The event featured the release of a new HRI report on the protection of the human rights of migrant children in Southern Mexico as well as a discussion of changes in U.S. law, policy and practice that could enhance rights protections in the Americas.

2015 Conference Program:

Welcome Remarks

Andrew I. Schoenholtz, Professor from Practice & Director, Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute

Ian M. Kysel, Dash/Muse Fellow & Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute

Panel I: Immigration Enforcement Practices in Southern Mexico and Migrant Children’s Access to International Protection

The migration of children and families in the Americas, and in particular in and through Central America, raises important questions about the protection of human rights. In January, HRI sent a team to Mexico and Guatemala to investigate the protection of migrant children apprehended by Mexican immigration authorities. Our first panel will feature a presentation of findings regarding the protection of the human rights of migrant children in Southern Mexico.

Andres Echevarria, Noah Gimbel, Lindsey Keiser, Odile Leonard, Mary Nelson, Aileen Nguyen, Nicholas Stefaniak, Members of the Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute Fact-Finding Project

Keynote Address

Francois Crépeau, McGill University Hans and Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants

Panel II: U.S. Law, Policy & Practice and Access to Humanitarian Protection in the Americas

The United States provides significant bilateral and multilateral assistance throughout the Americas, including assistance that directly or indirectly relates to both the management of migration as well as the protection of human and migrants’ rights. Our second panel will feature a discussion of changes in U.S. law, policy and practice that could ensure that such assistance contributes to enhancing access to humanitarian protection in the Americas.

Shaina Aber, Policy Director, National Advocacy Office, Jesuit Conference, The Society of Jesus in the United States and Canada

Bill Frelick, Director, Refugee Rights Program, Human Rights Watch Ronald L. Newman, Director for Human Rights & Refugee Protection, U.S. National Security Council

Shelly Pitterman, Regional Representative, Regional Office for the U.S. and the Caribbean, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Jennifer Podkul, Senior Program Officer, Migrant Rights and Justice, Program, Women’s Refugee Commission & Adjunct Professor of Law

Ian M. Kysel (Moderator), Dash/Muse Fellow & Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute

Closing Remarks

Andrew I. Schoenholtz, Professor from Practice & Director, Georgetown Law Human Rights Institute