After more than a year of planning, Northwestern is preparing to host its first Student Conference on Human Rights for April 23 to 25.
The conference will bring together student delegates and guest speakers from across the nation for panel lectures and group discussions on human rights issues.
The event will include a simulation where delegates can apply their new skills and knowledge to a human rights crisis. The deadline to apply for one of the 60 student delegate positions is Dec. 1.
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke will deliver the keynote address April 23. Holbrooke formerly served as President Clinton’s assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian affairs and as ambassador to the United Nations.
The conference will focus on post-Jimmy Carter era U.S. foreign policy regarding human rights. Topics addressed in the discussions will include the United States’ role in international law, nonintervention, and human rights issues concerning women, gays and lesbians.
Sponsored by the American Studies Program and other university departments, the conference was coordinator Jennifer Manne’s idea. Manne, a Weinberg junior, attended a similarly structured conference at Stanford University on Russia-U.S. relations.
American Studies Director Nicola Beisel guided Manne to study human rights. As student coordinators, Manne and Timothy Mulvey, a Weinberg junior, have led the conference.
Manne said she admits it is difficult to interest NU students in social issues, but she hopes many students will attend the conference. She said she especially hopes students majoring in departments relating to human rights and U.S. foreign policy will participate.
Because of the importance of human rights in U.S. foreign policy, people need to be aware of the “differences in what we are doing and what we should be doing as a country that’s supposed to be leading in this area,” Manne said.
Student volunteers are needed to lead group discussions and interact with leading human rights professors and social policy makers.
Volunteers will meet in University Hall room 418 every Tuesday at 9 p.m. to discuss logistics and to learn about the topics of the conference.
