Launch of the Donna and Spencer Gilbert Global Justice and Human Rights Center
The International Human Rights Clinic is excited to announce that it is a core program of the new Donna and Spencer Gilbert Global Justice & Human Rights Center! Based at the USC Gould School of Law, the Donna and Spencer Gilbert Global Justice & Human Rights Center engages students, scholars, and practitioners in interdisciplinary education, research, and projects that advance human rights and justice for all. The Center seeks to strengthen international law and institutions for atrocity prevention and accountability, refugee rights, and transitional justice in the wake of serious human rights violations worldwide.
RELATED COURSES: SPRING 2026
UPCOMING EVENT
Human Rights in the Americas Symposium: An Examination of Past, Present, and Future
NOVEMBER 16-21, 2025
Together with University of Miami Law students, Clinic students will rapporteur the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights hearings; organize a panel on Migration and Human Rights; and conduct fact-finding with Commissioners investigating abuse of migrants’ rights in southern Florida. Join us!
Countering Gender Apartheid with International Law: A Strategic Convening
The Clinic co-hosted a convening with University of Michigan Law, engaging Afghan Women Human Rights Defenders and international Law experts to strategize on the recognition and codification of gender apartheid as a norm under international law. The gender apartheid framework is about developing a more effective response to the situation of Afghan women and girls under draconian Taliban rule, as well as other situations of de jure subjugation of women, such as in Iran.
IMPACT
Malawi Report: The Survivor Behind the Accused
Check out the Clinic’s latest report in partnership with the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch program and the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA). Based on fact-finding in Malawi, the report documents a disturbing trend: many women imprisoned for violent offenses are actually survivors of gender-based violence who did not enjoy basic fair trial rights. Instead of being protected — they were prosecuted. The report offers a roadmap for underscoring and furthering important efforts already underway in Malawi to align its criminal justice system with human rights standards.
