Human Rights Institute Launches New Event Series Examining Harmful Post-9/11 National Security Policies | Columbia Law School

Human Rights Institute Launches New Event Series Examining Harmful Post-9/11 National Security Policies 

September 22, 2021, New York – The Human Rights Institute’s (HRI) Armed Conflict, Counterterrorism, and Human Rights Project at Columbia Law School announces a new event series titled “20 Years After 9/11: Addressing an Enduring Legacy of Harm.” The series, which will span the 2021-2022 academic year, examines how efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism following the 9/11 attacks continue to perpetuate abuse, harming primarily Brown, Black, and Muslim communities at home and abroad. 

“Twenty years after the tragic 9/11 attacks, it’s time for the U.S. to end abusive counterterrorism policies developed in their wake, that have continued to this day,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, director of the Project on Armed Conflict, Counterterrorism, and Human Rights at HRI. “This series will explore pathways to new, more rights-respecting alternatives for today’s landscape by bringing together dynamic thinkers and experts from around the world.”

The series will feature rights advocates, investigative journalists, lawyers, and other experts who work on these issues from a variety of perspectives, including communities most impacted by counterterrorism policies. Speakers will address issues ranging from the secretive and unaccountable program of lethal strikes, to the use of torture and indefinite detention, to domestic surveillance, to harmful programs aimed at countering violent extremism. 

Events include an examination of civilian impacts of U.S. counterterrorism operations in Somalia, understanding the costs of post 9/11 wars, accountability after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a look at gender and national security, and a discussion of how the current administration could close the Guantanamo prison. 

The first event, “Post 9/11 Counterrorism Policy: Secrecy and the Importance of Whistleblower Disclosures,” will be held virtually on Wednesday, September 29, 2021.  Jeremy Scahill, a founding editor of the Intercept and award-winning investigative journalist, and Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, will address how key information provided by whistleblowers informed public understanding and oversight of the U.S. drone strike program and other counterterrorism policies, as well as the risks whistleblowers face. Students, faculty, and the public are welcome to register and attend online.

For more information on upcoming events, including dates, speakers, and how to register, please visit the series page here.

With any questions about the series, please contact Jessica Pierson, Assistant Director of Programs at Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Institute, at [email protected].

This series is co-sponsored by the Columbia Society of International Law, Columbia University Institute for the Study of Human Rights, and RightsLink.

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The Human Rights Institute advances international human rights through education, advocacy, fact-finding, research, scholarship, and critical reflection. We work in partnership with advocates, communities, and organizations pushing for social change to develop and strengthen the human rights legal framework and mechanisms, promote justice and accountability for human rights violations, and build and amplify collective power.

Founded in 1998 by the late Professor Louis Henkin as the anchor for human rights within Columbia Law School, the Human Rights Institute promotes engagement and knowledge of human rights within the law school, throughout the University, and around the world. Across the many substantive areas of its work, the Institute builds bridges between scholarship and activism, develops capacity within the legal community, engages governments, and models new strategies for progress.

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