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Blue, gold and white logo with text Human Rights Program and Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies presenting Human Rights Awards

Call for Nominations - 2019 Undergraduate Human Rights Awards
Each spring, the Human Rights Program and the Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies celebrates the tremendous work of University of Minnesota - Twin Cities undergraduate students in human rights by presenting the Inna Meiman Human Rights Award and the Sullivan Ballou Award. Each award comes with a $1000 scholarship to the student and recognition at an awards event in late April.
Maroon and gold logo with text Human Rights Lab, University of Minnesota

Human Rights Faculty Receive Grand Challenges Grant
University of Minnesota human rights faculty receive a $325,000 Grand Challenges Research Award to tackle global barriers to equality and justice. The grant will support "The Minnesota Model," an interdisciplinary initiative to understand and propose solutions to backsliding in human rights around the world. The Minnesota Model is composed of strategic partnerships between academic researchers and practitioner organizations, faculty-led and NGO-led projects in the Human Rights Lab, a venue for interdisciplinary research and discussions.
Elexis poses for camera, with blue hair, glasses, a blue shirt, and white jacket.

Collaborating Across Communities to Address Health and Wellbeing
Elexis Trinity is a second year Master of Human Rights Student who had the opportunity to work for Carver County Public Health, managed two conferences for the Catalyst Initiative of the Minneapolis Foundation, and has just started work with the Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation to create a community advisory board. Read more about Elexis's experiences here.
A group of 11 students and one professor stand in a classroom smiling. Most are wearing dark clothing and the professor is wearing a lime green blazer.

Training the Next Generation of Human Rights Advocates and Scholars
The Observatory on Disappearances and Impunity in Mexico is an ongoing project in which researchers seek to understand the complexities of disappearances and impunity in Mexico. A dynamic, interdisciplinary team led by HRP Director Barbara Frey is moving into a new stage in research, documenting reporting on disappearances in Mexico media. Undergraduate and graduate student researchers on the team are working closely with top human rights and research methods experts in Mexico, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
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Innovative Human Rights Projects Selected for HRI Funding
The Human Rights Initiative Research Fund awards grants to University of Minnesota Faculty working on interdisciplinary research that addresses human rights issues. Now, the HRI Research Fund is announcing its newest grantees. Research topics vary from human rights implications to addressing terrorism, to immigration court monitoring, and more. Grantees include a mix of brand new projects and previously funded projects that are moving to a new, exciting phase.
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Identifying New Avenues for Advocacy in Health Care Equity
Dr. Calla Brown, second year Master of Human Rights student and Academic General Pediatrics Fellow, is exploring the intersections of human rights and health research and practice. This past year, Calla analyzed data regarding the health services received by incarcerated youth in Minnesota, served on the Migrant Health Elective, joined the board for Doctors of Global Health, and volunteered at the College of Medicine in Malawi.
a set of gold-tipped bullets sits on top of a grey sweatshirt

UMN Professor Barbara Frey Discusses Why Human Rights Are Key to Solving the Gun...
Director of the Human Rights Program and expert on violence committed using guns and light weapons Barbara Frey spoke at Washington University in St. Louis about the need for innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to solving gun violence. Highlighting human rights scholarship and practice as a key tool, Professor Frey discussed not only the violence perpetrated using light weapons, but the ways in which the effects of this violence reverberates through society. Pointing to fundamental economic, social, and cultural rights, among others as under threat because of gun violence, Professor Frey offers a new perspective on how society can move forward to solve the gun violence crisis. Read more about her presentation here.
A group of 22 people, 18 women and 4 men, pose for a photo in front of a group of trees and a brown cabin. They are split in two rows, with the first row seated on the ground and the second row standing behind them.

The University of Minnesota Human Rights Program: A Year in Review
The Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota, know as The Human Rights University, has been extremely busy throughout 2018. The program graduated its first ever cohort of Master of Human Rights students, many of whom have gone on to positions where they are putting their human rights knowledge and skills into practical action. The Human Rights Initiative awarded grants to groundbreaking faculty research projects that employ interdisciplinary methods to tackle some of the most pressing human rights issues. Our undergraduate, graduate, and professional human rights students undertook a wide variety of research projects and internships that helped develop them as the future's human rights defenders. Read more about all of the exciting events, visitors, and achievements of the Human Rights Program in 2018.
An image of a lanscape with the dark outline of trees in the foreground and shadows of large temples behind them. The sky is a pale yellow and there's a smoky fog over the whole scene.

Student Internship Spotlight: Eaint Thiri Thu
Second year MHR student Eaint Thiri Thu combined her past human rights professional experiences with new tools she has learned in the MHR program to her fellowship this summer at the United States Institute of Peace. Working in their Asia Division on Burma issues, Thiri got the opportunity to network with and learn from other great human rights advocates and gain a deeper understanding about the peace building process. Read about her great summer experience here.
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