Photo by Chris Meyer
 “In the six years since [the human rights program] has been in place, we have seen its extraordinary effect on the culture of our law school. We owe this in large measure to the extraordinary dedication that Professor George Edwards brings to the cause of human rights.” —Gerald Bepko, IUPUI chancellor emeritus |
George Edwards drew on his own education when he created the IU School of Law’s Program in International Human Rights Law. At Harvard Law School, he was a professor’s assistant, editor of the Harvard Law Review, a member of the Black Law Students Association and the Harvard Human Rights Program, and associate editor of the International Law Journal. But the summer months brought him his most valued experience.
Between semesters, Edwards held law internships in Switzerland, Ethiopia, Sudan and Thailand. While working for a law firm in Bangkok, he explored refugee camps just beyond the city limits. What Edwards saw there made a lasting impression. “It was more than an eye-opening experience,” recalled Edwards. “That was my first real look at the world of human rights and the devastating effects of human rights violations of that sort.”
So far in the Overseas International Human Rights Law Internship program, there have been 70 intern placements with students serving in 35 countries, working for human rights and exploring the legalities of ethnicity, indigenous populations, discrimination, genocide, sexuality, torture and other issues. Under Edwards’ direction, the Program in International Human Rights Law sponsors seminars and conferences, and co-hosts the Human Rights and Social Justice Film Series and the Human Rights Fair.
Edwards’ efforts have earned him honors and international acclaim, including the IU Trustees Teaching Award in 2002, a 2001 Fulbright Award to teach in Peru and a 2001 Visiting Fellowship in the United Kingdom at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law. An accredited representative to the United Nations, Edwards is a regular international delegate and speaker on human rights issues, having recently delivered lectures in such diverse places as Kuwait, Peru, Lithuania, Switzerland, France and Korea.
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