Climate Change and Human Rights
Wisconsin International Law Scholars Conference
April 2-3, 2020, University of Wisconsin Law School, USA
Call for Abstracts
We invite internationally acclaimed scholars and advanced PhD candidates to submit abstracts for the Wisconsin International Law Scholars Conference (WILSC) on Climate Change and Human Rights, to be hosted by the University of Wisconsin as part of its Wisconsin International Law Journal annual programs. Climate change poses unprecedented challenges to the enjoyment of rights. The Human Rights Council has adopted several resolutions on the link between climate change and human rights and the Paris Agreement included a provision on human rights in relation to climate action in 2015. Despite this recognition, many legal issues remain unresolved – extraterritorial dimension of human rights, forced displacement associated with climate change (so called “climate refugees”), small island states and their people, the loss and damage mechanism, the responsibility of major emitters are just a few issues requiring novel approaches to international law. We invite abstracts on any legal issue on the link between human rights and climate change, but preference will be given to those abstracts that explore novel legal theories to address these emerging issues.
The objective of WILSC is to bring together international legal scholars to discuss a small number of high-quality working papers to promote research collaboration and advancement. The conference is by invitation only and is devoted to small workshops that give authors the opportunity to refine their work. The conference will be held in the beautiful city of Madison, Wisconsin from April 2-3, 2020.
All participants are expected to read and be prepared to discuss working papers, and thus WILSC requires significant preparation. We recommended that participants devote 1-2 days of reading to prepare prior to the conference. Papers selected for WILSC are guaranteed a right of review for publication in the Wisconsin International Law Journal. We will cover two nights of accommodation and workshop meals for all selected participants and we encourage submissions from scholars based in developing countries. We have a limited budget and would request those based in developed countries to fund their own travel so that we can fund highly qualified and motivated scholars from developing countries to present their work at this event.
To apply, please submit an abstract of around 1000-1200 words and a CV to Nina Neff (nneffmallon@wisc.edu) and Sumudu Atapattu (saatapattu@wisc.edu) no later than October 18, 2019. Late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted.