UC Klekamp Law to convene human rights experts for conference on global challenges and strategies

How can human rights be protected and advanced in an increasingly complex world? That question will guide Human Rights 2026: Current Challenges & Strategies, a two-day conference hosted by the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights at the University of Cincinnati Donald P. Klekamp College of Law on Nov. 6–7, 2026.

The free conference will bring together leading scholars, legal practitioners, advocates and members of the university community to examine current human rights challenges and explore strategies for advancing social justice. Through panel discussions, presentations and opportunities for engagement, participants will consider the role of law, policy, advocacy and the arts in addressing issues affecting communities around the world.

“The challenges to the rule of law and human rights are great.  We have assembled an extraordinary cast to discuss these challenges, to inspire us to meet these challenges,” said Bert B. Lockwood, Distinguished Service Professor of Law | Director, Urban Morgan Institute.

The conference will open Friday, Nov. 6, with a welcome from UC Klekamp Law Dean Haider Hamoudi, who will address Islamophobia, followed by a fireside chat featuring Harold Hongju Koh, Sterling Professor of International Law at Yale Law School, and Paul Hoffman, a civil and human rights litigator and director of the Defending Democracy Clinic at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.

Their discussion, Challenges & Strategies for Advancement of Human Rights, will explore approaches to protecting human rights through legal advocacy and international law.

Additional Friday sessions will examine immigration and the U.S. government, corporations and human rights, and human trafficking. Presenters include scholars and practitioners whose work spans international law, refugee protection, corporate accountability and human trafficking prevention and advocacy.

Saturday's program will expand the conversation to issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersect and asexual community and the relationship between environmental protection and human rights. A panel titled The Art of Judging will feature judges who were fellows of the Urban Morgan Institute, offering perspectives shaped by their experiences in the legal profession and on the bench.

The conference also will examine how creative expression can illuminate human rights issues and deepen public understanding.

A Saturday afternoon panel, Human Rights and the Arts, will explore connections between artistic expression, literature and social justice. The day's programming will culminate in an evening reading of Lemkin's House, a play by award-winning playwright Catherine Filloux, whose work has addressed human rights for decades.

The presentation will feature actors from UC's College Conservatory of Music, bringing an interdisciplinary dimension to the conference and highlighting how the arts can help audiences engage with difficult histories and ongoing human rights concerns.

Founded in 1979, the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights was the first endowed institute at an American law school devoted to international human rights law. The institute supports human rights education and experiential learning, connecting students with opportunities to study international human rights law and engage with organizations and practitioners working in the field.

The institute also publishes the Human Rights Quarterly, a multidisciplinary academic journal published by Johns Hopkins University Press and recognized as a leading publication in the field.

By bringing together scholars, practitioners, judges, alumni and students, Human Rights 2026 continues the institute's work of fostering informed discussion and advancing understanding of the legal and practical challenges involved in protecting human rights.

For the full schedule, presenter information and registration details, visit the Urban Morgan Institute conference website.

Lead photo: Istockphoto.com