Archived News & Events

Current news can be found on the current news page.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS) has announced that it will hear a human rights complaint brought by a Tucson immigrant rights organization. The Border Action Network has accused the United States of failing to provide protection and legal remedies for victims of violence and intimidation by anti-immigrant vigilante groups operating along ...the US-Mexico border in southern Arizona. The complaint, filed in 2005, alleges that the United States is in violation of the rights to life, liberty and personal security, the right to equality before the law and the right to judicial protection as recognized under the OAS' principal human rights instrument, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.

Attorneys from the International Human Rights Advocacy Workshop in the Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program at the University of Arizona College of Law are providing legal representation on this case. The Commission ruled the complaint to be admissible in August 2009 and published a report of its findings. The case is now at the merits stage of the proceedings which means the Commission will determine whether the United States has a duty to prevent, investigate and sanction these armed vigilante groups.

You are invited to: Professor Hershey's conference: The Future of Life on Planet Earth 2011, Globalization & the Transformation of Cultures & Humanity, Oct. 28/29, James E. Rogers College of Law, Room 160. Speakers include Dr. Andrew Weil, Professors Julia Cole, Mona Hymel, Robert Glennon, Marc Miller, Dr. Peter Warshall,and David Eisenberg (Director of the Development Center for Appropriate Technology)

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS) will hear a human rights complaint brought by six British Columbia First Nations, charging Canada with the uncompensated taking of their ancestral territory for the benefit of private forestry and development corporations on Vancouver Island. The Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group (HTG) has accused Canada of violating the human rights of its 6,400 members by failing to recognize and protect their rights to property, culture and religion, as recognized under the OAS’ principal human rights instrument, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. Read the complete Turtle Talk article.

Ten years ago, the UA James E. Rogers College of Law formally launched the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program, which has since gained a reputation for being one of the strongest programs of its kind in the world.

Read the UANews article.

On 20 and 21 September 2011, the Special Rapporteur (S. James Anaya) presented his fourth annual report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. In his report, the Special Rapporteur provided a brief overview of the work he has carried out over the past year, and offered some comments on his study on extractive industries operating in or near indigenous lands.

Congratulations to Nicole Friederichs (LLM 2008), who has been hired by Suffolk Law as Practitioner in Residence to assist in the creation and launch of a new Indian Law and Indigenous Peoples Clinic.

Congratulations to Ryan Dreveskracht (JD/IPLP Certificate 2009), who has been hired as an Associate by Galanda Broadman, PLLC, a Seattle-based law firm dedicated to representing American Indian interests. (Gabe Galanda, JD 2000, is a founding partner in the firm). Ryan recently completed a clerkship with Judge Kathleen Kay of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Ryan's article Native Nation Economic Development via the Implementation of Solar Projects: How to Make it Work was also published this year in the Washington & Lee Law Review.

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the first class to graduate with the IPLP LLM degree. Over the last 10 years, 77 students have earned the LLM. In 2006, we added an SJD degree, and we currently have nine SJD alumni. In 2009 we added an IPLP Certificate as part of the JD degree and already have 25 Certificate graduates. And those numbers don’t include the JD alumni who specialized in Indian and Indigenous peoples law before we offered the formal degrees!

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, undertook a visit to Costa Rica from 24-27 April 2011 to discuss the situation of indigenous peoples, in particular the Térraba people, affected by the Diquís hydroelectric project. At the end of his four-day visit, the Special Rapporteur noted that "All parties agree that it is necessary to initiate a consultation process that complies with relevant international standards before the hydroelectric project Diquis can move forward."

During his visit, the Special Rapporteur met in San Jose with several government representatives, including from the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), the agency responsible for the Diquis hydroelectric project, as well as with representatives of indigenous peoples, the UN country team, members of the international community, and others. In Térraba, he visited the site of the proposed dam site along with representatives from ICE and heard from several indigenous groups, in particular the Térraba people. Read more from UNSR Website

The Human Rights work of Prof. James Anaya, staff attorney Seann Howard, and Senior Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur, Maia Campbell is featured in the Winter 2011 Arizona Alumnus magazine. Click here for a PDF of the article.

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