What: CSD Series: Accountability for Somalia’s Security Service: A Case Study in US Federal Court
When: February 17, 12:30-1:30pm
Where: The Puck Building, The Rudin Family Forum for Civic Dialogue, 2nd Fl. (295 Lafayette St., New York, NY)
RSVP here.
Ahmed v. Magan, the first decision to hold a member of Somalia’s notorious National Security Service accountable for human rights violations, illustrates the challenges and possibilities for pursuing accountability in post conflict societies. Christina Hioureas represented Hassan Ahmed, a Somali constitutional law professor and human rights advocate who was tortured during the Siade Barre regime, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Using this case as a point of entry, Hioureas will discuss developments in Somalia in the last 40 years, beginning with the collapse of democracy, rise of the Siade Barre regime and the restrictions on human rights and constitutional rights, the end of the dictatorship, efforts to seek justice and accountability, and current efforts to build the country’s legal system from the ground up.
The Conflict, Security, and Development Series is co-presented by the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU Law School, the Center for Global Affairs at NYU’s School for Continuing and Professional Studies, NYU’s Global Institute for Public Health, and the Office of International Programs at NYU Wagner. Each Tuesday, this series will examine new research, discuss creative policy approaches and highlight recent analytical and practical innovations in responding to the challenges of security and development in the context of conflict and post-conflict situations.
Speaker:
Christina Hioureas is a Senior Associate with Chadbourne & Parke’s International Arbitration and Public International Law practice group. She represents States, private entities, and individuals on international disputes and public international law matters, including: international investment treaty claims (ICSID, UNCITRAL, NAFTA); structuring investments to obtain treaty protection; international commercial arbitration (ICC, ICDR, Swiss Rules) and litigation; treaty drafting and interpretation for State sovereigns; law of the sea / UNCLOS, international human rights and international criminal law claims, including crimes against humanity; and energy law.
She is also a delegate at the United Nations, handling among other matters, the Sixth Committee to the UN General Assembly (Legal Affairs) and UN Committee on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Ms. Hioureas also is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of California Berkeley School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley in Political Science and Peace & Conflict Studies. She is admitted to practice in California, New York, England and Wales, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was awarded the Center for Justice & Accountability “Partners in Justice Award” (2013) for her work on Ahmed v. Magan, and has been recognized in Legal 500 (2014) for her work in international arbitration and public international law and was awarded the Greek America Foundation’s “40 Under 40” Award (2014) for her work in human rights and public international law.
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