2025-2026 Drinan Chair Agnieszka Fryszman Named 2025 Honoree at Pillars of Justice Awards
September 9, 2025Read the announcement here.
News
Georgetown Law’s Human Rights Institute, IJDH, and BAI Submit Joint UN Filings Calling for Reparatory Justice for Haiti’s “Independence Debt”
HRI, IJDH, and BAI have jointly made two significant submissions to the United Nations—one to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and another to the UN Secretary-General—calling for reparatory justice for Haiti in light of the enduring impacts of Transatlantic Chattel Slavery and colonialism, with a particular focus on the so-called “Independence Debt” imposed on Haiti by France in 1825.
Recent News
Agnieszka Fryszman, L’96, Named Georgetown Law’s 2025-26 Drinan Chair in Human Rights
September 2, 2025 Original ContentGeorgetown Law announced today that Agnieszka Fryszman, L’96, one of the nation’s preeminent human rights litigators and founder of the Human Rights practice at Cohen Milstein, has been appointed the 2025–2026 Robert F. Drinan, S.J., Chair in Human Rights.
US reduces rights criticisms of US-allied nations
August 14, 2025 Print & Online News ClipsHRI Distinguished Fellow Scott Busby interviewed by Deutsche Welle about the State Department’s recently released human rights reports. Watch the interview here (Box download)
Launch of a People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan before the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal
July 31, 2025A coalition of Afghan civil society organizations is proud to announce the launch of a People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan before the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT), a groundbreaking initiative to address the impunity around gender persecution in Afghanistan.
Interview: ‘Don’t wait for the UN to act’ - Civil society urged to build new institutions
July 30, 2025 Print & Online News ClipsElisa Massimino, Visiting Professor of Law and Executive Director of Georgetown's Human Rights Institute, has urged civil society organisations to be creative and build new institutions in the face of the inaction of the United Nations and other international organisations as human rights decline globally.
HRI joins Haitian and other civil society activists to demand restitution for Haiti from France
July 29, 2025 Original ContentIn July 2025, approximately 200 years after the imposition of the so-called “Independence Debt,” the Human Rights Institute joined over sixty human rights organizations, including the Kolectif Ayisyen Afwodesandan (KAAD), and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), in sending an open letter to French officials demanding urgent repayment of the “debt.”
ICC punts on shoring up ‘crime of aggression’ prosecution
July 9, 2025 Print & Online News ClipsHRI Executive Director Elisa Massimino quoted in Courthouse News Service.
Jane Stromseth, Francis Cabell Brown Professor of International Law and HRI Faculty Advisor, Retires from Georgetown Law
May 14, 2025Former HRI Director Jane Stromseth has retired from Georgetown Law after 34 years of teaching.
Historic Climate Justice Petition Heads to African Court: Civil Society Seeks Landmark Advisory Opinion
May 2, 2025 Print & Online News ClipsARUSHA, Tanzania – In an unprecedented legal initiative, a coalition of African civil society groups is preparing to submit a historic petition to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights seeking an Advisory Opinion on the human rights obligations of African states in the context of the climate crisis.
Georgetown Law’s Human Rights Institute, IJDH, and BAI Submit Joint UN Filings Calling for Reparatory Justice for Haiti’s “Independence Debt”
May 2, 2025 Original ContentWASHINGTON, D.C. — The Human Rights Institute (HRI) at Georgetown Law, the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), and the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) have jointly made two significant submissions to the United Nations—one…