The Human Rights Program

Our rights depend on what happens in the ballot box, so let's vote like it! The Human Rights Program is excited to release our 2026 Voter Guide, a tool to help voters center human rights in their decisions this election season. The guide does not aim to endorse specific candidates or parties, but rather to give voters the information necessary to draw their own conclusions about which policies will best support human rights standards. Sections include foreign policy, gender equality, ICE/DHS, environmental protection, and academic freedom.

Click the link in our bio to explore the digital flipbook, or visit https://pub.umn.edu/hrp/2026-vote-for-human-rights-guide/

Celebrate the freedom to learn! Stop by the Human Rights Program during Banned Books Week (October 5-8) to pick up a free challenged or banned human rights-related book. Come browse books, join the conversation on the right to education, and discover why the freedom to read matters. Everyone is welcome!

Here’s how it works:

1. Stop by the Human Rights Student Lounge in the Social Sciences Building, room 232 during the week of October 5-8 from 11am-1pm to pick up your free book.

2. Take a photo of yourself with your book.

3. Post your photo to your social media and tag HRP (). Include the official hashtags , , and , along with HRP’s hashtag for the campaign, .

4. Enjoy reading your challenged or banned book!

The Human Rights Program is a proud supporter of Human Rights Educators USA’s Training as Action Series (TAAS). Participants co-create action plans, sharing tools, resources, and strategies to support ongoing collective action and the defense of human rights. Join TAAS for their second session on Monday, September 28 at 6:00PM CST, for "Election Protection Training: Protecting Access to the Right to Vote."

Learn more and register: https://hreusa.org/projects/training-as-action-series/

Students and alumni are invited to join us for a Brewing Justice Alumni-Student Mixer! Meet alumni, explore human rights careers, consider how human rights are on the ballot this election, and strengthen our human rights community.

Brewing Justice is an opportunity to get to know HRP and the Undergraduate Working Group, explore the human rights advocacy field, and learn how to make changes in the classroom and the community.

Friday, October 9
2-4 PM
120 Andersen Library
Learn more and RSVP: https://cla.umn.edu/human-rights/news-events/events/brewing-justice-alumni-student-mixer

Stay after this event for Lessons from the Resistance, 4:00-7:00 PM. Join the Human Rights Program for a special 25th anniversary event to celebrate Minnesota's Human Rights Defenders.

Join us for a kick-off celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Human Rights Program! The human rights violations of Operation Metro Surge deeply impacted Minnesota communities and our campus. During this challenging time, ordinary Minnesotans engaged in extraordinary action to resist state violence and protect their neighbors. Local human rights defenders activated networks of resistance and built new ones.

At this event, we will recognize local human rights defenders, including our HRP founders, alumni, and students, and increase our understanding of the broader culture of resistance in which they are embedded. Join us for the Stephen and Chacke Scallen Lecture in Human Rights and a panel discussion with local human rights defenders. A reception beforehand will highlight local changemakers and HRP students and programs. Join us after for a community celebration.

Lessons from the Resistance: Celebrating Minnesota’s Human Rights Defenders
Friday, October 9
4-7:00 PM
Elmer L. Andersen Library

Learn more and RSVP: https://cla.umn.edu/human-rights/news-events/events/lessons-resistance-celebrating-minnesotas-human-rights-defenders

Join us this Friday, September 25th from 2-4 PM at Bordertown Coffee for Brewing Justice! Brewing Justice Coffee Hours are an opportunity to get to know HRP and the Undergraduate Working Group, explore the human rights advocacy field, and learn how to make changes in the classroom and the community. Our theme this week is about the MN Truth Council's work to create a comprehensive public record of Operation Metro Surge.

This event is free and open to students of all majors. Coffee and pastries will be provided. We can't wait to see you there!

My Sweet Land is a coming-of-age story set against a multigenerational war in the post-Soviet Caucasus Mountains. It follows an 11-year-old boy named Vrej, growing up in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) who dreams of becoming a dentist in his picture-postcard village with its roaming ducks and golden bees. His sweet land, however, is strewn with mines from previous wars, shaping a country that remains unrecognized to the world. Vrej’s life takes a sudden turn when war erupts, forcing him to flee with his family. The film is a testament to the people of Artsakh, where hope and trauma have shaped their resilience across generations.

Join the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the Human Rights Program, and the Arsham and Charlotte Ohanessian Chair for this film screening, followed by a lunch with director Sareen Hairabedian. Learn more and RSVP: https://cla.umn.edu/chgs/news-events/events/film-screening-my-sweet-land

Students, faculty, and community members are invited to join the Human Rights Program for an open house! Enjoy some lunch, network with others, and learn more about the Human Rights Program. Stop by anytime!

Tuesday, September 22
12-1:30 PM
710 Social Sciences Building

RSVP here: https://forms.gle/YWtVqT4oyc2CfaEAA

The Human Rights Program and the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies are excited to present our third annual Human Rights Day Symposium on December 8, 2026! The symposium will spotlight efforts to defend human rights, featuring a student poster session and a keynote address.

Apply to present at the student poster session! The poster session will take place from 2:30-3:45pm on December 8. We are thrilled to be able to offer up to 6 student awards of up to $1,000 each.

Learn more at the link in bio, and submit your proposal by October 25!

Growing up in a dictatorship in Chile, Eva Palma-Zúñiga observed the silence around political violence in the classroom and in her community. Like many other families, hers stayed silent for fear of retaliation. Today, as a lecturer in the Spanish and Portuguese Studies department at the University of Minnesota, Palma-Zúñiga brings discussions of human rights violations to light.

At the University of Minnesota, she earned an M.A. in Hispanic Literature and Cultures, followed by a Ph.D. in Hispanic Literatures and Cultures and a graduate minor in human rights. Her time at the U proved to be a life-changing period, as it allowed her to learn beyond her own department, explore “different realities,” and better learn the history of her own country. Ultimately, she believes human rights should be a foundational part of education. Read more about Palma-Zúñiga at the link in bio!