Patrick Keenan
Assistant Professor & Corman Family Scholar
Director, International Human Rights Clinic
The goal of the International Human Rights Clinic is to help students develop skills required for legal practice in an international context while promoting human rights and development in Africa. Working in collaboration with international non-governmental organizations and human rights lawyers in Africa, students will have the opportunity to develop their skills in case strategy and development; legal research, writing, and editing; written and oral advocacy; critical thinking; counseling; and cross-cultural lawyering.
Expanding Access to Justice. The Human Rights Clinic collaborated with a law school clinic in East Africa to develop a strategic plan to expand their operation to the entire country. At the legal clinic, third year law students provide free legal advice and assistance to indigent people with legal problems. The Legal Clinic serves only the people in the area around the university but wishes to expand the availability of its services.
Trade Union Constitution: The Human Rights Clinic collaborated with a non-governmental organization in East Africa to draft a model constitution for use by trade unions in that country. The model constitution has been provided to unions across the country and helped to form the basis for reforms in anticipation of union elections.
Community Policing: The Human Rights Clinic collaborated with a non-governmental organization in East Africa on a report outlining the best practices for community policing from jurisdictions around the world. Students also created an assessment tool for community leaders to use to evaluate the effectiveness of a community policing program.
Trade Policy: The Human Rights Clinic collaborated with a non-governmental organization in East Africa to analyze the impact of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act on the protection of human rights and outline strategies and amendments to the statute to enhance the its effectiveness in promoting and protecting human rights.
One team of students is working with a Ugandan lawyer and human rights activist to develop model HIV/AIDS legislation for East Africa. Students are focusing on the impact of HIV and AIDS on the workplace.
Clinic students worked with a Gambian human rights organization on a case seeking compensation for a group of widows whose husbands lost their lives at the hands of a West African government. The victims were black army officers killed in a wave of violence and repression against the black population of the country.
Other students worked with a consortium of refugee organizations based in West Africa to develop materials for African refugee advocates. Students wrote profiles of the refugee situation in each country in West Africa, including information on refugee law and practice, details of where refugees can obtain protection and assistance, and an assessment of key challenges in each country.
Globalization on the Ground
Kilonzo
Manasseh
Narok
