UConn Advance - October 11, 2005 - Economic human rights conference Oct. 27-29

An international conference designed to foster new research and debate in the emerging field of economic human rights, Economic Rights: Conceptual, Measurement, and Policy Issues, will take place on Oct. 27-29 in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.

“Scholars and policymakers are increasingly attempting to link socio-economic and classic civil and political rights in unprecedented and innovative ways,” says Richard Wilson, director of the Human Rights Institute. “Through the conference, we intend to move the debate and research forward.”

In addition to providing a forum for the issue, the conference will provide an intellectual focal point for the Dodd Center’s 10th anniversary celebration, which centers more broadly on globalization and human rights.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Human Rights Institute and the Dodd Center.

“Human rights have been critical to the Dodd Center’s mission since its inception a decade ago,” says Tom Wilsted, director of the Dodd Center.

“A number of special events related to human rights are taking place during the semester to mark the anniversary. We hope members of the community will be able to attend those events as well as the conference and learn about this important issue.”

Kaushik Basu, professor of economics and C. Marks Professor of International Studies at Cornell University, will deliver the keynote address.

An international authority on child labor, his remarks will draw upon his theoretical innovations in the area of child labor as well as his extensive field experience in South Asia and internationally. Basu has published widely — from scholarly books and journal articles to columns for the BBC and The Times of India. He edits the journal Social Choice and Welfare and directs the Program on Comparative Economic Development at Cornell. Basu has provided expert advice on child labor to the World Bank, the U.N. Development Programme, and the International Labour Organization.

Three previous Distinguished Gladstein Visiting Professors at UConn will deliver papers, including: Jack Donnelly, Andrew Mellon Professor of International Studies, University of Denver; Rhoda Howard-Hassmann, Canada Research Chair in Global Studies and Political Science, Wilfrid Laurier University; and Wiktor Osiatynski, professor, Central European University, Budapest.

The conference will be organized around panel discussions that explore the conceptual, measurement, and policy issues central to understanding economic rights. Each area is represented by scholars who have done cutting-edge work in those areas.

Public outreach activities are also planned in conjunction with the main academic meeting, including a weekly film festival, which began in September and runs through the end of the conference; a fair-trade fair; a raffle of a child labor-free carpet; and a student paper/poster competition on economic rights with cash prizes.

All sessions are free to UConn students, staff, and faculty. For registration information and further details about the conference, see humanrights.uconn.edu.