2019 Events
The Criminalization of Migration in the U.S. and Beyond, Prof. Jennifer Chacón (December 18)
The Minerva Center for Human Rights was honored to celebrate the establishment of the Bob and Sally Shafton Memorial Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series. The annual series is made possible by a generous gift to the Center from the Levenfeld family of Jerusalem in honor of their parents/grandparents, the late Bob and Sally Shafton of Los Angeles - and will enable the Center to annually host a prominent human rights scholar from the Los Angeles area for teaching, seminars and public lectures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The inauguration of the Shafton Memorial Series featured a public lecture by the first Shafton Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Prof. Jennifer Chacón of UCLA School of Law, on the criminalization of immigration in the U.S. and beyond. Greetings were given by Jill Shafton-Levenfeld on behalf of the family and by the Dean of the Hebrew University Faculty of law, Prof. Daphna Lewinsohn-Zamir. Opening remarks were presented by retired Israeli Supreme Court Justice Ayala Procaccia, a long-time friend of the family.
For more photos and the lecture program | Watch on Youtube 
(All photos by Bruno Charbit).
Human Rights in Contemporary Conflicts Joint Workshop (Zurich, December 12-13)
The Minerva Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, along with Freie Universitat Berlin and Universitat Zurich, participated in a workshop aimed at enabling and extending an interdisciplinary and fundamental rights-oriented exchange among young scholars from the various faculties. The Minerva Center sent three faculty members: Prof. Tomer Broude, Dr. Einat Albin and Dr. Sharon Shakargy, along with five doctoral/postdoctoral students: Mr. Nimrod Karin, Ms. Rachel Zeliger, Mr. Gil Maymon, Dr. Tomer Shadmy, and Ms. Yuliya Mik.
The Role of Civil Society in Democracy (November 26)
The Minerva Center for Human Rights, the Israel Law Review and the International Human Rights Clinic at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Faculty of Law hosted a special evening inspired by the life and legacy of the late Prof. Sir Nigel Rodley.
"The Long Haul", a movie commemorating Rodley's lifelong dedication to human rights, was screened, followed by a panel discussion regarding the role of civil society in democracy. Panel participants included Mr. Mickey Gitzin, director of the New Israel Fund, Adv. Bana Shoughry, a PhD candidate at Minerva and former Director of the International Human Rights clinic, and Adv. Hila Tene-Gilad, the director of human rights and relations with international organizations at the Israel Ministry of Justice.
Military Justice and Armed Conflict: Old Problems, New Conflicts (November 11-12)
The Minerva Center for Human Rights at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Israel and the Occupied Territories hosted the 14th annual conference on international humanitarian law. The conference evaluated recent developments in the law and practice related to military justice and, in particular, the degree to which such developments interact with international norms applicable to armed conflicts.
For more photos and conference program
(All photos by Bruno Charbit).
The Legitimate Role for Investment Law and Arbitration in Protecting Human Rights (Oslo, September 4-5)
Together with our partners at the University of Oslo and Monash University, the Hebrew University’s Minerva Center for Human Rights co-sponsored a conference in Oslo on the legitimacy and increasingly important role for international investment law and arbitration in the protection of international human rights. The joint project on this issue will later culminate in a special issue of the Leiden Journal of International Law
Backlash, Digitalization and Inequality as Challenges for the International Human Rights System (July 15-16)
As part of its extraordinary 5-year joint multidisciplinary PhD program “Human Rights under Pressure” (HR-UP) with Freie Universität Berlin, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Minerva Center for Human Rights hosted a 2-day symposium examining backlash, digitalization and inequality as challenges for the international human rights system. 35 of HR-UP’s PhD Fellows, Postdoctoral Fellows and faculty from Berlin and Jerusalem participated in the discussions. (All photos by Bruno Charbit).
For more photos and conference program
Public Lecture: Gender Dimensions in Transitional Justice, Prof. Fabián Salvioli (June 04)
The Fried-Gal Transitional Justice Program and Minerva Center for Human Rights at the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem hosted Prof. Fabián Salvioli of Argentina, the UN Special Rapporteur on transitional justice (and former President of the UN Human Rights Committee), for a lecture on “Gender Dimensions in Transitional Justice”. The discussion was chaired by Prof. Ruti Teitel of New York Law School, one of the preeminent scholars in the field.
For more photos and conference program | Watch on Youtube
Symposium on: Designing an Effective National Human Rights Institution: Israeli and International Perspectives” (January 07)
The Minerva Center for Human Rights at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem held this week an international symposium entitled “Designing an Effective National Human Rights Institution: Israeli and International Perspectives” - the culmination of a 3-year research and consultation project at the Minerva Centre for Human Rights at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, made possible by a grant from the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). The symposium was opened by the EU Ambassador to Israel and the Rector of the Hebrew University, and brought together both leading international scholars and practitioners engaged in the research of the effectiveness of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and Israeli government officials and civil society practitioners working in the promotion and protection of human rights in Israel. The symposium explored recent developments in the research of NHRIs internationally, offering insights on the design of effective NHRIs in a variety of settings, and also included a roundtable discussion on the particular challenges, dilemmas and opportunities regarding the establishment of an NHRI in Israel.
For more photos and conference program | Watch on Youtube