On Thursday, Nov. 21, Professors Juan Mendez and Brenda Smith headed to Capitol Hill to participate in a congressional staff briefing on “Solitary Confinement: Briefing on H.R. 4488.” This recently introduced legislation focuses on developing and implementing national standards for the use of solitary confinement in federal correctional facilities.

Professor Juan Mendez recently participated in litigation in Canada challenging the federal rules on solitary confinement. Professor Mendez served as an expert witness on several cases, including Reddock v. Canada, which alleges that the Federal Government of Canada breached its obligations under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its duty of care when it subjected inmates to administrative segregation and prolonged solitary confinement.

Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and Program on Law and Government cordially invite you to join the celebration of the legacy and success of Professor Schwartz, who has dedicated his career to expanding civil rights internationally along with the developing a new generation of attorneys dedicated to justice. This day long symposium honors the contributions Professor Schwartz has made to the legal community, as well as discuss the progress made in civil and human rights over the past 50 years.

The Syrian Initiative to Combat Sexual and Gender-Based Violence is a partnership between local Syrian civil society organizations and American University Washington College of Law that aims to fight impunity and eliminate SGBV in Syria. Acknowledging the complexity of SGBV and being aware of its cultural sensitivity, the initiative is designed as an interdisciplinary programmatic plan to address the root causes of SGBV in Syria. Its plan primarily focuses on fighting the negative societal attitudes towards SGBV survivors that keep them confined to a cage of fear, unable to report the despicable crimes perpetrated against them.

American University Washington College of Law's Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law hosted its 20th Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law May 28-June 14, welcoming participants from over 20 different countries.

The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law proudly hosts the 24th Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition at the WCL Tenley Campus from May 19 - 24, 2019. The topic for this year's competition is "The Protection of Migrants under International Human Rights Law."

On April 11, American University Washington College of Law welcomed United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to campus.

On November 5, the American University Washington College of Law’s (AUWCL) International Law Student Association, along with Dean Emeritus Claudio Grossman, member of the International Law Commission (ILC), hosted distinguished guests from around the world to exchange ideas on the topic of “Reparation to Individuals for Violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law.”  

American University Washington College of Law’s Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, in conjunction with the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria Law School, the Network of Latin American Scholars on Gender, Sexuality and the Law ALAS, and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, presented a two-day conference in Mexico City, Mexico this week to discuss issues of sexual and gender based violence.