| WCL
students take hands-on role during U.N. Committee Against Torture
meeting
Photo courtesy
of Jennifer de Laurentiis
WCL
students stand in front of a U.N. building in Geneva, where
they assisted Dean Claudio Grossman last month. From left,
students Sheku Sheikholeslami, Darrell Chichester, Kelleen
Corrigan, special assistant to the dean Jennifer De Laurentiis,
Dean Grossman, Ellee Walker, Julia Graff, and Jennifer Lewis.
|
BY
MIKE UNGER After
standing before the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT)
and reporting on the state of human rights in their country, members
of an Argentine delegation of diplomats were asked what measures
prison officials have taken to ensure that detained members of sexual
minorities do not face abuse from guards or other prisoners. The
authors of this question were not high-ranking U.N. officials or
international experts on torture, but rather Washington College
of Law students Julia Graff and Jennifer Lewis. They were two of
six WCL students Dean Claudio Grossman, a member of the U.N. committee,
took with him to Geneva, Switzerland, last month for the first half
of the two-week hearings. “For
all of us, we have an interest in human rights, and the ultimate
body in the world in terms of human rights is the U.N.,” said
Darrell Chichester, a second-year WCL student. “To be able
to take part was a great opportunity.” The
students were more than just interested observers. After selecting
them, Grossman assigned each to a nation’s case. States that
signed the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment must present a self-study every
four years to UNCAT, which then issues a report that includes recommendations
for improvement. For months prior to the November trip, the students
researched the human rights records of Argentina, Greece, and the
United Kingdom, focusing on issues such as prison conditions, human
trafficking, and citizen deaths while in governmental custody. They
drafted questions, which Grossman asked of the delegations, and
recommendations that were included in the committee’s final
reports.
During
the course of their research, second-year students Sheku Sheikholeslami
and Ellee Walker discovered a total lack of sanitation systems in
many prisons in a place where few would think they would be lacking:
Scotland. “If
you let it go on in the U.K., it’s going to go on in the rest
of the world,” Walker said. “It’s important that
they set the standard.” This
was the first time Grossman has taken students with him to an UNCAT
meeting, which are staged just twice a year. “If
I have an opportunity to provide experiential learning for our students,
I will do it,” he said. “I
hope they learned about international law and strengthened their
belief that within the legal profession, they can make a difference
in the lives of individuals and change reality if they choose to
do so.” In
Geneva the students were exposed not only to the power the international
community’s spotlight can have on improving human rights, but
to the lumbering bureaucracy of the United Nations, which often
is charged with shining that light. “The
committee would spend a lot of precious time addressing procedural
matters instead of substantive issues,” Sheikholeslami said.
“There were things you wouldn’t expect, like members of
the committee getting reports the night before the meeting. I learned
an extraordinary amount about the U.N.’s human rights system.
It really is the only system in place that on a global level monitors
human rights violations. Its weakness is that it has no enforcement,
really.” While
there wasn’t a lot of time for sightseeing, the students did
enjoy a fondue dinner with a group of about 10 AU alumni. “We
really had a wonderful time with [each other],” Sheikholeslami
said. “I think it’s really rare in law school where you
have the time to get to know and socialize with your peers [with
whom] you have the same interests. Having the one-on-one time with
the dean is very valuable also. We discussed legal issues but we
also got to hear his stories.” Several
of the students said the experience will affect how they fashion
their law careers. “If
I were to be working in the U.N. system, I would have a really good
understanding of how to work effectively in that system,” Sheikholeslami
said. “You
wouldn’t be able to do this at any school other than AU and
WCL,” Walker said. “[Dean Grossman is the only] American
on the committee.” |
