Sanctions and Human Rights: Lessons from Hong Kong
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
8:00 PM – 9:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time)
About the Event
Beijing’s crackdown in Hong Kong in the name of national security has drawn condemnation and sanctions from around the world, including from the US government. But instead of helping to preserve Hong Kong’s freedoms, these measures may have unintentionally helped to accelerate Hong Kong’s economic and political integration with mainland China. Professor Carole J. Petersen will talk about the need for self-reflection in light of events in Hong Kong, and why we need a new approach to promote international law and human rights.
About the speaker
Carole J. Petersen is professor of law at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii at Manoa. She teaches international law, international protection of human rights, and gender and law. She taught law in Hong Kong from 1989-2006, and assisted members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council to draft bills prohibiting discrimination. She has written extensively about human rights in Hong Kong, and recently published “The Disappearing Firewall: The International Consequences of Beijing’s Decision to Impose a National Security Law and Operate National Security Institutions in Hong Kong” in the Hong Kong Law Journal.
About the moderator
Jerome A. Cohen is professor emeritus at NYU School of Law and founding director emeritus of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute. He is a leading American expert on Chinese law and government. A pioneer in the field, Professor Cohen began studying and teaching about China’s legal system in the early 1960s and from 1964 to 1979 introduced the teaching of Asian law into the curriculum of Harvard Law School. Professor Cohen is an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has published hundreds of scholarly articles and edited several books about Asian law, specifically focusing on legal institutions, criminal justice reform, dispute resolution, human rights, and the role of international law relating to China and Taiwan.
