Written by Emily Bonoyer
Willimantic, Conn. - Australian human rights activist, writer and lawyer Rebecca Hamilton will speak on the topic, "Every Person Counts: Citizen Action Against Genocide in Darfur," on March 9 at 2 p.m. in Room 104 of the Science Building at Eastern Connecticut State University. A reception will follow the speech. The public is invited. Admission is free.
Hamilton, a Genocide Intervention Network and Open Society Fellow, most recently served as special assistant to the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. In 2007, she was selected as a global young leader on genocide prevention. A Knox fellow and graduate of Harvard Law School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Hamilton also was managing editor of the Harvard Journal of Human Rights. She served as co-founder of the Darfur Action Group at Harvard, which mobilizes students to condemn the genocide occurring in Sudan and demands the U.S. government do the same. The group was involved in Harvard's precedent-setting decision to divest from companies supporting the Sudanese government.
Before starting law school, Hamilton worked in Sudan, where she executed a plan to help thousands of internally displaced persons return to their homes. Her writing on advocacy against mass atrocity has appeared in the International Herald Tribune, Boston Globe, and Sydney Morning Herald, as well as in Alex de Waal's book, "War in Darfur and the Search for Peace."
Hamilton's speech is presented in conjunction with the Carl Lutz Holocaust Exhibit, sponsored by Eastern's departments of History; Political Science, Philosophy and Geography; Sociology; Anthropology; and Social Work
