Projects

Academic Freedom (“Academic Freedom Team”)

Academic Freedom Team is dedicated to advancing the protection and promotion of academic freedom as a fundamental human right under international law. Guided by the Inter-American Principles on Academic Freedom and University Autonomy, the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel, and other international human rights instruments. Team members have collaborated with international partners such as Scholars at Risk and the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA) to develop comprehensive reports and submissions addressing systemic gaps in the protection of academic freedom. The team also monitors cases involving infringements on scholars’ or students’ rights to research, teach, or express opinions without undue interference. These analyses inform international advocacy efforts, including shadow reports and submissions to the United Nations Treaty Bodies. Through these efforts, the team aims to deepen the international community’s understanding of academic freedom as an integral component of democratic governance and a structural condition for the realization of human rights.

All-Party Parliamentary Group on Modern Slavery (“Supply Chain Team”) 

The Supply Chain Team is the official external research group for the Canadian All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to End Modern Slavery, a body currently comprised of over 40 Canadian MPs and Senators that seeks to make significant advances in fighting human trafficking in Canada and abroad. The Clinic provides the APPG with legal memos related to human trafficking and works to develop related legislation. The team is working to identify pressing modern slavery issues that the APPG should consider and travels to Ottawa to participate in briefings to members of Parliament on those issues. The team is also part of a global network of lawyers seeking to utilize customs tariffs laws to combat human trafficking. The Team also supports the forced labour unit of the International Labour Organization (ILO) by conducting an analysis of the performance of Cyprus, Czechia, Australia, Sierra Leone, Thailand, and the United Kingdom under the ILO’s Forced Labour Convention No 29. Visit the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s website to keep up with our important work and to see our past projects and future updates.

Magnitsky Act Legal Advocacy (“Magnitsky Team”)

The Magnitsky Team is part of an international consortium of lawyers working to develop submissions to countries with the Magnitsky Acts, which include Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The team is working with pro-bono counsel in USA, UK, and Canada, as well as with esteemed partners such as Human Rights First from New York, Redress from the United Kingdom, Open Society from Europe, and the International Lawyer Project to develop specific case files on human rights abusers and corrupt officials who could be added to the Magnitsky Act visa ban and asset freeze lists. The Team actively engages in comprehensive research, fact-finding exercises, report publications, and participation in workshops and conferences organized by national and international NGOs and human rights entities. The team has thus far made submissions on 32 individuals and entities in different jurisdictions, including South Africa, North Macedonia, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, and El Salvador. 

Gambia Accountability Team (“Hybrid Tribunal Team”)

The Gambia Accountability Team partners with the Gambian Ministry of Justice, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and civil society organizations to support ongoing transitional justice and accountability efforts in The Gambia. These initiatives aim to strengthen the rule of law and address serious human rights violations committed under the former regime. Following recent legislative and institutional developments in The Gambia, the team contributes to the establishment of a special accountability mechanism designed to promote justice and reconciliation. Clinicians assist by preparing legal research memoranda and policy analyses that examine relevant comparative practices and potential procedural considerations in the creation of hybrid justice systems, contributing to regional efforts to advance accountability and reinforce human rights protections in West Africa.

Office of the International Co-Prosecutor, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (“ECCC Team”)

The ECCC was created to prosecute the senior leaders of Democratic Kampuchea, and those most responsible for the crimes and serious violations of Cambodia laws related to crimes, international humanitarian law and custom, and international conventions recognized by Cambodia, that were committed between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979. The ECCC Team assisted the Office of the International Co-Prosecutor in its work on cases before the Court, through fact and legal analysis, information processing and management, and legal research. The OCP conducts preliminary investigations, prosecutes cases throughout the investigative, pre-trial, trial and appellate stages, processes victim complaints, and participates in judicial investigations. The nature of the work varies based on the OCP’s docket as well as the stages and development of proceedings, and the ECCC Team gained practical exposure to the core aspects of building criminal cases in an international context.

BC Whistleblower protection laws (“Whistleblower Team”)

British Columbia updated its whistleblower protection laws in 2019. In April 2018, the Clinic issued a report on important requirements for effective whistleblower laws. The BC Government has passed Bill M-216, a public disclosure law that addresses whistleblower protections. This team assessed Bill M-216 in light of the Clinic’s April 2018 report, offered recommendations to improve the Bill’s effectiveness, followed development of the Bill, and developed an advocacy campaign to encourage British Columbia to pass stronger legislation to ensure the protection of whistleblowers. The team also engaged in public outreach by meeting with influential policymakers to discuss best practices for developing strong whistleblower protections. 

Corporate Liability and Deterrence (“Corporate Deterrence Team”)

How does criminal prosecution of business actors, as opposed to civil litigation or regulatory enforcement, impact actual business practices? Is criminal liability for human rights abuses considered in business risk assessment and to what degree? The Corporate Deterrence Team examined the potential benefits of expanding current international criminal law to encompass corporate actors, questioning whether such an approach could more effectively deter misconduct in the business sphere than it does in the context of religious extremists, rebel fighters, or warlords.

Human Rights Committee Team ("HRC Team")

The HRC Team supported Ms. Marcia V.J. Kran, a distinguished Canadian member of the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) who retired from the HRC in December 2024. As part of the team’s efforts to bolster the HRC’s work, clinicians engage in substantive research to craft comprehensive remarks and questions for the review of the party states’ human rights records and their adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Over the past years, clinicians have actively contributed to the review processes of several countries, including the USA, Kuwait, Cyprus, the State of Palestine, Sri Lanka, and Turkmenistan. The Team prepared memoranda examining and enhanced the jurisprudence of the HRC. A notable case in point is the significant decisions in K. v Russia Federation (2992/2017), where the HRC determined that Russia had violated the ICCPR by failing to establish a legislative basis to investigate discrimination against LGBT+ individuals. This decision was being voted as the best UN treaty bodies decision of 2023 in a poll held by the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany. The HRC team travelled to Geneva during the Committee’s session to work side by side with HRC members.

Climate Change and Human Rights  (“Environment Team”)

The Environment Team advanced legal protections for environmental and human rights. A key project involved building a legal case for the Huni Kui people of the Brazilian Amazon, including submitting a precautionary measures request to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and conducting a fact-finding mission in Acre, Brazil. The team also supported the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment by contributing to ongoing reports and cases, strengthening the link between environmental justice and international human rights. The team's work included involvement in international environmental justice litigation, such as Nevsun Resources Ltd v. Araya, intervention in Gordillo v. Attorney General of Canada, and filing an amicus brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the scope of state obligations for responding to the climate emergency.