Indiana University Alumni for Human Rights

Constitution and Bylaws: Indiana University Alumni for International Human Rights Law

2009-03-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

INDIANA UNIVERSITY ALUMNI FOR INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

Came into force on January 21, 2009 following its ratification by AHR members

I. Objectives

The objectives of the organization are as follows:

A. Establish a diverse, cohesive, volunteer, independent, nonpartisan, and educational group of IU alumni committed to fortify the rule of international human rights law

B. Address human rights issues through the human rights-based approach, from multidisciplinary perspectives, and by means of active nonviolence

C. Provide mutual support and develop individual and group capacities among IU constituencies—faculty, staff, students, and alumni—to engage in any and all forms of ahimsa (nonviolence) to ensure the respect for, protection, and fulfillment of the universal, inalienable, interdependent, and indivisible economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights of all persons

D. Proactively respond to any and all human rights challenges on an immediate, short-, medium-, and long-term basis, at the IU, local, national, regional, and international levels, by means of action-oriented, impact-generating, and strategic initiatives, programs, projects, activities, and campaigns

E. Initiate and support any and all efforts to develop, protect, and assist IU international human rights lawyers, scholars, and defenders

F. Uphold the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, officially known as the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms per UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/53/144

G. Promote the human rights provisions of the United Nations Charter

H. Promote pro bono international human rights legal services with racial and gender perspectives, and

I. Promote the values of volunteerism, simple living, hard work, and self-reliance

II. Principles and Methodology

The following principles and methodology shall guide the organization’s officers and members:

A. The cross-section of soon-to-be alumni and alumni comprising the membership of the organization shall function to assist soon-to-be alumni and students in initiating and undertaking career-enhancing and development activities and services in the fields of international human rights law, international criminal law, and international humanitarian law

B. The organization shall practice the human rights tenets and principles of consultative, participatory, transparent, accountable, and democratic decision-making and ensure that these principles are institutionalized in the various mechanisms and systems of the organization.

C. A system of checks and balances shall be instituted internally.

D. The racial and gender perspectives shall be integrated into the internal systems and operations of the organization, such that racial and gender equality and nondiscrimination shall be institutionalized and entrenched.

E. The need to proactively respond to human rights challenges in a timely, relevant, and meaningful fashion shall be balanced with the practice and observance of the abovementioned tenets and always subject to the principle of accountability.

III. Officers

The following officers shall constitute the Board of Trustees:

A. President – shall direct and manage the affairs of the organization as well as oversee and guide the work of the various committees

B. Internal Vice President – shall develop the organization’s capabilities and proper coordination to achieve its objectives and assist the President and various committees in their work

C. External Vice President – shall be responsible for liaising and networking with Indiana University alumni groups, local, national, regional, and international human rights groups. The External Vice President shall coordinate with the Networking and Coalition-Building Committee.

D. Secretary – shall disseminate information to the officers and members, call meetings, prepare minutes of meetings, and keep the records of the organization

E. Treasurer – shall be responsible for the finances of the organization and maintain bookkeeping records and systems strictly in accordance with current accounting and auditing standards and procedures

F. Auditor – shall oversee the financial affairs of the organization and ensure that the principle of financial transparency is practiced and that the system of checks and balances is properly established and operationalized

G. Public Relations Officer – shall prepare and disseminate press statements, coordinate with media, establish, operate, and direct the organization’s public information machinery, through online tools, publications, and various means. The Public Relations Officer shall be responsible for the regular publication of an online newsletter. The Public Relations Officer shall coordinate with the Publications and Communications Committee.

IV. Members

Indiana University alumni and soon-to-be-alumni are eligible for membership in the organization.

V. Rights of Members

All members, including soon-to-be alumni, are entitled to vote and be voted for any position.

Any member shall be eligible for election, regardless of their place of residence and/or work.

Any member shall be entitled to volunteer and/or be appointed by the Board or any committee head to serve in any capacity in any committees.

VI. Elections

The abovementioned officers shall be elected by secret ballot.

Voting may be done electronically.

The integrity and impartiality of the conduct of elections shall always be safeguarded.

VII. Term of Office

The officers shall serve for a period of one year.

Any officer shall be eligible for reelection or appointment to or to serve in any capacity and position.

VIII. Committees

The following committees shall be created:

A. Special Projects – undertake programs, projects, and activities to promote the organization’s objectives

Advocacy and Campaigns – undertake various human rights advocacy efforts and activities using the international human rights law framework, such as petition-signing and other forms of ahimsa (nonviolence) to address various human rights issues

B. Recruitment, Membership Coordination and Mobilization – shall consult and gather ideas, input, suggestions, and recommendations from officers and members and involve them in any and all of the organization’s undertakings

C. Recruitment – shall develop and implement strategies to expand the organization’s membership

D. Finance – shall raise and manage funds according to the principles of financial transparency and accountability with emphasis on preparing and managing cost-effective human rights budgets

E. Networking and Coalition-Building – shall liaise and develop collaborative undertakings with various local, national, regional, and international organizations for human rights promotion and defense on an immediate-, short-, medium-, and long-term basis

F. Training – shall respond to the training needs and requests of various IU constituencies for engagement in various human rights initiatives

G. Research and Documentation – shall develop, organize, and maintain the organization’s database for easy retrieval and use for human rights undertakings

H. Publications and Communications– come out with various media tools to pursue human rights objectives, including regular issues of an online newsletter

I. International Human Rights Defense Unit – shall focus on developing capacities to participate in various local, national, regional, and international human rights mechanisms, including those of the United Nations, African Union, Organization of American States, European Nations and others, by means of shadow reporting and individual complaints

Members may be appointed or elected to serve as head of any committee.

IX. Finances and Budget

The organization shall practice the human rights tenets and principles of consultative, participatory, transparent, accountable, and democratic decision-making in the acquisition, management, disbursement, and reporting of any and all its funds.

The organization shall prepare, keep, and maintain records and establish bookkeeping systems in accordance with current accounting and auditing systems.

The organization shall be regularly subjected to external and independent audit by an impartial and professional auditor.

The members of the public shall have full access to the financial books of the organization, which the organization shall provide either at its own initiative or upon request by any party, public or private.

X. Name

The name of the organization shall be the Indiana University Alumni for International Human Rights Law.

The name IU Alumni for Human Rights may be used interchangeably for brevity.

The acronym AHR may also be used to refer to the organization.

XI. Logo

The organization shall have a logo symbolizing its human rights principles and objectives.

XII. Slogan

The organization shall have a slogan that embodies and symbolizes its principles and objectives.

XIII. Ratification

This Constitution shall take effect immediately upon ratification by majority of the members casting their vote electronically or by any practical means.

XIV. Amendment

This Constitution and By-Laws may be amended by majority of the members casting their vote electronically or by other practical means.

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

Second Wave: Human Rights Pilgrims (2009)

2009-03-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

We are expanding.

The Indiana University Alumni for International Human Rights Law (AHR for brevity) has new members.

The following comprise the second wave of Human Rights Pilgrims (2009):

1. George Aduhene, J.D.

2. Natalia Taylor Poppeliers

3. Sidra Ehsan Cheema, LL.M.

4. Eric Phillippe

5. Christopher Magno, Ph.D. candidate

6. Matthew Trick, J.D.

7. Yen Chen, J.D.

8. Kalli McBride, J.D.

9. Kristen Hunsberger, J.D.

10. Amy Nicholas, J.D.

11. Will Lawson, J.D.

12. Angela Joseph, J.D.

Dignity for All Thanksgiving - Human rights pilgrims launch Indiana University alumni org

2008-11-27T05:42:00.000-08:00

Indianapolis, Indiana (USA) - THEY call themselves “human rights pilgrims” for “active nonviolence.”

And Thanksgiving Day marks their launching of the Indiana University Alumni for International Human Rights Law for them “to pilgrimage into the 21^st century’s human rights challenges.”

Describing themselves as “IU pilgrims for the cause of human rights,” the founders from the Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis vowed to pursue “action-oriented, impact-generating, and strategic initiatives, programs, projects, activities, and campaigns” to achieve “dignity for all.”

Co-founder Fran Quigley, Director of the Indiana-Kenya Partnership, lauded the establishment of the group, which he described as an “important organization.” Quigley praised his fellow pilgrims for their “leadership in protecting human rights and for continuing to build IU’s reputation as an institutional advocate for dignity and freedom.”

The organizers vowed to pursue the following objectives:

· Establish a diverse, cohesive, volunteer, independent, nonpartisan, and educational group of IU alumni committed to fortify the rule of international human rights law

· Address human rights issues through the human rights-based approach, from multidisciplinary perspectives, and by means of active nonviolence

· Provide mutual support and develop individual and group capacities among IU constituencies—faculty, staff, students, and alumni—to engage in any and all forms of ahimsa (nonviolence) to ensure the respect for, protection, and fulfillment of the universal, inalienable, interdependent, and indivisible economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights of all persons

· Proactively respond to any and all human rights challenges on an immediate, short-, medium-, and long-term basis, at the IU, local, national, regional, and international levels, by means of action-oriented, impact-generating, and strategic initiatives, programs, projects, activities, and campaigns

· Initiate and support any and all efforts to develop, protect, and assist IU international human rights lawyers, scholars, and defenders

As their way of commemorating Thanksgiving Day, the founders committed themselves to uphold the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. On March 8, 1999, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration, officially known as the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The alumni adhered to the Declaration as one of their key founding documents.

The list of founding members continues to grow, as alumni from various parts of the U.S. and the globe expressed their willingness to form the group. Tuinese Edward Amuzu, an LL.M. Human Rights alum, served as founding “pilgrim” from Accra, Ghana, where he works as executive director of the Legal Resources Centre. From his UN office at The Hague, The Netherlands, Sean Monkhouse, J.D., also joined hands with his fellow alumni in celebrating Thanksgiving Day by forming the group. Monkhouse works as court officer of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

While busy pursuing her human rights studies at the University of Hong Kong and interning with Amnesty International-Hong Kong Section, Heidi Reed, J.D. candidate and IU-Bloomington alumna, also agreed to form the group. From strife-torn Georgia, Shalva Tskhakaya, LL.M., also joined his fellow alumni in forming the association.

An Indiana pro bono attorney, David Rothenberg helped pioneer the formation of the group. Rothenberg is currently helping law students with their United Nations shadow reporting projects on Australia and Chad.

Former interns of the Program in International Human Rights Law (PIHRL) mostly served as founders of the group. Prof. George Edwards founded the PIHRL in 1997, under the tutelage of then Dean Norman Lefstein, renowned champion of pro bono legal service.

Two other pioneer members, Robert Masbaum and Kevin Munoz, J.D., signed recently an agreement with the PIHRL to start a pro bono international human rights law education program for Indianapolis public school students on behalf of Human Rights Works, a nongovernmental organization.

Student leaders Wele Elangwe, LL.M., Lena Masri, J.D., and Emina Hadzic, J.D. co-founded the group. They serve as the president of the Master of Laws Association, Muslim Law Students Association, and the International Human Rights Law Society, respectively.

The modern-day pilgrims also affirmed their “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small” as stated in the UN Charter.

The initial wave of “IU human rights pilgrims” includes:

1. Philip Aka, J.D., LL.M., Ph.D.
2. Tuinese Edward Amuzu, LL.M.
3. Jacqueline C. Ayers, J.D.
4. Emily A. Benfer, J.D.
5. Thomas H. Benner, J.D.
6. Perfecto Caparas, LL.M.
7. Christin E. Cogley, J.D.
8. Adil A. Daudi, J.D.
9. Sarah M. Dillinger, J.D.
10. Wele Elangwe, LL.M.
11. Tiffany K. Girard, J.D.
12. Emina Hadzic, J.D.
13. Todd Edward Hassee, J.D.
14. Kat Hendrix, J.D.
15. Ayesha F. Johnson, J.D., LL.M.
16. Marc S. Kaliser, J.D.
17. Lun Kham, J.D.
18. Raio G. Krishnayya, J.D., LL.M.
19. Matthew Ryan Kubal, J.D.
20. Bobby Y. Lam, J.D.
21. Monica C. Magnusson, J.D.
22. Robert Masbaum, J.D.
23. Lena F. Masri, J.D.
24. Zoe M. Meier, J.D.
25. Sean A. Monkhouse, J.D.
26. Julia T. Mudd, J.D.
27. Kevin Munoz, J.D.
28. Emily Anne Munson, J.D.
29. Philemon A. Nkafu, LL.M.
30. Fran Quigley, J.D.
31. Waseem Ahmad Qureshi, S.J.D. candidate
32. Heidi Reed, J.D.
33. David Rothenberg, J.D.
34. Jhon J. Sanchez, J.D., LL.M.
35. Seema R. Shah, J.D.
36. April F. Shaw, J.D.
37. Nicole S. Steward, J.D.
38. Kavinvadee Suppapongtevasakul, LL.M.
39. Simeon P. Sungi, LL.B. (Honors), LL.M., Ph.D. candidate
40. Nelson Taku, LL.M.
41. Edye T. Taylor, J.D.
42. Shalva Tskhakaya, LL.M.

Please view the second wave of members (2009).