The law school’s Human Rights Institute and the Clooney Foundation for Justice have joined forces to train Columbia law students to monitor legal proceedings against journalists, dissidents, LGBTQ people, women and girls, members of religious minorities, and other vulnerable groups in countries where human rights are at risk.
Participants in the new program, called TrialWatch, will issue reports about the trials they observe and, if necessary, assist defendants in pursuing remedies in human-rights courts.
“We measure corruption by governments, but not by courts. We monitor the fairness of elections, but not trials … We need extensive monitoring, hard data, and committed advocacy if this is to change,” says Amal Clooney, an international human-rights attorney and occasional Columbia visiting professor who runs the Clooney Foundation with her husband, George.
