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Senator Dick Durbin to Discuss Human Rights at Northwestern Law

April 03, 2015

US Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., will deliver an address on human rights legislation at Northwestern University School of Law. The speech will be held Wednesday, April 8 at 4 p.m. in Lincoln Hall.

At the event, sponsored by the Bluhm Legal Clinic’s Center for International Human Rights (CIHR) and the Northwestern University Human Rights Project, Durbin will discuss his work on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on The Constitution, focusing specifically on federal legislation targeting human rights abuses.  

Elected in 1996, Senator Durbin is in his fourth term as the 47th US Senator from the State of Illinois. He is the second highest ranking Senate Democrat and sits on the Judiciary, Appropriations, and Rules Committees, as well as a number of subcommittees. As the former chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights (now the Subcommittee on The Constitution) and a longtime champion of international criminal justice, Senator Durbin has authored several laws giving the government more authority to prosecute human rights violators. His talk will include reflections on landmark human rights legislation he has authored, including the Genocide Accountability Act, the Child Soldiers Accountability Act, the proposed Crimes Against Humanity Act, and human trafficking legislation.

“Senator Durbin’s career has been hallmarked by his dedication to international human rights and the rule of law at home and around the world,” said Juliet Sorensen, a clinical associate professor of law with the CIHR.

The CIHR, part of the Bluhm Legal Clinic, provides a comprehensive range of classroom courses on international human rights, criminal, and humanitarian law. Led by David Scheffer, the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law and former US Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues, the center also provides valuable clinical experiences and research opportunities for students interested in the protection of human rights on a global scale.