Bringing Human Rights Home: From Global Principles to Local Impact

Join us for an engaging webinar this Human Rights Day as we explore how universal human rights principles shape our daily lives in powerful ways. 

While human rights are often discussed in international forums that can seem distant from our everyday concerns, the decisions made in these spaces have profound effects on our communities. This webinar will highlight the often-invisible pathways through which international human rights mechanisms influence our daily lives. We will also explore some of the challenges these systems face today and pathways to make the UN and other multilateral organizations more effective and impactful. 

Speakers: 

• Jessica Stern, Former U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the U.S. State Department. 
• Desirée Cormier Smith, Inaugural U.S. Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice at the U.S. State Department. 
• Maggie Dougherty, Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Organizations at the National Security Council; former Senior Policy Advisor to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and former foreign policy advisor in the office of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio. 
• Kelly Fay Rodriguez, Former Special Representative for International Labor Affairs at the U.S. State Department. 

Moderator: Aminta Ossom, Lecturer on Law and Senior Clinical Instructor in the International Human Rights Clinic, where she supervises projects focused on human rights and the global economy. She is also associated with the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she contributes to Justice Matters, a human rights podcast.