Law Library to Celebrate Human Rights Day with Panel Discussion

Mark your calendars! In recognition of International Human Rights Day, the Law Library will host a panel discussion on issues surrounding bioethics: “Bioethics and Human Rights: Privacy and Consent.” The event is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6 in the Mumford Room, which is on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. 20540. Partially sponsored by the Friends of the Law Library, this event is free and open to the public.  Tickets are not required.

Moderated by Ruth Levush, fellow In Custodia Legis blogger and Senior Foreign Law Specialist at the Law Library of Congress, the panel will include Erin Williams of MITRE Corporation; Gerald Schatz, an affiliated scholar of Georgetown University Medical Center; and Theresa Papademetriou of the Law Library of Congress.

A range of topics will be covered by each panelist, including:  “What Was That Form I Just Signed? Snapshot of U.S. Federal Requirements Governing Informed Consent for Medical Research” by Williams; “Privacy Rights and Ethical Tensions in Medicine and Research” by Schatz; and “A Human Rights Dimension of Informed Consent: Sterilization of Women in Europe” by Papademetriou.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted and proclaimed in Paris, France, on December 10, 1948.  The UDHR was designed to provide a global framework for human rights following World War II and the colonial era.  The Declaration, the first global enunciation of human rights, is considered the most translated document in modern history. It is available in more than 360 languages, and new translations are still being added. Each year the Law Library celebrates Human Rights Day with a panel discussion focusing on a different aspect of human rights.  We hope to see you there!

Last year’s Human Rights Day Event, “Women’s Rights and Opportunities,” is available on YouTube.

Update: The event video was added below.