The Human Rights Program

HRP is thrilled to welcome our new student program and communications assistant, Elizabeth Gust! Elizabeth is a rising senior studying English and political science with a minor in environmental geosciences. She previously completed internships with Juvenile Justice Advocates International and the Minnesota Senate. Elizabeth has been a member of the HRP Undergraduate Working Group for three years and was also the Student Coordinator for Brewing Justice Coffee Hours. She is excited to begin this next role with HRP!

Welcome, Elizabeth!

We are excited to announce that the project, "Parental Incarceration & Children's Human Rights," has won the Inclusion Award for Community Building from the Association of Professional Schools in International Affairs. With the support of a Liberal Arts Engagement Hub residency, the Human Rights Program and Children of Incarcerated Caregivers collaborated to address the issue of parental incarceration in a system that doesn’t prioritize children’s rights. The project brought together Master of Human Rights students and other UMN students, NGO leaders, professionals in the criminal legal system, former elected officials, formerly incarcerated individuals, and people impacted by the incarceration of a parent or family member.

We are grateful for the support of the Liberal Arts Engagement Hub and our partners in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and the College of Liberal Arts for making this project possible. Congratulations to all who have contributed to this valuable project!

Skylar Strudwick reflects on the power of collective action in the latest Human Writes blog, “If Not You."

Read the blog: humanwrites.umn.edu

Link in bio!

Interested in submitting a piece? ‘Human Writes’ accepts submissions on a rolling basis! We are looking for a range of written pieces including blogs, personal/narrative essays, short fiction, poetry, and more. Any student from any college or major can submit. Visit humanwrites.umn.edu/submission-guidelines for more information and reach out to [email protected] with questions.

Congratulations to the Class of 2026! We recognize our graduating Master of Human Rights students as well as our graduating undergraduates who have been involved with the Human Rights Program through the Undergraduate Working Group, the Rights ColLaboratory, work with HRP, and more. Our students bring their passion for human rights to our campus and communities through local, domestic, and international human rights work. They are crucial members of our local and global human rights movement. We can’t wait to see what they do next!

Minnesota has served as a hub for human rights activists and organizations, playing an outsized role in the international human rights movement. In 2023, human rights activist and HRP Director Emerita Barbara Frey founded the Minnesota's Human Rights Stories Oral History Project (MHRO). The MHRO records interviews with Minnesota-based human rights activists who are recognized as leaders in the field of international human rights, archiving their informative and inspiring stories in the activists' own words.

These oral histories provide valuable knowledge and guidance for future generations. Read more about the MHRO and listen to the interviews! Link in bio.