Seminar on Human Rights and Mass Atrocities

Famine Memorial, Custom House Quay, Ireland

Human rights abuses are, despite the existence of human rights treaties and human rights monitoring bodies, being committed in different parts of the world on a rapidly evolving scale. Mass atrocities are generally understood as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, but many other human rights abuses are committed in conflict-affected contexts. There is a range of responses to these abuses, particularly by national and international actors, constituting international criminal justice and transitional justice.

Against the background of the diverse human rights summer schools and themes, this seminar’s purpose is to add the view of human rights practitioners and academics on human rights mass atrocities through the lens of cinema, disability, trafficked persons, climate change, indigenous people and the Third World Approaches to International Law. By doing so, the seminar aims to move away from the mainstream academic discussion and accentuate the diversity of international human rights narratives and perspectives in order to explore the seminar’s theme.

Speakers include:

  • Regina Paulose (International Criminal Law Attorney and Co-Chair of the Seminar, USA)
  • Dr. Thamil Venthan Ananthavinayagan (Lecturer Griffith College Dublin and Co-Chair of the Seminar, Ireland)
  • Dr. Zoi Aliozi (Human rights lawyer, Greece)
  • Dr. Amina Adanan (Lecturer NUI Maynooth, Ireland)
  • Front Line Defenders (Dublin, Ireland) Ghazali Ohorella (Member of Indigenous Alifuru people of South – Maluku) )
  • Jordan Lesser (Legal Counsel, NY Legislative Assembly, USA)
  • David Matas (International human rights lawyer, Canada)
  • Alan Collins (Solicitor, Hugh James, UK )
  • Dr. Narissa Rasmundar (Senior Lecturer Canterbury Christ Church University, United Kingdom)
  • Dr. Delia Ferri (Lecturer NUI Maynooth, Ireland)

The seminar will be convened at Griffith College Dublin, Ireland from 19th to 21st of June 2019. The regular registration fee is €250. Other rates apply for Griffith College alumni, students and members of the Washington Bar Association. The registration fee includes all conference materials, refreshments, and the book launch of Dr. Thamil Venthan Ananthavinayagan publication Sri Lanka, United Nations and Human Rights – a Scrutiny into the International Human Rights Engagement with a Third World State . The closing date for registrations is 8 June 2019.

US Attorneys may request 17.25 law and practice credits for this seminar. (Washington attorneys have been approved for 17.25 CLE credits.)

Register here using the following reference: Seminar on Mass Atrocities and Human Rights Law at Griffith College – 3008758

  • Regular registration fee: €250
  • Registration per day: €50
  • GCD students and alumni: €75
  • WPTL Section Members: €200

Group bookings upon request.

Please note: Rooms on the campus of Griffith College Dublin are available and can be booked separately.

Should you have any queries regarding group bookings and room bookings etc, please e-mail [email protected].

Preliminary Schedule

Day One 19 June 2019  
8:30 - 9:00 Registration/Coffee  
9:00 - 10:30 Human Rights Atrocities in Cinema Dr. Zoi Aliozi (Greece)
10:30 - 10:45 Break  
10:45 - 12:15 Rights of People With Disabilities Dr. Delia Ferri (Maynooth University, Ireland)
12:15 - 13:30 Lunch  
13:30 - 14:45 Evidential Challenges in the Prosecution of Genocide Dr. Narissa Rasmundar (Trinidad)
14:45 - 15:00 Break  
15:00 - 16:30 TWAIL Workshop Part One

Dr. Thamil Venthan Ananthavinayagan (Griffith College Dublin)

18:00 - 21:00 Historical Tour and Book Launch  Griffith Law Faculty (Griffith College Dublin) 

Evening program will include the book launch of 'Sri Lanka, Human Rights and the United Nations. A Scrutiny into the International Human Rights Engagement with a Third World State' and a historical guided tour. 

Day Two 20 June 2019  
9:00 - 10:30 Starving for Justice: Famine as a Mass Atrocity Crime Regina Paulose (USA)
10:30 - 10:45 Break  
10:45 - 12:15 Child Sex Crimes Alan Collins (UK)
12:15 - 13:30 Lunch  
13:30 - 14:45 Trafficking of Body Parts: Body Plastination David Matas (Canada)
15:00 - 16:30 TWAIL Workshop Part Two Dr. Thamil Venthan Ananthavinayagan (Griffith College Dublin)

 

Day Three 21 June 2019  
9:00 - 10:30 Universal Jurisdiction Dr. Amina Adnan (Maynooth University, Ireland)
10:30 - 10:45 Break  
10:45 - 12:15 Wildlife Crimes Jordan Lesser (USA) (Legal Counsel, NY Legislative Assembly)
12:15 - 13:30  Lunch  
13:30 - 14:45 Indigenous Rights and Climate Change Ghazali Ohorella (Ulifuru Peoples, Pacific Islands)
14:45 - 15:00 Break  
15:00 - 16:30 Ensuring a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders Front Line Defenders 

 

Learn more about the law faculty at Griffith College

Famine Memorial, Custom House Quay, Ireland