University of Minnesota Law School Delegation to Present to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland
A delegation from the University of Minnesota Law School’s Human Rights Center and James H. Binger Center for New Americans is in Geneva, Switzerland, from March 2–6 to participate in the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The delegation includes Amanda Lyons ’09, executive director of the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota Law School; Sarah Brenes, executive director of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans; Dr. Calla Brown of the University of Minnesota Medical School; Jessica Klander, president of the Hennepin County Bar Association; Abby Nelson of the Human Rights Center; and University of Minnesota Law School students Trinity Fritz Lawrence ’26 and Yessenia Gutierrez ’26.
The Human Rights Center is coordinating this effort alongside The Advocates for Human Rights, which is also sending representatives. Delegation members will present research, analysis, and first-hand accounts of the federal enforcement operations in Minnesota across areas of expertise, including legal protections for refugees, asylum-seekers, and other migrants; democracy and the independence of lawyers and judges; and impacts on education, food, housing, and health. The delegation aims to raise awareness on the global stage of developments in Minnesota, exchange perspectives with Geneva-based experts, and explore opportunities for sustained collaboration at the intersection of local and international human rights law and policy.
On Wednesday, March 4, the delegation will host a public briefing in Geneva titled Federal Enforcement Operations in Minnesota: Frontline Perspectives on the Human Rights Crisis and Response. The program will examine the ongoing impact of U.S. federal enforcement initiatives in Minnesota, including Operations Metro Surge and PARRIS, and assess the categories of alleged violations, rule-of-law and accountability concerns, and civil society responses. Speakers will include representatives from the Human Rights Center, the Binger Center for New Americans, The Advocates for Human Rights, and the Hennepin County Bar Association; as well as Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, and Lucy McKernan, UN Deputy Director for Human Rights Watch. The event is co-sponsored by the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute and the International Service for Human Rights
