Henkin the teacher

by Tim Shenk

Professor Louis Henkin, 1917-2010.

The legacy of Columbia University Professor Louis Henkin, who pioneered the study of human rights, has shaped the field of human rights advocacy as we know it today.

One contribution that should not be overlooked is his role as a teacher to some of today’s leading advocates. In a March 28 panel at Columbia Law School, former students and colleagues shared memories of the scholar and activist who encouraged them to dedicate their careers to human rights.

“He was an iconic, mythic, Olympian figure and I remember being hugely intimidated by going into his office and talking to him,” recalled Richard Dicker, a student of Professor Henkin’s in the late 1980s.

Nevertheless, Professor Henkin took a keen interest in Dicker’s work. Once, he gave him detailed feedback on a paper on “administrative detention,” the practice of holding suspects indefinitely without a criminal charge. Later, Professor Henkin encouraged Dicker to apply for a fellowship with Human Rights Watch. Dicker now directs Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program.

“There was Lou Henkin the rigorous intellect, compelling intellect,” Dicker said. “There was Lou Henkin the supportive mentor who greatly helped me do the kind of work I wanted to do. He would say, ‘Don’t call me Professor Henkin. Call me Lou.’ I never could. It was always Professor Henkin.”

Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, described Professor Henkin as an “elder statesman” of the human rights movement. She recalled how he criticized the United States for failing to fully participate in the international human rights system.

“When we look at how the Obama administration is engaging with human rights today, it’s an example of how Professor Henkin would like the United States to go,” she said.

Another former student, Priscilla Hayner, recalled conversations with Professor Henkin about the emerging field of transitional justice, which deals with accountability for mass crimes by the state. Hayner went on to co-found the International Center for Transitional Justice and now serves as senior advisor to the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue.

Hayner wondered aloud what Professor Henkin would make of the dilemmas in transitional justice today. For example, what is the impact of institutions such as the International Criminal Court on “difficult transitions,” where leaders may be more likely to hold onto power if they might face international prosecution when they leave? How should the human rights community respond to the United States’ aggressive laws against interacting with terrorist suspects?

Hayner said of these questions, “I wish that Lou Henkin were here to put his mind to them.”

Paul Martin, adjunct professor and director of human rights studies at Barnard College and a senior scholar at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, recalled working with Professor Henkin to establish the institute’s precursor, the Center for the Study of Human Rights.

The two professors shared an interest in making human rights an interdisciplinary field of study, rather than just a legal one. The center’s original board included a lawyer, a historian, a philosopher and a social worker, and it organized conferences with academics from the fields of political science and philosophy.

Professor Henkin combined expertise in international and constitutional law, which contributed greatly to his scholarship on human rights, Martin said. His academic stature was such that Martin regularly asked him, “After you, who?” In other words, who could give intellectual leadership to the human rights movement when he was gone?

Several panelists debated this question at the close of the session. They noted that Professor Henkin helped to establish human rights as an influential idea, and that many other scholars and activists now build on his work without assuming the visionary role he played.

“It was a man and a moment, really, that came together,” Dicker said. “Probably without overstating, the role was rather a unique one.”

Published in RightsNews Volume 29, no. 3, May, 2011.
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