- Human Rights
University of Minesota Human Rights Center
Professor David Weissbrodt founded the Center with a mission to “provide training, educational materials, and assistance to professionals, students, and volunteers working to promote and protect human rights locally, nationally, and internationally.”
Each year, the Human Rights Center hosts the Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellowship program which trains and educates 25 Fellows, who are then placed at human rights organizations both locally and internationally, in more than 70 countries, for several months of hands-on learning and practical experience.
The Human Rights Center also hosts the Humphrey International Fellowship Program each year with the help of a $1 million grant from the U.S. State Department. This program hosts 10 law fellows from various countries are awarded 10 months at the Law School pursuing professional development and non-degree academic study.
To date, the Center has awarded more than $1 million to more than 400 Fellows from the upper Midwest.
The Center’s biggest project, and one of its proudest achievements, according to Weissbrodt, is the creation and continual expansion of its Human Rights Library. It houses more than 60,000 core human rights documents and has the only search device for the international criminal tribunal for Rwanda. Currently, the Library is also working on similar devices for Sierra Leone and other criminal tribunals.
UMinn’s HRC also runs the Guantanomo Project, a program that assists in defending detainees; the Human Rights Education & Training Program which has trained thousands of teachers, lawyers, and community leaders in K-12 schools.
The Center’s accomplishments over the past 20 years has not only made a significant contribution to human rights awareness, but it has also increased the University of Minnesota Law School’s visibility to prospective students who are drawn to the focus and resources available to them on human rights issues.
Visit their website to learn more about the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center and to stay up to date on the Center’s latest events and endeavors. It has detailed information on all their fellowship programs, training and field work opportunities, and various educational tools. The Library also has its own unique website.
