2012 News Archive

In the list below, click the date to go to the related news story.

	December 24: Marcos Ferreiro, MPA 12, publishes "Blurring of Lines in Complex Emergencies: Consequences for the Humanitarian Community" in the December 2012 issue of The Journal of Humanitarian Assistance. Mr. Ferreiro's PAE work, upon which the article was based, was sponsored by the Carr Center.
	December 19: The Economist, In this recent interview, Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara discusses his research, explains why bonded labor is modern slavery, and talks about his latest book "Bonded Labor: Tackling the System of Slavery in South Asia."
	November 28: Carr Center Fellow Felisa Tibbitts will be facilitating a session and presenting in two human rights-related side events at the Council of Europe conference "Human Rights and Democracy in Action - Looking Ahead" in Strasbourg, France.
	November 28: Siddharth Kara, Carr Center Fellow working on human trafficking, testifies before a U.S. congressional hearing, organized by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, investigating "International Human Trafficking and Forced Labor."
	November 19: KRUU Radio, "Speaking Freely with Dennis Raimondi", Timothy Patrick McCarthy, director of the Sexuality, Gender and Human Rights Program, discusses the future of the LGBTQ movement in the United States and globally, in this radio interview with host Dennis Raimondi.
	November 9: Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara presents the keynote address at Yale University's Gilder Lehrman Center's 14th Annual International Conference, "Abolition, Past and Present: Scholars, Activists, and the Challenge of Contemporary Slavery."
	November 8: WBUR (NPR) News, Carr Center core faculty member David King sat down with All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer to discuss what newly elected Senator Elizabeth Warren might expect in her transition to the Senate.
	November 7: HKS PolicyCast, In this audio "PolicyCast," HKS Senior Lecturer and Carr Center core faculty member David King discusses a wide range of post election issues, from the chances for bipartisan deal-making in the lame-duck session to the role of statisticians like Nate Silver in predicting electoral outcomes.
	November 6: The Nation, Read Timothy Patrick McCarthy, director of the Sexuality, Gender and Human Rights Program, as he interweaves the election, Hurricane Sandy, and Jesus all in his latest Nation blog post.
	November 5: Anna Julia Cooper Project Blog, Director of the Center's Sexuality, Gender and Human Rights Program, Timothy Patrick McCarthy, discusses in detail just what it is that's at stake in this election, in this fascinating two-part interview. (Click this text for Part I. Click the link below for Part II.) go to Part II >
	October 15: CNN, Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara talks about his new book, "Bonded Labor: Tackling the System of Slavery in South Asia," with CNN's Becky Anderson on "Connect the World."
	October 12: Radcliffe Institute is hosting a series of events related to water this semester. There is an all-day conference called "Cloudy with a Chance of Solutions: The Future of Water" on Friday, October 12, as well as lectures on several Monday evenings throughout the fall. Click this news item for more details.
	September 26: Stephanie Cappa, Masters in Public Policy Candidate, a former Hill staffer and advocate gave a fascinating talk on the real world challenges of effectively translating ideals into policy with a focus on the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act and the proposed Water for the World Act."
	September 25: The Nation, Timothy Patrick McCarthy, director of the Sexuality, Gender and Human Rights Program, takes a long look at America's peculiar relationship with war in this blog post for The Nation.
	September 24: Press Release, OSCE, Carr Center Fellow Felisa Tibbitts presented the OSCE Human Rights Education Guidelines for Secondary Schools at the Human Dimensions Meeting in Warsaw.
	September 20: Professor David McDonald of Global Development Studies at Queen's University, Canada, and Co-Director of the Municipal Services Project gave a thought-provoking talk on "alternatives to privatization" in the delivery of basic services in the water sector throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. The conversation was framed by books he co-edited: "Alternatives to Privatization: Public Options for Essential Services in the Global South," and "Remunicipalization: Putting Water back into Public Hands."
	September 18: The Nation, Timothy Patrick McCarthy, director of the Carr Center's Sexuality, Gender and Human Rights Program, explains "Why Progressives Should Vote for Obama." (Dr. McCarthy now blogs for The Nation on politics, culture, and history.)
	September 13: Professor Tom Gleeson of McGill University gave a fascinating talk on a new tool called the "groundwater footprint" that can be used to assess the sustainability of groundwater extraction practices around the world. The talk sought to bridge basic science and policy, drawing on examples from around the world, including India and China.
	September 12: Philip Hamilton and Maya Mahin, who interned with the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation Program this summer, gave talks today at the Carr Center. Phil, who recently graduated from Wheaton College and will be starting on Masters program at London School of Economics, spoke on "The Foreign Land Grab and Bilateral Investment Treaties: Implications for Human Rights." Maya, who recently graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and will be working with researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Carr Center, spoke on "Slum Resettlement Policy in Mumbai."
	September 7: Harvard Kennedy School News, Author, former politician, and former Carr Center Faculty Director, Michael Ignatieff will rejoin Harvard Kennedy School in January 2013 in a half-time faculty appointment as professor of practice.
	September 4: Lateline (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Carr Center Fellow and former UN Envoy to Kabul during the Taliban era, Michale Semple, discusses the current situation in Afghanistan, particularly the role of the Taliban.
	August 27: The Daily Beast, Timothy Patrick McCarthy, editor of "The Indispensable Zinn" and director of the Sexuality, Gender and Human Rights Program, rebuts decades of criticism leveled at his late mentor Howard Zinn, who would have turned 90 this month.
	August 7: Carr Center Fellow Felisa Tibbitts held three human rights education-related events at the International Institute for Studies of Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
	August 5: National Geographic Channel, Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara was a featured expert in a recent episode of the National Geographic Channel TV show "Taboo," in which he discussed the issues of sex trafficking and forced prostitution in India. Kara will also appear in a forthcoming episode of "Taboo" on September 30 as an expert on child labor.
	August 1: The Carr Center hosted a talk by Fatima Mendikulova on "Water Issues in Central Asia."
	July 25: The Carr Center hosted a talk by Erik Wurster on "Leveraging Carbon Finance for Development Benefits."
	July 18: The Carr Center hosted a talk by Dr. Arani Kajenthira on "Seeking sustainability in water management: from the natural sciences to public policy."
	July 16: The Harvard Gazette, At a recent lunchtime seminar, Timothy McCarthy, Carr Center faculty affiliate and director of the Sexuality, Gender and Human Rights Program, discussed recent legislative victories and what he sees as even greater challenges ahead for the LGBT movement.
	July 12: Public Radio International, The World, In discussing his recent interview with a senior Taliban commander, Carr Center Fellow Michael Semple notes a pragmatic outlook regarding future power sharing as well as an ongoing debate within the movement about tactics and goals.
	July 11: The New Statesman, Carr Center Fellow Michael Semple interviews a senior member of the Afghan Taliban movement on Pakistan, al-Qaeda and the future of Afghanistan.
	June 27: Carr Center Fellow Felisa Tibbitts co-facilitated a one-week course in collaboration with the Irish Human Rights Commission for the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Human Rights Education at the Lucerne University of Teacher Education.
	June 26: The Carr Center hosted a talk by Dr. Ramnath Subbaraman on "Thirsting for change in Mumbai's slums: water and health in a setting of legal exclusion."
	June 20: The Carr Center hosted a talk by Dr. Sharon Davis on "The challenge of setting sustainable water diversion limits: lessons from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia."
	June 20: The Daily Afghanistan, Carr Center Fellow Michael Semple discusses the complex calculus of foreign influence in Afghan elections: the perception, the effect, and the echoing repercussions of each upon the other.
	June 6: Carr Center Fellow Felisa Tibbitts will be presenting the keynote at Stanford University's Human Rights Education Institute Symposium on June 9th. This program promotes the infusion of HRE within community colleges in northern California.
	June 1: International Labour Organization, Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara will help the ILO launch their new global estimate on forced labour at a Washington, DC press event. Kara was one of four global experts who peer reviewed the methodology for deriving the new estimate.
	May 29: Carr Center Fellows Mark Williams and Sharmila Murthy have been invited to be keynote speakers at the Second International Conference on Climate Change and Social Issues, Kuala Lampur, November 28-29, 2012.
	May 14: Photo Exhibit: Now on display in the Carr Center, "Courage and Compassion in the Holy Land," an exhibit of photos and captions of Jews, Muslims, Christians and others who are working nonviolently for peace and justice for everyone in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Open to the public.
	May 10: International Labour Organisation (ILO), Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara was invited to Geneva by the ILO as one of four global experts asked to advise on their forthcoming new estimate of the number of forced laborers in the world. Final results will be announced by the ILO in the coming months.
	May 5: The Irish Times, Carr Center Fellow Michael Semple is one of five "experts in conflict resolution" consulted for this discussion of whether lessons learned from the Northern Ireland peace process could help resolve divisions elsewhere.
	May 1: Public Radio International, The Takeaway, Carr Center Fellow Michael Semple interviewed on PRI's news show "The Takeaway" regarding President Obama's surprise May 1 visit to Afghanistan and what this and other recent events may indicate about a future U.S. role in that country.
	April 28: Carr Center Fellow Felisa Tibbitts presented on the concluding panel of the Human Rights Education Symposium in Lucerne, Switzerland , which was sponsored by the Centre of Human Rights Education of the University of Teacher Education.
	April 24: Carr Center hosted writer and journalist Alex Prud'homme for a fascinating conversation about the importance of water in various aspects of life on earth, about its future and the need for changes in the way we perceive and manage this vital resource. The conversation was framed by Prud'homme's book: "Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the 21st Century."
	April 24: Indian Country, Carr Center Fellow Lisa Balk King discusses why the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is more than an aspirational document, and should be seen as a significant step in the ongoing process of advancing our collective, evolving understanding of human rights.
	April 23: The White House Blog, Carr Center Faculty Affiliate Sam Gregory takes part in a day-long White House commemoration of the Holocaust which includes his participation as a panelist in the panel discussion: "Modern Tools for an Ongoing Challenge."
	April 20: Intercultural Glossary Education Project. Carr Center Fellow Felisa Tibbitts and students from her HGSE course are participating in this online Project in tandem with the Teacher Education University of Lucerne (Switzerland) from April 16-27th. Sponsored by the European Wergeland Centre.
	April 17: On April 17, 2012, the Carr Center hosted Tufts University Professor Richard M. Vogel for a fascinating talk entitled"Balancing Human & Environmental Needs for Water: The Hydromorphology of Human-Hydrologic Interactions." Professor Vogel discussed the new field of hydromorphology and highlighted the importance of balancing human and environmental needs in water management practices. He also emphasized the need for research to focus on current problems, such as addressing the challenges of increasing urbanization and of realizing the human right to water.
	April 16: UN University for Peace, Carr Center Fellow Felisa Tibbitts taught a two-week course "Human Rights in Education" at the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica (March 19-30), attended by graduate students from a dozen countries.
	April 16: For the third year in a row, Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara will be delivering the keynote address at the South Texas College Human Trafficking Conference. This year, his address is titled "Labor Trafficking in South Asia."
	April 16: On April 16, the Carr Center held a Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) information session with three graduating Master in Public Policy candidates, Sophie Brion, Lesley Fleischman and Wendy Barreno. They presented the key findings from their PAEs, which focused on topics relating to human rights, the environment and corporate social responsibility. The session was co-sponsored with the Corporate Responsibility Initiative of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government.
	April 15: Arrive Magazine, "The more our students interact with and understand the public, the better leaders they will be and the better they may understand the problems they will be called upon to help solve," noted Carr Center Executive Director Charlie Clements in a recent interview for "Arrive," Amtrak's on-train magazine.
	April 10: On April 10, 2012, the Carr Center hosted Professor Steven Caton, Professor of Contemporary Arab Studies, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University. Professor Steven Caton discussed his seminal work on The Politics of Water Governance in Yemen: Shari'a, 'Urf and Water Rights in the Nation-State. He discussed the evolution of water law in Yemen from an ethnographic perspective, highlighting the challenges of developing a coherent policy in this water-scarce country. This presentation was co-sponsored by the Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
	April 3: "Walking Out of the Darkness," Morning Prayers delivered by Timothy Patrick McCarthy, director of the Carr Center's Sexuality, Gender & Human Rights Program, at Harvard University's Memorial Church.
	April 1: Singapore News, Interviewed while in Singapore, where the Singapore government had invited him to speak at the unveiling of that nation's first National Action Plan on Human Trafficking, Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara emphasizes the crucial role research plays in the ongoing battle against human trafficking. Watch video of interview >
	March 28: Carr Center Fellow Sharmila Murthy, along with Carr Center Faculty Affiliates Martha Chen and Jacqueline Bhabha, were panelists at the Weatherhead Center's WCFIA Roundtable on World Affairs, titled 'Women, Rights & Development: Issues and Insights.'
	March 28: Public Service Week Event: Toiletries Donation Drive for Victims of Trafficking. The Women and Gender Caucus organized a donation drive for travel-sized toiletries. Public Service Week volunteers used these toiletries to put together hygiene kits for the Sister's of St.Joseph's shelter for victims of sex trafficking. Find Out More >
	March 22: March 22 is World Water Day! To celebrate World Water Day, the Right to Water Study Group is having a special event: a field trip to the Cambridge Water Department. Led by Susan Redlich, the trip will include a full tour of this state of the art facility. Click on this message for more trip details. Find out more about World Water Day >
	March 21: Singapore News, At the invitation of the Singapore government, Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara will be a guest speaker at the launch of Singapore's first National Action Plan on Human Trafficking.
	March 20: The Carr Center hosted James Wescoat, the Aga Khan Professor of Architecture at MIT for an interesting talk entitled The Ethics of Evapotranspiration. Professor Wescoat's talk illuminated many issues including human rights and their applicability to water in large-scale agro-ecological systems. He also explored how the duties of evapotranspiration management in relation to the life of soils, plants, and animals can help provide an environmental ethic in support of the human right to water.
	March 16: BBC Radio: Today, Carr Center Fellow Michael Semple takes part in a radio interview discussing the Taliban's recent withdrawal from preliminary peace negotiations, on the BBC news program Today.
	March 15: Harvard Kennedy School News, Carr Center Fellow Michael Semple is featured prominently in a recent HKS news article providing an overview of the current situation in Afghanistan from the perspective of several Kennedy School experts.
	March 13: Former Carr Center Fellow Gerard Russell wins Royal Society of Literature's Jerwood Award for non fiction for his book Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms. The book will be published by Simon & Schuster in 2013.
	March 6: The Carr Center hosted Dr. Michael Kremer, the Gates Professor of Developing Societies in the Department of Economics, for an informative and well attended discussion on The Economics of a Right to Safe Water. Professor Michael Kremer discussed his work on the economic challenges faced in supplying water to rural areas in developing counties. He also discussed alternative approaches to water treatment as well as future research studies on a range of issues in resource economics.
	March 5: Carr Center Fellow Sahana Dharmapuri took part in a panel discussion at the United Nations Association of the Greater Boston Area's 2012 International Women's Day Event. Other panelists included Ambassador Swanne Hunt, Abby Disney, and Professor Amani El Jack.
	March 2: Researchers at the Carr Center and at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights offered comments on India's draft National Water Policy to India's Ministry of Water Resources. Read their comments >
	February 29: PeaceWomen.org, PeaceWomen: an active news aggragator for stories about Women, Peace and Security.
	February 28: The Carr Center hosted MIT Professor Balakrishnan Rajagopal for a fascinating talk entitled "Beyond 'Rights' and 'Development' for tackling the sanitation challenge: Lessons from Gujarat, India." He explained the social, cultural and technical challenges of trying to end the practice of "manual scavening," which is the act of human removal of excreta from dry pit latrines. In water-scarce Gujarat, this practice is often the sole economic opportunity for Dalit (also known as Untouchable) women. He described the work he did with a team of students and an NGO based in India to introduce an EcoSan latrine, concluding with a series of lessons learned that implicate both human rights and development.
	February 21: The Boston Globe, Carr Center faculty affiliate and advisor to the Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery, Swanee Hunt, discusses progress made combating the sex trade by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and other state attorneys general, through increased penalties and stepped up enforcement.
	February 2: The Carr Center hosted Professor John Briscoe for a thought-provoking talk entitled "Water Rights that Help and Those that Don't." Professor Briscoe explained how water rights, which are grounded in property law, can be used as a tool for effective water management. He then contrasted these rights with the human right to water and also critiqued the way that human rights are invoked in debates around large-scale projects, like dams.
	February 1: Carr Center annnounces the launch of the new Study Group in Theater and Human Rights. Led by new Carr Center Fellow Guila Kessous, the weekly non-credit seminar will explore the connection between theater and human rights stretching from ancient Greece to today.
	January 30: Call for Applications! Gebran G. Tueni Fellowships. The Carr Center is currently accepting fellowship applications for the 2012-2013 academic year. Two (2) Gebran G. Tueni Fellowships are available. Application Deadline: March 31, 2012. Application Details >
	January 16: Cedar Rapids, Iowa:, Felisa Tibbitts, Carr Center Fellow, was the keynote speaker for a faculty conference on teaching human rights at the University of Iowa, attended by over 50 faculty members and graduate students.
	January 12: Human Rights to Water & Sanitation Program releases a new working paper: The Human Right to Water in Israel: A Case Study of the Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Negev. Download a copy of the paper >
	January 9: Foreign Affairs, Carr Center Fellow Michael Semple comments on Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid's announcement that the group will open a political office in Qatar as part of a process that could bring a peaceful end to the war in Afghanistan.
	January 8: Forbes, Carr Center Fellow Siddharth Kara discusses modern slavery and how to bring it to an end, in this new Forbes interview.
	January 5: Harvard Kennedy School News, An article by MARO Project Director Sally Chin featured on the Harvard Kennedy School's website discusses the groundbreaking conference hosted by the MARO Project in November 2011 in Germany with U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.
	January 5: The White House, The Obama Administration released new strategic guidance that includes mass atrocity prevention and response as part of the U.S. Armed Forces primary missions. Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense states that "DoD will continue to develop joint doctrine and military response options to prevent and, if necessary, respond to mass atrocities."

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