United Nations

Human Rights Field Trip: From BC to DC

/ Alex Mostaghimi / Leave a comment

“We of this Western Hemisphere, by movements such as that symbolized by this building, have taken great strides toward securing permanent peace among ourselves.” These were the words of Teddy Roosevelt dedicated to the Pan-American Union Building built in 1910. Only a few blocks from the White House, it now stands as the headquarters for the Organization of American States and was the setting for the BC Law Human Rights Elective and International Human Rights Practicum field trip in 2024.

The Pan American Union, a sort-of United Nations exclusively for the Americas, would transform into the Organization of American States in 1948. All 34 independent nations of the Americas hold membership within the organization and while it does not loom large in the American political imagination, it holds greater significance to Latin and Central American and Caribbean nations.

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Dispatches from Dubai Part Two: Attending COP28

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Note: this is the second in a two-part guest post series from BC Law 3L Edwin Ward. Read part one.

Day 5: 12/11/23

Welcome back to the second half of my experience as an observer with the Boston College delegation to the UN Climate Conference. If you haven’t read the first half, you can do so here.

Monday was a rest day for many on the BC delegation, including myself. Rest of course, is a misnomer, as it only means I had to briefly return to the reality of finals season at BC Law—performing a policy and plan analysis of car-centric infrastructure in Syracuse, NY, writing a paper on how US tax law can incentivize more lobbying by environmental organizations to fight back against fossil fuel lobbying, and studying for my international law final. Although it felt odd doing schoolwork in Dubai, it was such a privilege to be able to do it inside the awe-inspiring dome of Al Wasl Plaza.

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Dispatches from Dubai: Attending the COP28 UN Climate Conference

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / 1 Comment

Note: this is the first of a two-part guest post series from BC Law 3L Edwin Ward.

Day 0: 12/6/23

On December 6, after taking my criminal procedure final, I prepared to fly halfway across the world to the United Arab Emirates on a mission to save the planet. 

Maybe I should back up. I am one of the two BC Law students who were chosen to represent Boston College at the 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—more commonly known as the UN Climate Conference, or simply COP28. 

This annual conference is a meeting of all the nations of the world to reach consensus on the fight against climate change. The most famous of these conferences, COP21, delivered the groundbreaking Paris Agreement. This year’s COP is the first global stock take to assess our progress on meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. COP28 is also notable for being hosted by the United Arab Emirates, a fossil fuel state that has presented more roadblocks than solutions in the fight to phase out fossil fuels.

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