LOUIS B. SOHN FELLOWSHIP
IN HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENT
The Center for International Environmental Law is pleased to announce the creation of the Louis B. Sohn Fellowship in Human Rights and Environment. The Fellowship commenced in the fall 2004 and recognized a recent law graduate working in the area of human rights and the environment. The Sohn Fellow works at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in our Human Rights and Environment Program. In recent years CIEL has grown to become a leading human rights and environmental law organization, promoting the important link between these two vital areas.

Working under the supervision and mentorship of experienced international lawyers, the Sohn Fellow will seek to identify and develop connections between human rights and environmental protection, integrate the theoretical and advocacy approaches of the two movements, and provide a more just, equitable and sustainable approach to natural resource management-all goals of CIEL's program. The Sohn Fellowship will provide support for professional travel for the Fellow, e.g., to meetings of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights or to hearings of the European Court of Justice or the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

The Sohn Fellowship is named after Louis B. Sohn, the renowned international law teacher, scholar, practitioner, and governmental advisor. Professor Sohn has been a giant in the fields of both international human rights law and international environmental law, and he is a firm believer in the inter-connection of all branches of international law. Professor Sohn, who taught at the law schools at Harvard University, the University of Georgia, and George Washington University, was the first recipient of CIEL's Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Development of International Environmental Law. For more information about Professor Sohn, go to http://www.ciel.org/Announce/Award_Sohn03.html.


2006 - 2007 Sohn Fellow: Windu Kisworo

For more information regarding Windu Kisworo, please visit his biography.


2004 - 2005 Sohn Fellow: Adebukola Osuntogun

Ms. Osuntogun obtained her LL.B degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a B.L degree from the Nigerian Law School, Lagos. She pursued her Masters in International Law and Business at the Stetson University College of Law, Florida and interned at the Ocean Conservancy. Before joining CIEL as a fellow, the bulk of her research and papers were on human rights and environmental issues in Nigeria ranging from the Niger Delta situation to human rights abuses in the nation and the attendant social consequences.

At CIEL, Ms. Osuntogun focused on Community-Based Property Rights (CBPRs) in Nigeria. She examined the origins of the Nigerian Land Use Act, which vests all lands in Nigeria in the Governor and grants citizens' mere rights of occupancy, and its effects. She researched on approaches for including communities in decisions that directly affect them in line with Principle 10 of the Rio Convention, incorporating access to information, participation and justice. She also explored the linkages between environmental degradation and poverty.

As part of the fellowship, Ade also visited our Environmental Justice Project partners in the Philippines. She participated in the Philippine Forum on Environmental Justice, and joined Tanggol Kalikasan in one of their field visits. Ms. Osuntogun plans to return to Nigeria to continue her work on human rights and the environment.


How to Apply

Please visit the application page.


How to Contribute

The Louis B. Sohn Fellowship in Human Rights and Environment is funded by individual donations. You can contribute by credit card on CIEL's website, or you can send a check payable to CIEL to 1350 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1100, Washington, D.C. 20036. Additionally, there are many other types of gifts that you may want to consider in your financial and estate planning--gifts that may give you tax benefits while providing CIEL with support for this Fellowship. We recommend you consult your attorney or financial advisor and call us to discuss these giving options

However you chose to give, please give as generously as you can and be sure to note that your contribution is designated for the Louis B. Sohn Fellowship. The following categories for giving and the current list of donors may help you in your decision. Thank you for your consideration.

  • President's Circle - $5,000 and above

  • Founders' Circle - $1,000 - $4,999

  • Fellows' Circle - $500 - $999

  • Friends - Up to $499


As of January 2008, donors include:

President's Circle

Lucinda A. Low
Daniel B. Magraw

Founders' Circle

Gerald Aksen
Charles N. Brower
Edith Brown Weiss
Richard P. Brown, Jr.
Thomas and Peggy Buergenthal
Michael H. Byowitz
Don Scott DeAmicis
Edison W. Dick
Timothy L. Dickinson
Deborah Enix-Ross
Jeffrey Bruce Golden
James T. Haight
William M. Hannay III
Ricki Tigert Helfer and Michael S. Helfer
Mark R. Joelson
Henry T. King, Jr.
Gerold W. Libby
Robert M. Lutz
Andrew Joshua Markus
Stephen and Susan McCaffrey
Homer E. Moyer
Wendy Munger
Patrick M. Norton
John E. & Barbara Noyes
Cynthia R. Price
Kenneth and Hayes Reisenfeld
Arthur W. Rovine
Michael D. Sandler
James R. Silkenat
Robert Sussman
Andrew Tobias and Charles Nolan
Peter and Rhoda Trooboff
Jay and Mary Vogelson

Fellows' Circle

John Ellicott
Thomas Franck
Darrell Prescott
Salli Swartz

Friends

Judy Hippler Bello
Peter D. Ehrenhaft
Conrad Harper
Charlotte Ku
Carol Maxine Mates
Rona R. Mears
Aaron Schildhaus
Louise Ellen Teitz
Don Wallace, Jr.
Mark E. Wojcik


For more information, please contact Daniel Magraw, President of CIEL.


This page last modifed on 29 January 2008.