International Migrants Bill of Rights Initiative Launches Global Network Based at Georgetown Law
The International Migrants Bill of Rights (IMBR) initiative, based at Georgetown Law, has launched the IMBR network, a global network of individuals and organizations committed to protecting the human rights of migrants. The launch coincides with International Migrants Day, December 18.
(Media-Newswire.com) - The International Migrants Bill of Rights ( IMBR ) initiative, based at Georgetown Law, has launched the IMBR network, a global network of individuals and organizations committed to protecting the human rights of migrants. The launch coincides with International Migrants Day, December 18.
“The IMBR initiative is an exciting example of Georgetown Law’s commitment to international law and human rights,” said Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor. “We are delighted to continue to host the initiative and this growing global network.”
The International Migrants Bill of Rights is a legal framework drafted to protect the rights of all migrants, regardless of the reason for their migration. A group of students and scholars at Georgetown Law, the American University of Cairo, Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the London School of Economics and Political Science ( LSE ) started the project in 2009. Since then, the IMBR initiative has pursued research about migration law and policy as well as education and advocacy to promote the protection of migrants’ rights.
The launch creates a new global network that will allow attorneys, scholars, and civil society organizations around the world to contribute to this work. The inaugural members of the IMBR network are its longstanding student chapter at Georgetown Law; the Regional Mixed Migration Secretariat, based in Kenya; and the Visayan Forum Foundation in the Philippines. Members of the IMBR network collaborate on the initiative’s research, education and advocacy projects.
The launch of the network is the most recent in a series of advances for migrants rights pursued by the IMBR initiative over the past six years through a series of law school courses, projects, global collaborations and conferences that has featured work with migrants, civil society, policymakers, and regional and international organizations. These include the drafting of a handbook to guide the promotion and implementation of human rights law and standards protecting migrants, as well as a set of indicators for researchers to benchmark legal protections in individual countries. The IMBR’s supporters have presented the initiative’s work in Dakar, Senegal, and to the United Nations in Geneva and New York.
“It is exciting that the IMBR will now be more accessible to more migrants, advocates and organizations,” said Justin Gest, a professor of public policy at George Mason University and co-chair of its steering committee.
“Members of civil society are already doing extraordinary work in the field, in advocacy, in education, and they are invaluable partners for protecting the rights of migrants,” said Bianca Santos L’11, who works as an immigration attorney and the director of the international human rights program at Pangea Legal Services and serves as one of the co-chairs of the steering committee. “The IMBR network links these organizations to an important resource while also drawing on their perspectives and contributions.”
Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world´s premier law schools. It is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law, and the faculty is among the largest in the nation. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end.
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This story was released on 2014-12-27. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.