The Bernstein Symposium began in 1997 in honor of Robert Bernstein, the founding chair of Human Rights Watch, for his extraordinary contributions to the international human rights movement. The symposium is an integral part of the Robert L. Bernstein Fellowship in International Human Rights, which was established the same year. Each year, current and past fellows are invited back to Yale Law School to engage in human rights discussions and to connect with each other and with symposium participants.
The 2025 Bernstein Symposium will be held on April 11-12.
Robert L. Bernstein Fellowship Human Rights Symposium, Yale Law School
Rethinking Human Rights in America
April 11-12, 2025 Locations: Sterling Memorial Library Lecture Hall (Friday) Yale Law School, SLB Room 122 (Saturday)
As the global human rights landscape evolves, the United States faces growing challenges in aligning its domestic policies with international human rights norms. While the U.S. has historically championed human rights on the world stage, its own record is increasingly under scrutiny—both at home and abroad. Issues such as racial injustice, economic inequality, and restrictive immigration policies raise fundamental questions about the country’s role as a human rights leader.
At the same time, U.S. exceptionalism has had profound consequences for international human rights governance. American influence shapes global institutions, policies, and movements, yet it often diverges from the very norms it has helped establish. This year’s Bernstein Symposium will examine these tensions, exploring the state of human rights in the U.S., the costs of U.S. exceptionalism, and the role of human rights advocates in reshaping the future.
Friday
9:30 a.m. Registration (Sterling Memorial Library Lecture Hall)
10:15 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks
10:30 a.m. Panel 1: Human Rights in the U.S., Global Norms, U.S. Policy
Jamil Dakwar, Director ACLU Human Rights Program
Baher Azmy, Legal Director, Center for Constitutional Rights
Claudia Flores, Clinical Professor of Law, Yale Law School (moderator)
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Keynote Address Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
2:30 p.m. Panel 2: U.S. Exceptionalism’s Global Cost
Jeffrey Prescott, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in Rome; former Deputy to the US Ambassador to the UN
E. Tendayi Achiume, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Director, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Office (moderator)
Saturday
9:15 a.m. Continental breakfast (SLB Room 122)
10:00 a.m. Current Fellow Discussion Bernstein
Anuj Chand, Informal Sector Service Centre, Nepal
Jonathan Epps, Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch Initiative
Robina
Medha Damojipurapu, International Committee of the Red Cross
Akriti Gaur, European Court of Human Rights
11:15 a.m. Post-Graduate Human Rights Practice
Violeta Canaves, Senior Advocacy Advisor, International Planned Parenthood Federation
Tim Hirschel-Burns, Policy Liaison, Global Economic Governance Initiative, Boston University Global Development Policy Center
Alyssa Yamamoto, Senior Legal and Policy Advisor, Atlantic Council Strategic Litigation Project
