Argument

Developments of democracy in Europe and the USA have followed mutually influencing paths over the past two centuries. From the declarations of rights to the establishment of democratic institutions after WWII, these regions have built their governments on the foundation of human rights protection. These foundations have now been weakened by the responses to a number of challenges, in particular immigration and counter-terrorism.

The influx of migrants and asylum-seekers, from Africa and the Middle East to Europe and from Central and Latin America to the USA, are being met with a combination of repressive measures: walls and fences, naval military operations, laws criminalizing undocumented immigration, racial profiling, insufficient integration policies, to mention a few. Populist and xenophobic parties have fuelled racist resentment towards Muslims and immigrants in general and have encouraged hate speech and crimes.

At the same time, the USA and Europe are increasingly engaging in counter-terrorism operations in a way which is straining the democratic fabric of our society. Some of these measures have a disproportionate impact on ethnic and religious minorities, thus further polarizing societies. Governments and policy makers, claiming the incompatibility of security with human rights protection, are adopting laws and policies, which increase the powers of security services without guaranteeing the checks and balances necessary in a democracy. Ultimately, such policies contribute to the erosion of democratic core values on both sides of the Atlantic and play in the hands of populist parties and of those who promote antidemocratic causes.

Program 

• Welcome adress:  Thomas J. CAREW, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, NYU
• Introduction: Jean-Philippe DEDIEU, CIRHUS Research Fellow and SCA Visiting Scholar, NYU

6:45 pm – 7:15 pm: Lectures

• Nils MUIŽNIEKS, Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe
• Susan N. HERMAN, President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

7:15 pm – 8:15 pm: Discussion and debates with the room

Chair: Ahmed SHIHAB-ELDIN, Journalist, Correspondent, and Producer for VICE on HBO

• Sally Engle MERRY, Silver Professor of Anthropology & Faculty Co-director of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at the New York University School of Law, NYU
• Larry SIEMS, Writer, Human Rights Activist, and Editor of Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2015)

8:15 pm – 8:30 pm: conclusion : Jacqueline BHABHA, FXB Director of Research, Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard

Organization

• Jean-Philippe DEDIEU, CIRHUS Research Fellow & SCA Visiting Scholar, NYU
• Stefano MONTANARI, Head of Communication Unit, Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe

Registration

RSVP to vd526@nyu.edu by October 20

Conference sponsored by:

• Center for International Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences (CIRHUS), NYU
• Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe
• Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty, Arts, Humanities & Diversity, NYU
• Department of Social and Cultural Analysis (SCA), NYU
• FXB Center For Health And Human Rights, Harvard University
• Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ), NYU