The Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy was created as a result of the deep interest and long-standing work in human rights among our faculty, administrators and students. Among other things, this work takes the form of legal advocacy, activism, and scholarship on workers' rights, poverty, public health, migration, racial, gender, and sexual discrimination, disability rights, globalization, development, and the environment. 

The Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy provides many opportunities for faculty, law graduates and students to work on promoting and implementing human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights.

PHRGE Senior Fellows

From time to time PHRGE hosts Senior fellows working on major human rights projects. During 2010-2012, Janine Moussa was a Senior Fellow with PHRGE. Ms. Moussa is the Co-Director of the Due Diligence Project, a four-year research and advocacy project on state obligations with respect to violence against women. During 2012-2013, Gillian MacNaughton is a Senior Fellow.  Dr. MacNaughton's research focuses on equality and social rights, particularly the right to health.

Affiliated Scholars

PHRGE also hosts several affiliated scholars who carry out various significant human rights projects or participate in PHRGE projects. In 2012 they are Zarizana Abdul Aziz, Co-Director of the Due Dilligence Project, Kyle Courtney, Head of External Resource Sharing and Faculty Research at Harvard Law School, and Maria Green, a human rights lawyer.

Northeastern University Co-op Students

PHRGE offers a wonderful opportunity for undergraduate students interested in human rights at Northeastern University through the co-op students. Undergraduate students work as PHRGE Program Coordinator. They will primarily assist with either the planning of the ESCR Institute or the Annual Report, but will work on other smaller PHRGE projects and events during there time here. For spring and summer 2013, the co-op students are Khadija Mboup and Katherine Dumais.

PHRGE Student Interns and Volunteers

PHRGE also has student interns and volunteers from Northeastern School of Law and from other Departments at the University.  Interns and volunteers carry out many day-to-day tasks of the program, help build our PHRGE network of scholars and practitioners in human rights, learn about cutting-edge human rights issues and meet scholars and practitioners working in human rights. Current openings are available here.

International and human-rights related co-ops

Northeastern students have worked with major human rights NGOs such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Liberty (UK) as well as local NGOs in Latin America and the Caribbean, southern Africa, Europe and south Asia. Northeastern law students have worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other immigration and asylum organizations.

Global Law-Related Course Offerings

Northeastern University School of Law offers a wide range of global law courses, including international, foreign, comparative and immigration law.

Student Organizations

The Human Rights Caucus (HRC) was founded by Northeastern University School of Law students on December 10th, 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The HRC serves as the hub for human rights issues not currently addressed by other student organizations, reinforces the ongoing work of existing student groups through the utilization of a legal human rights framework, and connects law students to individuals/groups conducting current human rights work. The mission of HRC is to connect NUSL students interested in human rights issues, to educate ourselves and others about domestic and international legal human rights frameworks, and to ensure that law students' exposure to human rights is not limited to academic discussions, but is practiced in our present internships and other social justice advocacy.

In addition to the Human Rights Caucus, there are several other student organizations that sponsor human rights-related events including: