallie, Co-founder of Project Everyone.Loyiso Madinga, Comedian and South-Africa correspondent for Trevor Noah. Find out more at globalgoals.org/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The internet is increasingly emerging as a source for identification and documentation of war crimes, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has devastatingly proven yet again. But how does an image of a possible war crime go from social media to before a tribunal in a potential war crimes prosecution? On a recent episode of Arbiters of Truth, our series on the online information ecosystem, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Nick Waters, the lead on Justice and Accountability at Bellingcat, about how open-source investigators go about documenting evidence of atrocity. This week on the show, Evelyn and Quinta interviewed Alexa Koenig, the executive director of the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and an expert on using digital evidence for justice and accountability. They talked about how international tribunals have adapted to using new forms of evidence derived from the internet, how social media platforms have helped—and hindered—collection of this kind of evidence, and the work Alexa has done to create a playbook for investigators downloading and collecting material documenting atrocities.Because of the nature of the conversation, this discussion contains some descriptions of violence that might be upsetting for some listeners. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The internet is increasingly emerging as a source for identification and documentation of war crimes, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has devastatingly proven yet again. But how does an image of a possible war crime go from social media to before a tribunal in a potential war crimes prosecution? On a recent episode of Arbiters of Truth, our series on the online information ecosystem, Evelyn Douek and Quinta Jurecic spoke with Nick Waters, the lead on Justice and Accountability at Bellingcat, about how open-source investigators go about documenting evidence of atrocity. This week on the show, Evelyn and Quinta interviewed Alexa Koenig, the executive director of the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and an expert on using digital evidence for justice and accountability. They talked about how international tribunals have adapted to using new forms of evidence derived from the internet, how social media platforms have helped—and hindered—collection of this kind of evidence, and the work Alexa has done to create a playbook for investigators downloading and collecting material documenting atrocities.Because of the nature of the conversation, this discussion contains some descriptions of violence that might be upsetting for some listeners. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the horrific violence in Ukraine escalates, the global far-right is justifying Russia's invasion with outlandish conspiracy theories. On this week's On the Media, guest host Matt Katz digs into one viral lie that went mainstream. Plus, how internet sleuths are collecting digital evidence of alleged Russian war crimes to be used in international courts. And, we hear from the author of a new book about four foreign correspondents who shaped early American coverage of World War II. 1. Ben Collins [@oneunderscore__], senior reporter with NBC News, on the viral Ukrainian "bioweapon labs" conspiracy theory. Listen. 2. Eliot Higgins [@EliotHiggins], founder of Bellingcat, on how his organization uses open source investigations to track alleged Russian war crimes. And Alexa Koenig [@KAlexaKoenig], Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at the UC Berkeley School of Law, on how such digital evidence may be used by future war crime tribunals. Listen. 4. Deborah Cohen [@DeborahACohen], professor of history at Northwestern University, on her new book about four foreign correspondents who sounded the alarm on WWII. Listen. On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

As the horrific violence in Ukraine escalates, the global far-right is justifying Russia's invasion with outlandish conspiracy theories. On this week's On the Media, guest host Matt Katz digs into one viral lie that went mainstream. Plus, how internet sleuths are collecting digital evidence of alleged Russian war crimes to be used in international courts. And, we hear from the author of a new book about four foreign correspondents who shaped early American coverage of World War II. 1. Ben Collins [@oneunderscore__], senior reporter with NBC News, on the viral Ukrainian "bioweapon labs" conspiracy theory. Listen. 2. Eliot Higgins [@EliotHiggins], founder of Bellingcat, on how his organization uses open source investigations to track alleged Russian war crimes. And Alexa Koenig [@KAlexaKoenig], Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at the UC Berkeley School of Law, on how such digital evidence may be used by future war crime tribunals. Listen. 4. Deborah Cohen [@DeborahACohen], professor of history at Northwestern University, on her new book about four foreign correspondents who sounded the alarm on WWII. Listen.

In January of this year, on the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the notorious military prison at Guantánamo Bay on the eastern tip of Cuba, the United Nations' top human rights office issued an excoriating report on "Gitmo" and its continued operations. “Guantánamo Bay is a site of unparalleled notoriety, defined by the systematic use of torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment against hundreds of men brought to the site and deprived of their most fundamental rights,” the report stated. However, “Despite forceful, repeated and unequivocal condemnation of the operation of this horrific detention and prison complex with its associated trial processes, the United States continues to detain persons many of whom have never been charged with any crime.” TRNN correspondent David Kattenburg speaks about the continued horrors of Guantánamo Bay and the international fight to shut it down with Fionnuala Ni Aolain and Alka Pradhan.Fionnuala Ni Aolain is the lead author of the recent UN report on Guantánamo Bay. She is the Special UN Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, University Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota, and faculty director of the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota School of Law. Alka Pradhan is Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania. She is an expert on the application of human rights and humanitarian law in counterterrorism situations, and on the impact of torture on fair trials. Pradhan is currently Human Rights Counsel at Guantanamo Bay Military Commissions and has represented over a dozen of its detainees. She currently represents one of the defendants in the capital case United States v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammad.Pre-Production: David KattenburgStudio/Post-Production: Cameron GranadinoRead the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/20-years-later-guantanamo-bay-is-still-a-humanitarian-horrorHelp us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer: Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-podSign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/newsletter-podLike us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnewsFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnews

Open-source investigators forensically analyse digital evidence - social media posts, eyewitness videos, satellite imagery - to find the truth behind news events. Their techniques are now increasingly used by investigative journalists to achieve big impact. An investigation by The New York Times into civilian deaths from air and drone strikes has resulted in a policy change by the US military. Also in the programme - in the west it's headlined as "the Ukraine crisis", but how is the situation being reported in Russian and Ukrainian media? Guests: Alexa Koenig, Executive Director, Human Rights Center, Haley Willis, Visual Investigations Reporter, The New York Times, Benjamin Strick, Investigations Director, Centre for Information Resilience, Alison Killing, Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting, and Francis Scarr, Senior Digital Journalist, BBC Monitoring in Moscow. Presenter: Katie Razzall Studio engineer: Tim Heffer Assistant producer: Emily Finch Editor: Richard Hooper

Are celebrities “disruptors” who revitalize the development field, or are they just charismatic ambassadors for big business? In Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development (University of Minnesota Press, 2021) the authors argue that celebrities play both roles, and that understanding why and how yields insight into the realities of neoliberal development. As elite political participants, celebrities shape development practices through strategic partnerships that are both an innovative way to raise awareness and funding for neglected causes and a troubling trend of unaccountable elite leadership in North-South relations. The authors use actor Ben Affleck's Eastern Congo Initiative to illustrate this dynamic, arguing that his charisma and reach helped bring new approaches to bear on the region's development. Learn more about the book here.   Lisa Ann Richey (@BrandAid_World) is Professor of Globalization at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark where she works on the politics of transnational helping. She is the author of the books Batman Saves the Congo: Business, Disruption and the Politics of Development with Alexandra Budabin (2021); Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World with Stefano Ponte (2011); Population Politics and Development: From the Policies to the Clinics (2008) and edited Celebrity Humanitarianism and North-South Relations: Politics, Place and Power (2016) and New Actors and Alliances in Development (2014). She also disseminates her work in popular media like Al Jazeera and The Conversation. Lisa was the founding Vice-President of the Global South Caucus of the International Studies Association (ISA). Alexandra Cosima Budabin (@ABudabin) is Senior Researcher at the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton (USA). She is a Researcher at the Platform Cultural Heritage Cultural Production of the Faculty of Design and Art of the Free University of Bolzano in Italy. Her research on non-state actors in human rights, humanitarianism and development has appeared in Perspective on Politics, New Political Science, Human Rights Quarterly, Journal of Human Rights, Humanity and The Conversation. Her first book Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development with Lisa Ann Richey has been published with University of Minnesota Press. Alexandra's current research looks at transnational advocacy to confront sexual violence in conflict; digital solidarity for refugees; and the intersection of BLM activism and anti-racist protest in Italy. Aditya Srinivasan assisted with this episode. Lamis Abdelaaty is an assistant professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu or tweet to @LAbdelaaty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

Are celebrities “disruptors” who revitalize the development field, or are they just charismatic ambassadors for big business? In Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development (University of Minnesota Press, 2021) the authors argue that celebrities play both roles, and that understanding why and how yields insight into the realities of neoliberal development. As elite political participants, celebrities shape development practices through strategic partnerships that are both an innovative way to raise awareness and funding for neglected causes and a troubling trend of unaccountable elite leadership in North-South relations. The authors use actor Ben Affleck's Eastern Congo Initiative to illustrate this dynamic, arguing that his charisma and reach helped bring new approaches to bear on the region's development. Learn more about the book here.   Lisa Ann Richey (@BrandAid_World) is Professor of Globalization at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark where she works on the politics of transnational helping. She is the author of the books Batman Saves the Congo: Business, Disruption and the Politics of Development with Alexandra Budabin (2021); Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World with Stefano Ponte (2011); Population Politics and Development: From the Policies to the Clinics (2008) and edited Celebrity Humanitarianism and North-South Relations: Politics, Place and Power (2016) and New Actors and Alliances in Development (2014). She also disseminates her work in popular media like Al Jazeera and The Conversation. Lisa was the founding Vice-President of the Global South Caucus of the International Studies Association (ISA). Alexandra Cosima Budabin (@ABudabin) is Senior Researcher at the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton (USA). She is a Researcher at the Platform Cultural Heritage Cultural Production of the Faculty of Design and Art of the Free University of Bolzano in Italy. Her research on non-state actors in human rights, humanitarianism and development has appeared in Perspective on Politics, New Political Science, Human Rights Quarterly, Journal of Human Rights, Humanity and The Conversation. Her first book Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development with Lisa Ann Richey has been published with University of Minnesota Press. Alexandra's current research looks at transnational advocacy to confront sexual violence in conflict; digital solidarity for refugees; and the intersection of BLM activism and anti-racist protest in Italy. Aditya Srinivasan assisted with this episode. Lamis Abdelaaty is an assistant professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu or tweet to @LAbdelaaty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

Are celebrities “disruptors” who revitalize the development field, or are they just charismatic ambassadors for big business? In Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development (University of Minnesota Press, 2021) the authors argue that celebrities play both roles, and that understanding why and how yields insight into the realities of neoliberal development. As elite political participants, celebrities shape development practices through strategic partnerships that are both an innovative way to raise awareness and funding for neglected causes and a troubling trend of unaccountable elite leadership in North-South relations. The authors use actor Ben Affleck's Eastern Congo Initiative to illustrate this dynamic, arguing that his charisma and reach helped bring new approaches to bear on the region's development. Learn more about the book here.   Lisa Ann Richey (@BrandAid_World) is Professor of Globalization at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark where she works on the politics of transnational helping. She is the author of the books Batman Saves the Congo: Business, Disruption and the Politics of Development with Alexandra Budabin (2021); Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World with Stefano Ponte (2011); Population Politics and Development: From the Policies to the Clinics (2008) and edited Celebrity Humanitarianism and North-South Relations: Politics, Place and Power (2016) and New Actors and Alliances in Development (2014). She also disseminates her work in popular media like Al Jazeera and The Conversation. Lisa was the founding Vice-President of the Global South Caucus of the International Studies Association (ISA). Alexandra Cosima Budabin (@ABudabin) is Senior Researcher at the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton (USA). She is a Researcher at the Platform Cultural Heritage Cultural Production of the Faculty of Design and Art of the Free University of Bolzano in Italy. Her research on non-state actors in human rights, humanitarianism and development has appeared in Perspective on Politics, New Political Science, Human Rights Quarterly, Journal of Human Rights, Humanity and The Conversation. Her first book Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development with Lisa Ann Richey has been published with University of Minnesota Press. Alexandra's current research looks at transnational advocacy to confront sexual violence in conflict; digital solidarity for refugees; and the intersection of BLM activism and anti-racist protest in Italy. Aditya Srinivasan assisted with this episode. Lamis Abdelaaty is an assistant professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu or tweet to @LAbdelaaty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Are celebrities “disruptors” who revitalize the development field, or are they just charismatic ambassadors for big business? In Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development (University of Minnesota Press, 2021) the authors argue that celebrities play both roles, and that understanding why and how yields insight into the realities of neoliberal development. As elite political participants, celebrities shape development practices through strategic partnerships that are both an innovative way to raise awareness and funding for neglected causes and a troubling trend of unaccountable elite leadership in North-South relations. The authors use actor Ben Affleck's Eastern Congo Initiative to illustrate this dynamic, arguing that his charisma and reach helped bring new approaches to bear on the region's development. Learn more about the book here.   Lisa Ann Richey (@BrandAid_World) is Professor of Globalization at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark where she works on the politics of transnational helping. She is the author of the books Batman Saves the Congo: Business, Disruption and the Politics of Development with Alexandra Budabin (2021); Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World with Stefano Ponte (2011); Population Politics and Development: From the Policies to the Clinics (2008) and edited Celebrity Humanitarianism and North-South Relations: Politics, Place and Power (2016) and New Actors and Alliances in Development (2014). She also disseminates her work in popular media like Al Jazeera and The Conversation. Lisa was the founding Vice-President of the Global South Caucus of the International Studies Association (ISA). Alexandra Cosima Budabin (@ABudabin) is Senior Researcher at the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton (USA). She is a Researcher at the Platform Cultural Heritage Cultural Production of the Faculty of Design and Art of the Free University of Bolzano in Italy. Her research on non-state actors in human rights, humanitarianism and development has appeared in Perspective on Politics, New Political Science, Human Rights Quarterly, Journal of Human Rights, Humanity and The Conversation. Her first book Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development with Lisa Ann Richey has been published with University of Minnesota Press. Alexandra's current research looks at transnational advocacy to confront sexual violence in conflict; digital solidarity for refugees; and the intersection of BLM activism and anti-racist protest in Italy. Aditya Srinivasan assisted with this episode. Lamis Abdelaaty is an assistant professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu or tweet to @LAbdelaaty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

In this episode, Darren Reinke chats with Alexa Koenig, Executive Director of UC Berkeley's Human Rights Center (HRC) and Co-Founder of the Human Rights Center Investigations Lab. Alexa discusses the spark that led her to fight for human rights, how the HRC uses social media to prosecute war criminals, and some of the tools leaders can use to build alignment when working with groups that may share different values or priorities.The Human Rights Center at the UC Berkeley School of Law promotes human rights and international justice worldwide and trains the next generation of human rights researchers and advocates. They are an independent research and training center that applies innovative technologies and scientific methods to investigate war crimes and other serious violations of human rights. Based on their findings, they recommend specific policy measures to protect vulnerable populations and hold perpetrators accountable. Show Notes:An Overview of UC Berkeley's Human Rights Center and Human Rights Center Investigations Lab [0:58]How Alexa Became Involved in Human Rights [3:34]How the Investigations Group Partners With Third Parties to Tackle Key Human Rights Issues [6:15]How Alexa's Team Uses Social Media as Evidence to Prove Human Rights Abuses [9:36]The Range and Magnitude of the Human Rights Issues Alexa Faces Day to Day [13:10]What the Human Rights Center Does to Prosecute War Criminals and Transform Legislation [15:45]How Alexa Ensures Alignment Among the Different Teams She Works With [18:16]What Sparked Alexa's Book Titled “Graphic” [21:50]What Today's Leaders Need to Do to Support Current Causes [25:40]The Importance of Taking Enough Vacation Time [36:00]Why Organizations Need to Adopt Individual, Cultural, and Structural Shifts to Recharge Employees [36:55]Links:Human Rights Center Website: https://humanrights.berkeley.eduHuman Rights Center on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hrcberkeleyHuman Rights Center on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hrcberkeley/ Human Rights Center on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/human-rights-center-uc-berkeley/ 

Virginia Raymond speaks with Eduardo Canales of the South Texas Human Rights Center about their mission, to end death and suffering on the Texas/Mexico border. “And to this day it continues, and to this day, there's lack of documentation in terms of human rights abuses at borders… the border doesn't mean you don't have any constitutional rights. It doesn't mean you don't have any international human rights under international covenants. But that's the nature over the last 20-25 years in terms of an enforcement-only approach to immigration.” Show notes: To learn more about the work of the South Texas Human Rights Center, please visit: https://southtexashumanrights.org/

Poverty has been decisively found as one the key contributing factors to the brutal 14-year long civil conflict that ravaged Liberia between 1989 to 2003. In June 2011, a research by the HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER of the University of California, Berkeley - School of Law, Poverty was found to be the third most prominent cause of the civil war. The war destroyed the country's systems and infrastructures. It obliterated the access to already struggling public services making them non-existent. Recovery has been a slow gruesome process that might take several decades to achieve, if ever. Liberia journalist Matthew Nyanplu provides insights in how poverty is a governance strategy.

Human Rights students Alisha Zhao and Chloe Stoddard sit down with Dr Adam Kochanski, a post-doctoral fellow at McGill University's Centre for International Peace and Security Studies and a Research Fellow at the Center for Human Rights at Stanford University. Alisha and Chloe ask Adam about his recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle about whether a truth and reconciliation commission could work to address the legacy of racial injustice and oppression in the United States, along with Adam's other research about transitional justice internationally. The views reflected in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the views of the Stanford Center for Human Rights.Show notes:Dr. Adam KochanskiHow a Truth and Reconciliation Commission could work in the US - The San Francisco ChronicleMandating Truth: Patterns and Trends in Truth Commission Design - Human Rights ReviewVideo: Dominant Narratives and the Strategic Framing of Local Transitional Justice with Adam Kochanski, a talk Adam gave to the Human Rights Center in February 2020Pamgaea by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4193-pamgaeaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on Women's Magazine we look at the resistance to the mainstreaming of Pride events in San Francisco and nationally.  We talk to Mary Sue from Gay Shame and artist and activist  Alex I.Unn about the demonstration at SF Pride this year against the presence of police and large corporations and the resistance nationally ,     And Sharon Sobotta talked to the film team of the new documentary Western Sahara: Africa's Last Colony' which they produced in collaboration with the Human Rights Center at UC Berkeley about the women who are resisting the last colony in Africa. The post Police and Corps out of Pride; Women led resistance in Western Sahara appeared first on KPFA.

Health Impacts of Crowd Control Weapons Increasingly Used by Police and Security Forces Around the World.Discussion with Dr. Rohini J. Haar on the main crowd control weapons used by police and security forces and their health impacts and potential lethality. We also discuss the insufficiency of police training in the use of weapons and insufficient regulation of their manufacture leading to unintended injuries, as well as police abuse of weapons. Additionally, we look at the absence of conflict management training of police forces and their increased militarization, increased restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly throughout the world and whether weapons aimed at crowds can ever de-escalate a situation. Rohini co-authored “Lethal in Disguise”, the first paper assessing the injurious effects of crowd control weapons and presented the report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Dr. Haar is a research fellow at the Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley where she teaches a multidisciplinary course on Health and Human Rights. Dr. Haar is also part of the clinical faculty at the Department of Emergency Medicine at Highland General Hospital and the Kaiser Medical Center in Oakland, California.For More Info: https://thegravity.fm/#/episode/9

In May 2010, New York prosecutors issued an extradition request for Jamaican Kingpin Christopher Coke – gangster to some, local hero to others. The search for Coke triggered a government crackdown on the neighborhood of Tivoli Gardensin Kingston, leaving 73 civilians dead in a span of just a few days. Their families continue to fight for justice and accountability, despite Jamaica's long record of police violence and government corruption. Today we bring you a documentary on police violence in Jamaica. Special thanks to Jamaicans for Justice and University of California at Berkeley's Human Rights Center and the European Union. Featuring: Paulette Wellington, Mother of Sheldon Wellington, Earl Witter, Jamaican Public Defender, Carolyn Gomes, Jamaicans for Justice, Susan Goffe, Jamaicans for Justice, Monica Williams, mother of Jason Smith and Activist, and Dr. Ademola Odunfa, Kingston Hospital *For More Information:* Jamaicans for Justice http://www.jamaicansforjustice.org/ Jamaica Human Rights http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/americas/jamaica Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Jamaica http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/English/2010/55-10eng.htm *Articles and Books:* Jamaica must tackle shocking wave of police killings http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/jamaica-must-tackle-shocking-wave-police-killings-2012-03-08 A Case Built in New York Against a Jamaican Kingpin http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/world/americas/27coke.html?ref=americas Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Jamaica Report: http://www.cidh.oas.org/Comunicados/English/2008/59.08eng.htm Amnesty International Report 2003 – Jamaica http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,AMNESTY,ANNUALREPORT,JAM,,3edb47d810,0.html Amnesty International May 27, 2010, calling for an investigation: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/jamaica-violence-investigation-must-be-thorough-2010-05-27 Jamaican Forces Accused of Killing Unarmed Men, New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/world/americas/03jamaica.html January Jamaica Gleaner article on Witter's investigations: http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=25797 ______________________________ _________________ The post Making Contact – Seeking Justice and Police Accountability in Jamaica (Encore) appeared first on KPFA.