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The Human Rights Program (HRP) at the University of Minnesota educates students by connecting them with academic and real-world experience in the field of international human rights. The program serves as a connection between the University’s students and faculty and the greater human rights community.

Human Rights in the Classroom
The Human Rights Program provides opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to take classes and to conduct research in the field of human rights. Students have an opportunity to study with many widely-recognized human rights scholars who also serve as members of the Human Rights Program’s Advisory Board.

Additionally, the HRP created a Human Rights Minor for graduate students that provides an interdisciplinary foundation in human rights studies and practical experience in human rights advocacy.

Human Rights in Action
The Human Rights Program assists students to find meaningful work experiences in human rights organizations. We provide direct placement in NGOs and also offer a web-based
database of human rights internships in Minnesota and around the world. The HRP helps coordinate more than 50 graduate and undergraduate internships each year with organizations such as:

• Amnesty International
• American Refugee Committee
• Books for Africa
• Center for Victims of Torture
• Hoste Hainse, Nepal
• The Innocence Project
• Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
• International Organization for Migration
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
• Resource Center of the Americas
• United Nations Association of MN
• WATCH

Human Rights and the Community
The Human Rights Programs brings together the University and the human rights communities to address critical human rights issues. In the past two years, we have:

• Held a regional conference “Midwest Voice for Human Rights” in November 2004 which brought together human rights leaders from the Midwest region to discuss common areas of concern – the detention of immigrants; conditions in domestic detention facilities; economic, social and cultural rights; and human rights education.

• Hosted the Fall 2004 speaker series “Behind Bars: U.S. Detention Practices Here and Abroad” which featured Sir Nigel Rodley, Major Michael Mori, Joe Margulies, and Jamie Fellner discussing the use of torture and conditions at detention facilities abroad and within the United States

• Hosted the visit of Judge Thomas Buergenthal, the U.S. member of the International Court of Justice, to receive an honorary degree in May 2003

• Hosted policy discussions between activists and academics on topics including “Human Rights in the Post-9/11 World” and “The Effect of U.S. Unilateralism on Human Rights Advocacy.”

• Co-sponsored International Women’s Day, an annual event that brings together more than 400 students, faculty, human rights activists and the public for workshops and performances on women’s human rights issues