Welcome to the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies (CHRHS) at Brown University’s Watson School for International and Public Affairs. Our goal is to understand global challenges to human rights and humanitarianism through a historical and comparative perspective and to promote human rights both at home and abroad.

Since its founding in 2019, CHRHS has served as a vibrant, interdisciplinary hub, connecting faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, practitioners, and activists from Brown University, the Rhode Island community, and around the world, through academic research, internships, and public events. 

This year, our public programming will focus on the issues of detention, disappearance, and deportation. While arbitrary detention and forced disappearance have been a grim reality in many parts of the world, especially in countries governed by authoritarian regimes, we are now witnessing these practices take place in our own communities. To understand this, we are inviting leading scholars, journalists, legal advocates, and our community partners, including Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice and Refugee Dream Center, for a series of public talks and conversations. 

We are also preparing for the annual student team project competition, Hack for Humanity. In the past, this weekend-long event focused on themes like global climate change and refugee and migrant health. This year we will be inviting students to brainstorm solutions to address global gun violence. 

Many more plans are in the works, including the inaugural annual human rights lecture and symposium we are hosting in Spring 2025, as well as opportunities for internship and research grants. 

I encourage you to explore our website for the most up-to-date information about the upcoming events and other ways to engage with our work.

Ieva Jusionyte

Director, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies

Watson Family University Professor of International Security and Anthropology