Human Rights Institute

The Human Rights Institute is the focal point of human rights at Georgetown Law.

Our mission

"The Institute aims to make Georgetown Law the premier training academy for the next generation of human rights advocates by providing them with the intellectual foundation, the real world experience, and the practical skills necessary to be effective in today’s challenging environment."

Georgetown Law Students Advocate for the Protection of Uyghur Refugees

May 6, 2024

On April 16th, a group of Georgetown Law students was invited to the United States Capitol for a reception launching a revitalized Congressional Uyghur Caucus. This opportunity to convene with the Co-Chairs of the caucus, other Members of Congress, and the Uyghur activist community came on the heels of months of student advocacy for the protection of Uyghur refugees under the guidance of leaders of the Human Rights Institute.

HRI Hosts Annual Dash Conference with Alfred Brownell as Keynote Speaker

April 9, 2024

Every day, environmental activists around the world put their lives and safety on the line to protect and promote our universal human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. It is vital and—sadly—dangerous work.

Featuring a keynote speech from 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize winner Alfred Brownell, the conference gathered activists and lawyers from around the world to discuss current and emerging threats against defenders, ending corporate attacks, and how to advance laws and policies to protect defenders.

HRI Deputy Director Michelle Liu Gives Keynote Address at 2024 Human Rights Summit

March 15, 2024

On March 15, 2024, the Human Rights Institute and Hoyas for Human Rights, an undergraduate student club on the Hilltop Campus, co-hosted the 2024 Human Rights Summit. This year's Summit theme was "Working Towards Justice: Human Rights in the 21st Century."

Sharing a bit about her personal journey to a human rights career and advice for students in her keynote, Michelle Liu stated that “human rights work is difficult, time-consuming, and prone to set-backs—and that’s in the best of times. Passion is the fuel that keeps you going.”

Alumni Profile

Katie Shay (L’12) is the Director of the Business and Human Rights Program at Cisco Systems, Inc., a technology company that designs and sells a broad range of technologies that power the Internet across networking, security, collaboration, applications, and the cloud to customers across the globe. Katie leads a team at Cisco that works to embed respect for human rights throughout Cisco’s global operations and manage compliance with human rights-related regulations.

Read about Katie's career journey

Featured Job Opportunities

Contact Info

Human Rights Institute

500 1st Street, NW Washington, D.C.

humanrightsinstitute@georgetown.edu

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