LOS ANGELES – The Center for the Study of Law & Genocide (CSLG) at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles will host “New Challenges to Justice: Genocide in the 21st Century,” a two-day event featuring a symposium on the unique issues posed by modern atrocities and a documentary film screening, Oct. 11-12 on Loyola’s downtown L.A. campus.
The event is cosponsored by Jewish World Watch. The event will begin at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11 with a screening of “Amae, Thamee, Ama,” a short film about atrocities committed against women by the Burmese military. It will be followed by a panel discussion featuring R. Michael Ghilezan, associate producer, Kirana Productions, and Ann Strimov Durbin, director of advocacy & grant making, Jewish World Watch. The panel will be moderated by Rajika L. Shah, deputy director, CSLG and Loyola’s International Human Rights Clinic.
On Friday, Oct. 12, the symposium will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the panel “Challenges to Securing Post-Conflict Justice.” It will feature speakers David Akerson, former senior legal advisor, Commission for International Justice and Accountability; Margarete Feinstein, senior lecturer, Jewish Studies Program, Loyola Marymount University; and Sam Garkawe, adjunct professor, School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University, Australia. The panel will be moderated by Professor David Glazier, Lloyd Tevis Fellow, Loyola Law School. The opening panel will be followed by the 12:15 p.m. lunchtime keynote address, “Genocide & Memory,” to be delivered by Professor Michael Bazyler, 1939 Law Scholar in Holocaust and Human Rights Studies, Dale E. Fowler School of Law, Chapman University. He will be introduced by Ami Friedman Cecil, director of community engagement, Jewish World Watch.
The last panel, to be held at 1:30 p.m., will feature Ghilezan, a partner at Global Legal Law Firm and Professor Stanley Goldman, director, CSLG. The panel will be moderated by Jessica Peake, director, International and Comparative Law Program, UCLA School of Law. During the panel, Goldman will read an excerpt from his forthcoming book, “Left to the Mercy of a Rude stream: The Bargain that Broke Adolf Hitler and Saved My Mother.”
“After decades of progress toward a robust legal regime to prevent and punish genocide, and provide redress for its consequences, the first two decades of the 21st century have seen a resurgence in the commission of genocides around the world, numerous setbacks in international prosecutions, and the failure of efforts to replicate the success of the Holocaust restitution settlements for other survivor and victim groups,” says Shah. “This conference – bringing together lawyers, academics, historians and activists – seeks to answer: Where do we go from here?”
All components of the event will be held on Loyola Law School’s campus at 919 Albany St., Los Angeles, CA 90015. A complete agenda and other details are available online.
About the Center for the Study of Law & Genocide (CSLG)
The CSLG couples research and practical advocacy to help victims of genocide achieve justice. Founded in 2007, it aims to promote legal scholarship on genocide and mass violations of human rights with a particular focus on improving and making more accessible and effective legal resources and remedies both in the U.S. and internationally. It also seeks to train current and future legal practitioners on using existing remedies to help victims of genocide and mass violations of human rights achieve a measure of justice. Learn more on the CSLG website.
About Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
Located on an award-winning Frank Gehry-designed campus in downtown Los Angeles, Loyola Law School is home to prominent faculty, dedicated students and cutting-edge programs. The Law School strives to instill in students the knowledge they need to excel on their chosen paths. It dedicates itself to preparing students for the rigors of practice with an extensive portfolio of practical-training opportunities, an 18,000-strong alumni network and a focus on social justice. Learn more at www.lls.edu.
