A staunch advocate for human rights and international advocacy work, Professor Hannah Garry returns to USC Gould School of Law to lead the next chapter of the International Human Rights Clinic and launch the brand-new Justice and Accountability Initiative. As of April 1, she is clinical professor of law, director for the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC), and inaugural faculty director of the Justice and Accountability Initiative at USC Gould.
“I’m thrilled to be back,” Garry said. “USC invited me to join at the start of my academic career, and I have dear colleagues here who mentored me for over a decade. This law school is a tight-knit community of individuals that demonstrably support one another — I am grateful for the warm reception back into this wonderful community.”
Garry, who joined USC Gould in 2010 and served as founding director of IHRC, spent the last two years as professor of practice of law and executive director of UCLA School of Law’s Promise Institute for Human Rights. She is an internationally recognized legal scholar, teacher and advocate with more than 25 years of experience across 25 countries in human rights, international criminal law, international refugee law and transitional justice. As part of her work with IHRC, she has supervised more than 100 student attorneys in the clinic on cases and projects both domestic and international that address atrocity crimes, refugee rights, fair trial rights, human trafficking and systemic racism.
In the coming years, Garry envisions the International Human Rights Clinic continuing its mission to train the next generation of advocates while concentrating on specific areas that are particularly relevant for this global moment such as prevention and justice for atrocities, refugee rights and fair trial protections, locally and globally. Among the clinic’s first projects will be representing communities impacted by war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression before international justice mechanisms, and working on gender apartheid recognition in international law.
Meanwhile, the Justice and Accountability Initiative will broaden these efforts through impactful research, scholarship and outreach projects that focus on critical approaches to existing international legal frameworks as well as progressive development of the law for effectively response to current global crises. Key initiatives will include contributing to the movement for a crimes against humanity treaty and creating new enforcement mechanisms and advocacy strategies for reinforcing the international human rights system established following World War II. The Initiative also will encompass new educational opportunities such as a summer program in Europe that exposes students first-hand to the historic legacy of the Nuremberg trial as the foundation of our modern system of international criminal justice. The Initiative will serve as a platform for further institutional growth and a focal point for leveraging the interdisciplinary expertise of stellar faculty across campus dedicated to human rights — establishing USC as a leader in the field.
Reflecting on this new chapter, Garry expressed her excitement: “I feel a renewed sense of purpose and passion for this work. Now more than ever, this country needs leaders, including institutional leaders such as USC, to be at the forefront of training new generations on the importance of global rule of law while reminding the U.S. and countries around the world of our shared humanity. I am honored by the invitation to help lead this university in the advancement human rights for all, working in solidarity with the incredible community that is USC.”
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