3Ls Shannon Jankowski and Amanda McAllister Awarded Human Rights Fellowships
Third-year Law School students Shannon Jankowski and Amanda McAllister have been selected to receive 2016-17 Benjamin B. Ferencz Fellowships in Human Rights and Law. The fellowships, which are awarded by World Without Genocide, an organization based at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, are named in honor of international human rights advocate Benjamin B. Ferencz. Ferencz, 96, prosecuted members of the Nazi Einsatzgruppen—mobile killing squads responsible for the deaths of more than a million Jews during the Holocaust—at trials in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1947, receiving convictions for every one of the accused. He has dedicated his life to advocating for justice and peace around the world.
As Ferencz Fellows, Jankowski and McAllister will focus on expanding information in Minnesota about the work of the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes perpetrators for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Both attended the court’s annual Assembly of State Parties in The Hague, serving as rapporteurs for the American NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court. That experience, said Jankowski, “provided invaluable exposure to the organizational, political, and diplomatic challenges inherent in advancing an international mechanism for global justice. It also offered tremendous insight into the work of attorneys and advocates fighting to combat human rights abuses and promote international justice.” McAllister called it “an informative look at many of the realpolitik obstacles to the administration of justice at the global level,” adding, “I am grateful to the many human rights activists and scholars who shared their insights, perspectives, and stories during side events on important issues such as crimes against humanity in North Korea, accountability for war crimes in Syria, and the importance of state commitments to combat impunity.”
“Shannon and Amanda are exceptional students, committed to the values of tolerance and justice,” said Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin. “The Benjamin B. Ferencz Fellowships recognize their dedication and skills, and confirm the ongoing preeminence of the Law School in the fields of human rights and international law.”
