Congratulations to 2010 Advocate Bakary Tandia who was one of 27 leaders and organizations honored by the New York City Police Department Community Affairs Bureau for their continued support to the immigrant community and for helping the New Immigrant Outreach Unit in improving community relations throughout the city.

Congratulations to 2000 Advocate Adrian Relu Coman who recently joined the Arcus Foundation as director of its international human rights program. For more information, please visit the Arcus Foundation's press release.

ISHR is proud to release the 2012 HRAP report.

2011 Advocate Elvis Mbembe Binda, the President and co-founder of Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights (IPHR), reported that the staff from the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham University visited Rwanda to explore the possibility of cooperation with IPHR on a project on the rights of disabled people in Rwanda.

Congratulations to 2008 Advocate Dr. Roger Luhiriri who has been named the executive director of Spine Africa Project. For more information please see the press release.

2003 Advocate Patricia Guerrero is one of two women recently chosen by more than 50 organizations and networks of female grassroots activists to the National Peace Council, a multi-sector advisory council charged with finding a lasting and sustainable peace for Colombia. The official announcement from the council said that their election "is a real asset to the voice of women, and victims of domestic violence, to be heard and amplified in that scenario."

Patricia is the founder and director of Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas (LMD) an independent, nonprofit organization that advocates for the restitution of the fundamental rights which displaced women do not have because of the armed conflict in Colombia. As a lawyer committed to the defense of human rights, she represents the organization in front of the Inter American Commission on Human Rights and the Colombian Government. She directs the international outreach of the organization, which belongs to international networks such as the Global Network for Women´s Peace Builders, the Association for Women´s Rights in Development and the Meso-American Women's Human Rights Defenders' Network. Her relentless advocacy on behalf of the rights of Colombian women takes place both at the national and international levels. She is on the Advisory Committee of the International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict, which is led by the Peace Laureates of the Nobel Women´s Initiative. The Advisory Committee is comprised of 25 organizations working at the international, regional, and community levels to stop rape in conflict. Please see www.stoprapeinconflict.org for more information.

2010 Advocate Bakary Tandia sent ISHR the following report on the International Colloquium of Human Rights which was held in Brazil recently.

XII. International Colloquium of Human Rights
October 13-20, 2012
Sao Paulo, Brazil

Innovation in Human Rights: Rethinking Agendas & Strategies in the Global South

The International Human Rights Conference took place on October 13-20, 2012 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It brought together about 100 participants, including human rights activists and scholars and members of civil society from 39 countries of the global south. The purpose of this annual conference is to give viable space to human rights activists from the global south to discuss the challenges they face and to creatively design strategies to effectively address such challenges. It was an unparalleled opportunity for activists to network among themselves and to share their experiences. More importantly, it gives the opportunity to emerging leaders in the field of human rights to hone their skills by interacting with well experienced human rights activists and leading human rights scholars.

2008 Advocate Peter Mulbah of Liberia is the first HRAP alumnus to be invited to attend the Clinton Global Initiative. ISHR Director of Capacity Building Stephanie V. Grepo met with Peter during the 2012 CGI.

Initiatives for Peace and Human Rights, an organization in Rwanda led by 2011 Advocate Elvis Mwebe Binda, is featured in this video prepared by the Washington, DC-based Advocacy Project:

For Immediate Release
Aug. 2, 2012

Contact:
Stephanie V. Grepo, Director, Capacity Building Programs
email: sg2670@columbia.edu

New York, NY — On Monday, August 27^th, the Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) at Columbia University will welcome nine human rights activists as the 24th cohort of the Human Rights Advocates Program (HRAP).

Congratulations to 1996 Advocate Twesigye Jackson Kaguri who has been recognized as a CNN HERO for The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project. Please view the CNN video at: http://www.nyakaschool.org/ and support Twesigye by connecting with Nyaka on Facebook, Twitter and/or LinkedIn.

Congratulations to 2008 Advocate Peter Mulbah of Liberia who has been invited to join the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).  Membership includes one invitation to attend the 2012 Annual Meeting, September 23 – 25 in New York City.
 
CGI was created by President Clinton in 2005 in an effort to translate ideas into action. The Annual Meeting brings together heads of state, government and business leaders, scholars, and NGO directors. Participants analyze pressing global challenges, discuss the most effective solutions, and build lasting partnerships that enable them to create positive social change.

2012 Advocate Sabrina Mahtani’s piece on the Charles Taylor case is available on the New Internationalist Blog.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia has nominated 1992 Advocate Benedict Sannoh  for the post of Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Justice, subject to confirmation by the Liberian Senate.

ISHR bid farewell to its Human Rights Advocates, who returned to their home countries at the end of the semester. Pictured here (left to right) are advocates Hasina Khan and Salima Namusobya.