HRC students' resolution declaring that "freedom from domestic violence is a fundamental human right" is approved by Miami-Dade County Commission.
Read a Miami Herald op-ed co-authored by HRC student Michael Stevenson and Commissioner Sally Heyman about the resolution. For a Miami Law story about the resolution, click here.
The U.N.'s Independent Expert on human rights in Haiti, as well as UM Clinics and South Florida immigration advocates, have renewed their call on the United States, Dominican Republic and others to halt deportations to Haiti. To learn more, click on the links below.
Click here to learn more about Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States
The Human Rights Clinic exposes students to the practice of law in the international and cross-cultural context of human rights litigation and advocacy.
Through an intensive critical seminar, students examine the actors, subjects, and tools of the human rights movement, as well as critiques coming from left and right. Specifically, the seminar considers the evolution of the human rights movement, how to locate litigation in human rights work, the difficulties in applying 'traditional' human rights methodology beyond the civil and political rights context, the developing human rights movement in the United States, and economic issues that arise in human rights norms and analysis.
The critical seminar lays out an analytic framework for much of the course, and it is combined with a skills seminar, which introduces students to specially-tailored exercises to familiarize them with international human rights practice. In addition, guest speakers will cover both substantive themes in human rights and provide guidance in skills-oriented exercises.
In the seminar, students participate in exercises and discussions that develop fundamental lawyering and advocacy skills including:
To bridge theory and practice, the Human Rights Clinic provides students with hands-on experience working on active human rights cases and projects. Students apply and test the skills-training and critical examinations imparted through classroom instruction and simulations in the context of real-world advocacy. Working in partnership with experienced attorneys and institutions engaged in human rights activism, both in the United States and abroad, students contribute to effecting positive change locally and globally as they hone their professional skills.
Clinic projects cover the full range of human rights advocacy, though in particular, projects will focus on:
Duration: One-Semester Clinic (Fall 2012)
Credits: 6
Enrollment*: For Fall 2012, the clinic will accept 6-8 J.D. (2L & 3L) students and 1-2 LL.M. students.
Prerequisites: Commitment to social justice and human rights advocacy. Completion or concurrent enrollment in a basic human rights or international law course is expected.
Time Requirements: This clinic entails a very substantial time commitment in addition to the time spent preparing for and attending class. Clinic class meets for one hour and fifty minutes, twice weekly. Students are expected to spend approximately 15-18 hours per week on clinic project/case work.
Contact Information: For questions, contact clinicapplication@law.miami.edu.
Rose Dominguez
Paralegal
(305) 284-4542
rdominguez@law.miami.edu
Mary Cruz
Legal Assistant
(305) 284-1685
mcruz1@law.miami.edu
* Students may not withdraw from the Human Rights Clinic once they have accepted, absent permission from the Clinic Director.
Caroline Bettinger-López, former Deputy Director of the Human Rights Institute and Acting Director of the Human Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, has joined Miami Law to run the Human Rights Clinic. Read more
Read article about Carrie Bettinger-López and the Human Rights Clinic

Learn more about Human Rights opportunities at Miami Law.
The ACLU delivers a statement on behalf of several groups at UNHRC urging US government to refrain from deporting Haitians (July 4, 2012)
Professor Caroline Bettinger-Lopez discusses the Miami Law Clinics' work on deportations to Haiti on Pacifica Radio (January 12, 2012)
Miami Law's Human Rights Clinic and Haitian Women of Miami Urge End to Haiti Deportations (June 6, 2012)
HRC student Liam McGivern Awarded Skadden Fellowship (December 27, 2011)
U.S. Deportees to Haiti Face Horrific Conditions (November 13, 2011)
Learn more about the Gender Justice Convening co-hosted by HRC in February 2011.
Learn more about Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States

The Immigration Clinic and the Human Rights Clinic began a collaborative effort to halt deportations to Haiti in view of the ongoing effects of the January 2010 earthquake, the cholera epidemic, and political unrest. Read more about this project.
View our Congressional briefing flyer (March 2012) with the latest updates on Haitian deportations.

In Fall 2011, the Human Rights Clinic began working on the issue of Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls in Canada with Canadian partner organizations the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) and the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA). Read more about this project.
View the clinic's briefing paper to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for our thematic hearing on March 28, 2012 on Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women and Girls in British Columbia, Canada.
View the video of the March 28, 2012 IACHR Thematic Hearing
Read a Miami Law article about the Human Rights Clinic's trip to Washington, DC
See photos of the Human Rights Clinic in action on Flickr.

Miami Law Human Rights Clinic students with Professor Bettinger-López

Miami Law Human Rights Clinic students Lea Dartevelle and Miya Patel discuss the plight of Haitian deportees from the U.S. with a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) at UNHCR headquarters in Washington, DC.

A Columbia Law School Human Rights Clinic student and lawyer from the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) interview a client in Anse-a-Pitre, Haiti concerning his human rights case against the Dominican government for mass expulsions of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent.

Migrant farmworkers celebrate after Whole Foods Markets, the leading natural and organic foods supermarket, announced that two of Florida's largest organic tomato growers, Lady Moon Farms and Alderman Farms, agreed to implement the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' (CIW) "penny-per-pound" program designed to improve wages for tomato harvesters. (June 2009, from http://www.nesri.org)

Haitian women marching through the streets of Port-au-Prince, demanding human rights for all.

Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign Activists Call for Bold New Year's Resolution - Zero Evictions in 2010 (from http://www.nesri.org)